Monday, June 17, 2013

Beautiful Discoveries

My husband and I bought a new house over Thanksgiving. We are all settled in and couldn't be happier! It is pretty much our perfect dream house. We were so lucky to find it!


Since this is our first summer in the house, we had no idea what things would be sprouting in the spring. We didn't really do anything to the yard and figured we would just wait and see. 


So many pretty things were already planted!


I love yellow flowers! They are just so cheerful and happy!! Well, if flowers had personalities...


Most of the backyard is covered with these jungle-ish ferns. I think they look pretty cool.


This puggle is the king of the jungle! She loves to run through them.


Who doesn't love a pretty rose bush?! In my favorite color, pink :)

 
I planted a vegetable garden in the spring (with the help of the wonderful Jim). Things are looking good!


Lettuce is almost ready to be picked for a fresh salad!


Add in a comfy hammock and we have one awesome yard! We didn't have to plant anything! 


Jim brought home a pretty hanging basket as a little surprise.


So there you have it! I sure am glad things turned out so beautiful because I definitely do not have a green thumb! I could never have made it look so pretty.

Do you have a garden?

Do you prefer to plant flowers or vegetables? 

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Rainy Nanny Day

For those who may not already know, I work as a full time nanny and care for 3 cool kiddos. My job is pretty awesome! However, rainy days like today can sometimes be tough. No park, no picnics, no pool...


I should have taken a screen shot earlier in the day when the chance of rain was 100%. Bleh...

Anyways, we managed to have a super fun day despite all the rain.

We started off with a tasty rainy morning breakfast.


Confetti pancakes! Sprinkles make everthing better. Whipped cream makes things even better!


Since we had so much fun making pancakes, we decided to bake some more breakfast food. Peanut butter chocolate chip muffins. I found the muffin recipe on Pinterest.


They turned out pretty good! A bit dry...next time I would add a little more liquid. Maybe some extra milk, butter, oil, applesauce...something.


They were a great mid morning snack. Warmed in the microwave for about 15 seconds.


The chocolate chips got all warm and melty.  

After giving the kids plenty of sugar, we needed a way to exert some of the hyperness! Bowling!


Not just any bowling, but cosmic glow in the dark bowling. It was a blast!

The shoes were actually pretty cool too.


Group shoe shot!


Not gonna lie, I did get beat by an 8 year old. In my defense he was using bumpers and I was not! I did win the second game with an amazing score of 127! Woo!

We spent some time making Father's Day cards. 


Gotta love the classic hand print :)

We finished off the day with a little Wii and Netflix. Overall, I would say the day was a success.

So there ya go. A day in the life of a nanny on a rainy day!

What is your favorite rainy day activity??
I love curling up on the couch in my jammmies with a big mug of coffee and a good movie :)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Good Reads!

I hate to admit it, but I am terrible at reading books! Before you make fun of me, let me explain. I am a great reader! I can read pretty fast and usually retain the information quite well! The part I suck at is finishing a book... I start books and then get bored never finish! 

The last book (series actually) that I actually finished was The Hunger Games.


I found the whole idea of hunger games to be very interesting.  I am pretty sure if it was me I would win!! Ok...maybe not...but my super competitiveness should would help.

Another book I actually finished was Life Without ED.


This book was phenomenal!! The woman is so honest and I could relate to so much. It made me feel not so alone and crazy!  I also liked the little bit of dark humor. For example, referring to an eating disorder as ED.  I like referring to it/him that way.  It makes it easier to talk about. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with an eating disorder. It is also helpful to friends or family of someone struggling. I had my parents and husband read it and they said it helped them understand my thinking a little. 

I wouldn't say this book helped me actually recover, but just made me feel hopeful!  I plan on reading it again now that I am actually "in recovery".

Now for my current read! 


Unbearable Lightness. I am less than half way done, but so far it is really good! It is the story of Portia De Rossi and her struggle with an eating disorder. It talks about how her ED really spiraled out of control once she became a famous actress.  Once again, I love her honesty. I really enjoy hearing and reading stories of those who have recovered or are in recovery! Gives me the hope and strength to keep moving forward with positive actions.

I love reading outside on a nice day! I just can't seem to concentrate when I am inside... I dunno why??


Oh how I love the sun!!  I also discovered a new favorite summer time beverage.


I have always been a fan of Snapple. This mix of iced tea and lemonade is so refreshing! Perfect to sip while enjoying a good book.

I sure hope I finish this book. I will let you know how it goes :)

What is the best book you have read lately??

Monday, June 10, 2013

Monday Funday??

Everybody loves Monday! Right?! Ok...maybe Mondays aren't always that great. This Monday was filled with lots of randomness. I would like to share that randomness with you.

Started out with an early morning swim, followed by some early morning blood work. NO FUN! 

 
I have been told by many nurses that I have very very tiny veins! It took 3 nurses, 4 needles, and about 45 minutes to get blood! I came very close to passing out. But I survived! Best part is I need to get it done again next Monday...

I deserved a little treat!


Hazelnut coffee makes everything better! After replenishing my fluids, I worked in the family cookie business for a few hours. Pretty busy for Father's Day.

Then I watched some Netflix and snuggled with this thing.


It was a stormy day in Pittsburgh and this thing is very scared of thunder. I kept her safe.

Then I decided to whip up a batch of coleslaw! Healthy and tasty!


Very simple recipe.

Whisk together:
1 T ground mustard
2t salt
6 packets splenda
2 c red wine vinegar


Toss with bag of coleslaw, refrigerate overnight, eat!


After making something healthy, I decided to have something not at all healthy.  The husband and I bought these yummy cookies at the store the other day.


Oh goodness are they good! Notice that half are already gone...


I didn't even look at the ingredients because I know I probably couldn't even pronounce most of them. Some unnatural ingredient makes these cookies sooo soft and delicious! Feels good to splurge a bit :)

That's all for this random Monday!

How are you when it comes to needles? Shots? 

What is your favorite store bought treat? 

Dirty Girl!

Saturday was a super messy day! Messy, but fun! I did a Dirty Girl Mud Run with my cousins.  It was a blast.


Our team name was "Off Like a Prom Dress" I thought it was extremely clever.


It was a little chilly but warmed up just enough by our race time.


My cousin Amanda and I were having a great time :)

There were all kinds of obstacles.  Most weren't too difficult, but tons of fun.




Climbing up this rope wall was probably the hardest one!

The race wasn't timed, but being the competitive athlete that I am, I ran the whole thing.  




I ended up losing my team.  But I just kept on running.

As soon as you crossed the finish line, they handed you a nice cold beer :) Now that is my kind of race.

I don't know how, but I managed to stay fairly clean!! Call me a wuss, but I did kinda want to keep my hair from getting too gross...


So tough!! 


So fun! I would absolutely do another race like this.

Have you ever done a mud run??


Thursday, June 6, 2013

Protein Bar Obsession

I will admit it...I have a bit of an obsession/addiction to protein bars! In the craziness of my ED they were about the only substantial thing I ate. Now I am learning how to incorporate them into a healthier diet. 

They are just so convenient. And there are SO many different flavors and sizes! I am a vegetarian so they are an excellent protein source for me. I usually have one for breakfast with a piece of fruit, or as a post workout snack.

I thought it would be fun to share some of the ones I have tried recently. Favorite ones and not so favorite ones! As you will notice, I love trying allll different kinds. Anytime I find a flavor I haven't tried yet, i must buy it!

This is one of my all time favorites! I look for them on sale and stock up. I love the salty and sweet combo.

You may already know that I love chocolate and coconut. This bar could be used as dessert. It is that tasty!

Saw this new flavor so of course I had to buy and try it. Yum! Cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, just like real carrot cake.

Who doesn't love cookie dough!? This is my favorite of the luna protein bars. Soft and chewy.

When I saw the flavor of this bar I knew it would be good! Peanut butter! Nuff said! Reminded me of the inside part of a recees peanut butter cup.

This is probably up there in the top 2. I think it tastes just like a Samoa girl scout cookie! Like dessert for breakfast.

This was another newbie for me. I never like neapolitan ice cream as a kid. I only ate the vanilla part! But this was surprisingly tasty. You could really taste the vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

Anytime I see a s'mores flavored one I always buy and try. This is the best s'more. Hands down! It's got the chocolate, graham cracker crunch, and chewy marshmellow. No fire needed!

This is a BIG one! About 320 calories and 30grams of protein. I usually don't eat ones this big, but if I am doing an extra intense workout, or even as part of a lunh, it's great. Tastes de-lish! Very peanut buttery!

I would not buy this one again. Very artificial lemony tasting. Reminded me of some kind of cleaning product. Ick!

I figured this would have to be good...chocolate and coconut! Eh... Not that great. It had big almond chunks that just didn't seem to fit. Not awful but wont be buying it again.

I usually really like this brand. I like the textute of this one, soft and chewy. The flavor was a little too fake chocolatey for me. 

Well those are some recent bar eats. Since I eat at least one almost every day, I am sure I will be doing another similar post in the future.

Do you eat protein bars on a regular basis?

What is your favorite brand or flavor?

What is the worst one you have tried?