An open letter to Jared

Dear Joj,
You're off to Camp Bartlett this week!
Have fun, buddy!
And take good care of yourself!
Love,
Mom

Gimme a 5 and a 3!!

5 is for Day 5 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred.

And 3 is for the pounds I am down since I started!!

Whoo-hoo!!! It's working!

Jillian: 1, Me: 1

Monday I started doing this.
And Monday, I thought I was going to DIE.
And I mean DIE!
The rest of the day my legs were complete rubber.
Today I did day 2,
and I don't know what the difference was,
but I feel FANTASTIC!
I'm not saying I'm not sore,
because I most certainly am.
But I feel great! I feel stronger already.
Jillian motivates me.
But I do have muscles that I never knew I had.
Like the muscles right in front of your armpits.
Those KILL whenever I wash my hands
for crying out loud! :)
And the muscles between your shoulder blades?
They are there also.
And the muscles in my thighs?
They SCREAM whenever I walk down the stairs!
I'm not complaining though
because all this means one thing:
I am going to be the fittest in my life!

5 Grain Banana Muffins

This is my own creation
and they turned out great!
Here's the recipe.

1 c. Bob's Red Mill 5 Grain Rolled cereal, dry
1 c. flour (you could use either whole wheat or all purpose)
3 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
1 egg
1/2 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with Pam.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.
Make a well in the center and add the mashed banana,
the egg, and the buttermilk.
Using a fork, mix together until just combined.
Be careful not to over mix.
Divide batter evenly between the muffin cups.
Bake for about 12 mins, until golden brown
and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack.

Nutrition information:
There are 104 calories per muffin, less than one gram of fat,
21 grams of carbohydrate (with 7 grams from sugar),
2 grams of fiber (with all purpose flour),
and 3 grams of protein.

Father's Day breakfast

This is an Omelet wrap...it's healthy and delicious!
It's what I made for Jeff for his
Father's Day breakfast. I also made one for me. :)
The original recipe came from
the Eat Clean diet by Tosca Reno.
I've adapted it a little to fit my tastes.
Here's my version:

Omelet Wrap
~~~~~
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 T. milk
sea salt & pepper to taste
1 t. olive oil
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge
about 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Spray a small frying pan with Pam and then add the oil.
Heat the pan over medium high heat.
Beat the egg, egg white, and milk together.
Add salt and pepper to your taste.
When the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture.
Cook til almost set on top,
then turn over and cook for about 1-2 minutes more.
During cook time,
warm the tortilla in the microwave for 12 seconds.
Spread warmed tortilla with the cheese.
Sprinkle with the fresh cilantro.
Lay the omelet on top & roll up.
Let sit for a minute, then cut in half.
Enjoy!

Rock-a-bye baby

This is Mia and Grandpa Sedlacek's doggie, Otie.
Otie is supposedly a Shiitzu,
but he's really just a big baby.
He'll cuddle like one forever!

Homemade Belgian Waffles

Classic Belgian Waffles.
Yum!
They take a little time
since you have to whip the egg whites,
but it's worth it!
These turned out so good...
crispy on the outside,
soft on the inside.
Here's the recipe.

I've always said, you learn something new everyday

Sarah the Seafarer

Seafarer blue, that is.
We made over Sarah's room!

Crushed silk curtains.
I actually found these at Walmart for all of $9.
Add some ribbon that exactly matches the paint,
and Voila!!

Sarah's just humoring me here.
Can you tell?

Wall appliques are awesome!
So easy, and Sarah can move them around if she wants.

Nicole did all the painting.
She is the BEST!

More new camera funshots

Takes pretty good sunset shots.

Looking out towards the Oquirrh Mountains.

I love that you can see the water droplets on this daisy.

Antelope Island in the far background.

New Camera Fun

Let's just call him "Mr. Blue Eyes."
He can sing, too.
But no one would know that, since he tries not to.
But seriously, he's got perfect pitch.

That would make this one
"Miss Green Eyes."
There should be a saying about little ladies with green eyes.

My Gerber Daisies are about the only thing
still growing in this weird weather we're having!
Everything else, especially the vegetable plants,
is just sitting there...not growing, not dying...just waiting
for the heat to show up!

Jeff and I had been eyeing a Fuji XP10 camera
at Costco for about a month.
It's waterproof, dust proof, freeze proof
and shock proof.
In other words, perfect for our river trip coming up. :)
Lo and behold,
Friday night when we went to Costco together,
there was a $40 instant manufacturer's rebate on that very camera!!!
We were SO excited!!
Since Jeff had gotten a bonus that day,
we bought the camera.
Sometimes waiting pays!!

Sunday=Yummy Dessert!!

This is Chocolate Brownie Pudding.
I've seen similar recipes with names like
Hot Fudge Cake.
This one is different, and by far the best I've tried.
This recipe comes from the Lion House Bakery.
(I know! You can't go wrong with a Lion House Anything!)
~~~~~~~
Chocolate Brownie Pudding

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 c. sugar ( I use Organic Cane Sugar)
1/4 c. cocoa
1 t. salt (I use sea salt)
1 c. milk
2 t. vanilla (I like the Kirkland Signature pure vanilla)
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. chopped walnuts (I had pecans so I used those)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
3 1/2 c. hot water (I cut it to 3 cups and I'm glad)

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 9x13 pan.
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, 1/4 c. cocoa and salt.
To this, add the milk, vanilla
and melted butter. Mix until incorporated.
Stir in chopped nuts.
Pour into pan and set aside. (I added about 1/2 c. of additional milk,
and it was still more like "spread in pan" rather than "pour into pan.")
In a large bowl, mix brown sugar and 1/2 c. cocoa.
Pour in hot (I used almost boiling) water
and stir until well blended.
Carefully pour this on top of the brownie batter in the pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
This is really yummy served warm with vanilla ice cream!!

Perfect Potato Soup

I've tried to make a good
Crock-Pot potato soup
many, many times.
Finally today
I think I came up with a winner!

Perfect Potato Soup
~~~~~~~
1-2 lb. bag frozen cubed hashbrowns (the kind with onions and peppers)
1/2 of a 10 oz. bag of frozen sweet corn
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 T. parsley flakes
6 chicken bouillon cubes
6 cups hot water

Throw this all in the crockpot
for 3-4 hours on high
or 5-6 hours on low.

30 mins. before serving time
stir in the following:
1-2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. fat free half & half, warmed
~~~~~~~
Serve with some crusty bread & butter.
Yummy!

Let's play catch-up

I made these pork carnitas one night.
Definitely a recipe keeper!
Wanna try them? Go here.

Jacob graduated from Jr. High.
And not a minute too soon! (for him)

Then he went paintballing.
Something he's been waiting for!

We cut flowers from the yard
(and Jeff arranged them)
for Jeff's mom's grave
and my grandma's grave.
Remembering is always nice.

My honey cut some lilacs for me
and arranged them himself.
I told him he could've been a florist.