miss me?

I know it's been forever since I blogged but I had a good reason... on top of work, family, garden, life, I've also been growing a little human inside me!  This week I'll be 24 weeks or 6 months along.  Time has flown by and well, my blog has fallen to the wayside.  Not to fret anymore, I'll be starting up blogging once again.

On to more important things... like what's for dinner?

• Sunday: Butternut Squash Soup with chicken in Peanut Sauce
• Monday: Turkey Meatloaf with summer squash and roasted potato
• Taco Tuesday: Shredded Chicken Tacos
• Wednesday: Mac Casserole with Procuitto
• Thursday: Chicken Bacon Ranch Panini ala Pioneer Woman
• Friday:  BBQ Baby Back Ribs Slow Cooker
• Saturday: Out to eat

So much to share so I'll be blogging quite a bit in the upcoming weeks.  Things to come are the annual  Halloween Party,  Fall decor, menus, new recipes, and much much more!

Hooray for Thursday!

Seriously, I've never been more happy as I was last night to know that the dreadful day I was having was about to end.  The day got worse, I broke the shopping cart on our store, Sandbox Lane, added more stuff to the back-end that took FOREVER, cut ANOTHER finger (I now have 3 cuts on my right hand) and burned something in the kitchen.  Worst day ever!

  Today all I can think about is how great the weekend will be.  There's an Ikea trip, pilates, swim class, family, and even a massage for me!  I want to do a little more gardening too.  (I know, I'm addicted).  I HAVE to sheet mulch an area where we had a crazy amount of crab grass on and decide what I really want to plant there.  This area is a wide open spot.  Hopefully this weekend I can take some photos of it and even of the pretty trellis we put up.  Sadly, I have to go Home Depot or a garden center to get more thingies for my water drip system (like my use of technical words? thingies: noun: means it's a little do-dad that connects to the hose to release water).  I sadly because I cannot bear to go into one of those stores without carrying out plants or trees. 

  Are you addicted to any hobby?  

It isn't funny anymore...

Today I really just want to go back to bed an hide since it's that bad. Let's review, shall we?

• Wake up late 
• Body sore from workout yesterday and the Kupcake is wiggling around in my arms.  OUCH
• Get her breakfast ready (waffles and blueberry yogurt).  Waffles went down fine, it was the yogurt that made a major mess...uggh
• Sink full of dishes so guess i'm the lucky one who gets to clean those 
• Did I mention I forgot to make her lunch? Yup, rice is cooking on the stove now.  (just before i left i realized it was done... just burned a few little pieces... oh well)
• Hubby is ready to go for the day so it's my turn, look at that, i have 10 minutes to get ready.  Wait, i was suppose to leave 10 minutes AGO!.
• Brush my teeth and face at same time. get dressed and attempt to put make up (takes less than a minute now) and rush into kitchen, make my coffee mug up and toss breakfast in my handbag (breakfast is greek yogurt with banana and blueberries - no it wasn't my daughter's I made a small batch for me to take with).  
• Kiss hubby and Kupcake goodbye and open the door to find the sprinklers on, great!  I really wanted to get wet before I get in my car. 
• Get in car to realize I'm out of gas.  When I say out I mean OUT!  I coasted straight to the gas station and think if it wasn't downhill I would have been screwed.  Well, coasted is a strong word since our bridge exit is being worked on so TRAFFIC where there shouldn't be traffic.  yea.  
• Proceed to get gas, went to a 76 gas station and paid $76!  ~~insert tear~~ oh, you know that coffee mug I made up? well, it's on the countertop at home so i buy some coffee while my car is sucking my savings account away.
• Drive was okay except for the bus I got stuck behind and the car that swerved THIS CLOSE to my car. Oh, and my transponder to get into our parking garage? It's somewhere in the back seat, the Kupcake was fussy so I tossed it at her yesterday. (tossed = handed it to her) Had to pull over to find it and managed to almost get hit by another car.  
• Moving on... out of the car and walking into work, realizing how FREAKING chilly it is.  walk fast, almost trip and manage not only spill a little bit of coffee on me.  go me.
• Work? well, my computer crashed last Friday.  It reverted a report back a few days, I sent it out this morning with old data and didn't realize it.  Got reamed for mistake.  

I think that sums up the fantastic morning I'm NOT having.   I know I probably didn't get it all but you get the point.  Can the rest of the day get any better?

P.S. Just heard my boss make a major mistake...  is it wrong that it actually made me feel better?  HAHA

Happy for the new week...

What a wonderful weekend!  It was just perfect (aside from the Groupon/Dominos issue Saturday night that got fixed Sunday morning via Groupon). It was filled with lots of swim class, family time, shopping, gardening, some inventory, a little cooking, and a whole lotta laughter.  We finally added a trellis for our grapes this year and super excited to watch it grow.  Must take some photos this week of it.  We also planted more strawberries and got a few more plants (cucumbers, snap peas, and more cucumbers).  I have NO CLUE where I'm going to put them but I will find a place.  I always do.  I harvested about 5 lbs of lettuce and bot choy.  It was just screaming for me to snap up and can't wait to start harvesting the celery too!  All in all, it was a great weekend.

Let's plan dinner shall we?

• Sunday: Homemade Meat Lovers Pizza (italian sausage, pepperoni, prosciutto, oh my!)
• Monday: Chicken Satay (Trader Joe's) with wild rice and asparagus
• Tuesday: Marinated Chicken (in a balsamic glaze) over salad
• Wednesday: Veggie Frittata*
• Thursday: Sloppy Turkey Joe's and kale chips (hubby's new favorite)
• Friday:Homemade Beans in the slow cooker*
• Saturday: Out to eat

* denotes meals in the slow cooker/ new recipe list

Let's see, whats on the weekly to-do list?

• Fix irrigation on the hill
• Sheet mulch the crab grass. 
• Add cover to the blueberries and strawberries (evil birds!)
• workout 5 times (run 10 miles)
• Ikea trip (YAY YAY YAY!!!)
• Work on Easter stuff
• Relax

This week is shaping up to a great week.  The weather is looking up and I'm finally back in the routine of working out.  I even went to spin class today!  :)

Any fun plans for the week?

Wordless Wednesday

Crazy hair = crazy girl

Backyard gardening... photos...

Finally photos of the garden...

I love this photo, you really get an idea of how very LONG the garden is now and then at the end is the Kupcake on her swing.

Squash plants (crook neck and zucchini)

Kale that is ready to harvest and tomato plants

corn and sunflowers (soooo need to weed)

Ripe strawberries

brussels sprouts, lettuce, swiss chard, and in the back near the fence thing, bush beans

Our shade garden: Cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli

What's not photographed is: watermelon, cantelope, bot choy, celery, carrots, garlic, and our tabletop lettuce container garden.

Today I had the most fantastic salad with lettuce and bot choy from the garden.  The flavors were amazing!  Hopefully tonight I can finally spray the plants with a homemade pesticide (made up of garlic, onion and dishsoap).

Have you started up your garden yet?

 

Feeling content

That is the best way to describe the weekend!  Last week's weather was uber hot but the weekend was just pleasant as can be!  Warm but not hot, just right.  Our little Kupcake had her first swim lesson and she did so good!  It was so cute to see all the little kids in the water and what was even better was to see all the dads in the water too with their children!  I played paparazzi and took a ton of photos.  In the afternoon we did an Earth Day Festival promoting green living for babies.  It was wonderful talking to a lot of parents and grand parents about it and teaching them alternatives.  Sunday, we went on a walk and had a play date with some of our friends and it was so much fun to watch the kids play with each other.  I think the Kupcake taught the other momma what needs to be child proofed in their home!  HAHA!  It was a quiet evening with the hubby out of town so dinner consisted of frozen burritos.  YUM! Let's see what we'll eat for the rest of the week:

• Sunday:   frozen burritos
• Monday:  cereal
• Tuesday:  fried rice with veggies
• Wednesday: Ribs* (will post recipe this week!  ☺) and kale chips*
• Thursday:  chicken tacos
• Friday:  terriyaki salmon salad
• Saturday:  ???

**denotes slow cooker and new recipe

What's on the agenda for this week?

• Photos of the garden.  Going to do this this week, i promise!  I've been bad but now that everything is blooming and I figured out how to upload photos via bluetooth from my camera, I will make this a priority this week.
• Work out 5 times. (one down already!  YEA)
• Put away laundry.  I have a few loads sicking in baskets.  
• Clean my room.  I don't know how it gets messy but it does.
• Finish weeding
• Work on online store and put some sales up
• Spray garden with homemade pest control (organic)
• Turn in paperwork for Earth Day Festivals coming up
• Plant blueberry bushes the hubby bought for the Kupcake. She LOVES blueberries like no tomorrow!
• Do the 30day shred DVD at least twice this week.  (I need a kick start)

Seems like a lot of stuff but it isn't.  In fact, I'm looking forward to everything on this list!

What are you excited this week will bring?

Huffing and Puffing along...

This weekend was another good one.  There was a big running/walking event in our neck of the woods.  The hubby did the 10k and walked with us on the 5k.  My lungs aren't back to normal yet but it felt good to get out there. We also had a few brunch dates with our friends.  It was so fun to see the kids together and spend some quality time with other new parents.  The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed.  Did a lot of inventory and restocking among other things.  Let's just move on to dinner:

• Sunday:  Turkey Panini's and roasted artichoke hearts and potatoes
• Monday:  Baby back Ribs* and sweet potato fries
• Tuesday:  Taco Pizza
• Wednesday:  Chicken Satay* and veggies
• Thursday:  Pasta Casserole
• Friday: Fish or something...
• Saturday:  take out

*denotes Crockpot or new meal

This week is a busy busy one.  We have alot of stuff to do to get ready for a Earth Day Festival we'll be at.

It's a little crazy how fast this month went.  Can you believe next week is going to April?

Wordless Wednesday

I did not buy the bib for her...

Booked...

Finally... I convinced the hubby that we need to get away before the Kupcake's first birthday and figured out this was the perfect opportunity to head up north to Portland and Seattle (YEA!!!!! I LOVE THIS TOWN).  We are flying to Portland, spending a few days there, taking the train to Seattle (been there, loved that) and spend another few days before flying back home.  So excited! 

Goal now is start pricelining rooms and checking LivingSocial and Groupon on find any cool deals daily.

We've been to Seattle a bunch of times and I've been to Portland for two days and really only saw the Japanese Garden there.  Any suggestions on things to do in Portland?  Thanks!

I'm alive!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had/have the worst cold/flu/bronchitis/yuckiness in decades last week and am finally feeling more like myself (still a bit sick though).  Away from the drug induced haze I was living in, I tossed all blogging, working, socializing, living, out the window for sleep and a tissue.  By the weekend I was actually talking like a normal human without hacking up a lung or two and dragged the family out to Santa Barbara for some zoo action and bonding time.  It was oodles of fun but when we got home, I crashed once again.  On Sunday, I woke feeling like I needed something filling (since I was barely eating, throat hurt to much to even think about swallowing).  I made Banana Flax seed Waffles, Strawberry Blueberry syrup and a few sausage links.  Oh boy was it yummy.  It poured cats and dogs and we proceeded to be holed up all day chasing the precocious little girl around and trying to eat the house by baking and cooking.  I made a few different types of cookies (Kitchen Sink and Double Chocolate Cranberry), a batch of Ham and Corn Chowder, and even some veggies for the rugrat.  It was good.  By the end of the night we finished cleaning the house (something that didn't get done all week), did laundry, and even dinner planned.  Let's see what we'll be chowing down on:

• Monday:  Mushroom and Asparagus Quiche
• Tuesday:  Sausage Pizza with salad
• Wednesday:  Chicken Satay with swiss chard quinoa
• Thursday: Ham and Swiss Paninis
• Friday:  Fish
• Saturday:  Burritos
• Sunday:  Soup --undecided what kind

  Nice and easy dinners, nothing fancy over here.  This week I'll be recovering as fast as I can so I can do the race this weekend.  At the moment, running isn't an option since I'm on two different types of inhalers.  I just hope I can finish.

As for what do I have to do this week?

• Photos of the garden (seriously... i'm sure you sick of me talking about this and not showing you)
• redesign blog  (yup, it's finally time for this)
• rest

Yup, I'm busy!  I'll be back to blogging on schedule.  I hate getting sick and I think what was worse than before is being sick with my daughter.  Poor girl was one big snot ball.  This morning I'm happy to report she was able to breathe without me suctioning her nose ever 15 minutes!

  Have you gotten hit by this year's cold? 

Wordless Wednesday

Fun filled weekend in the backyard

I had the most perfect weekend any dirt loving girl could have.  On Saturday morning, thanks to forgetting what Pilates class I signed up for I was early and got a chance to go buy plants.  I spend the afternoon repotting and seeding, and planting lots of different things like: cabbage, purple king beans, broccoli, corn, squash, zucchini, strawberries, cantaloupe, and watermelon.  I cleaned and tilled and got dirt all over myself and it was just pure bliss.  on Sunday, we took advantage of OSH's no tax sale and bought more dirt, solar lights, irrigation kit, grass seed, and other fun goodies.  It was PARADISE!  Nothing is better than the smell of fresh dirt!  After lunch, my friend and I spend the afternoon putting in the irrigation system, planting lots of sunflowers, garlic, and cauliflower.  Everything is sprouting and blossoming I really need to take some photos to share.  It is just so nice that we have that extra hour now of light.  Now if only I can get the Kupcake's schedule back to normal!  :)

  Now onto this week's dinner menu:

• Sunday: Take out-didn't feeling like cooking
• Monday:  Chicken Pot Pie (with crockpot chicken*) -- Happy ╥ Day!
• Tuesday:  Leftover chicken & garlic lemon pasta
• Wedensday:  Cuban Sandwiches & spring salad
• Thursday: Shepard's Pie* -- Happy St. Patty's day!!
• Friday:  Grilled Salmon & veggies
• Saturday:  eat out...

    *falls into my new meal and slow cooker meal of the week

Looking forward to this week's meals.  What is on the weekly to do list?

• Run!  RUN LOTS!  12 days away till my next 5k race. 
• Start working on Kupcake's first birthday decorations... will talk more about it later.
• Clean up the website
• Finish cleaning our room (seriously, you'd think that I'd want to keep my own private space nice and clean.)
• Get everything ready for a garage sale this weekend
• Finish irrigation system
• lay rock border for shade garden

Yup, that's about it.  This week should be a good one.  I still have to get used to the new time change.  The alarm went off just a little too early for me today!  Need to acclimate myself!

How is your week shaping up?  Doing anything fun?

Day 13....

No garden photos. Maybe tmw. Did zero food prep and just relaxed. Felt nice. This fulfills my Post of the day requirement!

G'night!

Sent from my iPhone

Perfect day

Pilates and strawberries
More Itty bitty teeth
Seeds and dirt
Shopping and naps
Paninis and dvr
Cuddling and sleep

Taking a moment...

Living in Southern California, I grew up with the notion that an earthquake could hit anytime.  We were taught about getting under our desks and even had a homemade earthquake bag I made in my sock drawer (I don't even know if my mom knew it was there).  Still, when they hit, it's traumatic and throws you for a loop, even if it's just for 10 minutes after.  My hubby lived through the Northridge earthquake in '94 and his house had extensive damage.  His school was condemned and they moved locations and went to doing half days the rest of the year to accommodate. I lived in a town that at one point was the earthquake capital of the world and Sony even made a commercial about it.  Still, when you live with them and hear about them hitting somewhere else and the devastation it causes, you have to take a moment and say a prayer for all those people and hope the damage isn't that bad. 

  To my friends in Japan, know that we are thinking and praying for you and your families.  We hope you are all okay and the damage to your homes are unsubstantial. 

Kitchen Sink Cookies Recipe

You know sometimes you just need that sweet fix and don't know what to make?  What about kitchen sink cookies!  I made a few nights ago because I needed something like I needed a million bucks.  I had to have something yummy but didn't know what to make.  I started pulling out a bunch of things from the pantry and fridge and ended up with these!

Kitchen Sink Cookies

makes 1.5 dozen small cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour (I used rice/whole wheat flour mix)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
• 2 dates chopped up
• 2 tbsp coconut 
• 1 tbsp chopped walnuts
• 1/6 cup chocolate (I have a bar of baking chocolate so I just cut off some)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven for 375°
• Toss everything together
• Bake for 10 minutes

  The nice thing about these cookies is that 2-3 of them does the trick and the rest can go in the cookie jar!

Wordless Wednesday

Celebrating Mardi Gras: Slow Cooker Jambalaya and Bread Pudding Recipe

In our house, today is the day where we let loose and savor things we might give up for lent.  This year, I decided to make some Jambalaya for dinner and Bread Pudding for dessert to really get in the mood!  Now I don't have all day slaving over the stove so I tossed dinner in the slow cooker and the dessert into a pan for the oven when I get home! 

Slow Cooker Jambalaya
serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 2 sausages (I used sweet pork italian sausage)
• 1 cup of celery
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1.5 cups water
• Cajun seasoning (to taste)
• Cayenne pepper (to taste)
• Seasoning salt (to taste) 
• Oregano (to taste)
• Thyme (to taste)
• Parsley (to taste)
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 cup of tomatoes diced
• 1 cup wild rice

Directions:

• Cut up chicken and sausage.  Toss chicken into pot and pan sear sausage, then add into pot.
• Cut up tomatoes, celery and onion and garlic and toss into pot
• Add 1 cup of broth and 1.5 cups of waters save the 1/2 cup broth for rice
• Add seasonings
• Turn on 8-10 hours on low
• In the afternoon, make the rice with water and add the 1/2 cup of broth for flavoring.  When finished, add into pot.

It was sooo good!  Usually Jambalaya has shrimp but the hubby isn't a fan so I cooked some on the side for me. Definitely going to make this again!  

Bread Pudding

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 french rolls
• 1 tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 Vanilla fat free coffee creamer
• 1/8 cup Splenda
• 1 tbsp Raisins

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Chop up rolls into 1 inch squares
• In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients
• Spray dish with Cooking spray and toss in rolls and pour the mix on top
• Cook for 45 minutes (until golden)

Serve Warm... Oh soo good!

The good and the bad...

That is the best way to explain the weekend.  Saturday was amazing while Sunday... not so much.  First thing in the morning the hubby threw out his back and became immobile for the rest of the day.  Taking care of the kupcake is one thing, taking care of a person how is at least 8 inches taller than me is another.  Then to top it off I had to take today off so I could be his servant help him.  He's feeling much better and fingers crossed that by Wednesday he'll be able to wait on me.  ☺

Now since I'm so tired from cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening (of course I'd toss some of that in), I'm just going to get down to this week's menu:

• Sunday:  Easy Quesadillas
• Monday:  Turkey Burgers
• Tuesday:  Slow Cooker Jambalaya*  (Happy Mardi Gras Y'all!!)
• Wednesday:  Fish and Chips
• Thursday:  Turkey and Artichoke Paninis
• Friday:  Mahi Mahi
• Saturday:  Eat out?!

 *falls into my new meal and slow cooker meal of the week

  Now, what's on the agenda for this week?

• Gym Gym GYM!!! Go at least 3 times.  
• Pilates classes (2 -get certified to go up a level)
• Put away clothes
• Clean room
• Finish getting the shade garden ready
• Plan a side dish for get-together on Saturday afternoon
• Set up the teddy bear's physical
• Go to bed before 11pm

Yup, that's me in a nut shell.  Now, I'm utterly beat.  Until tomorrow, peace!

Waffle Mania

Ever since this bad boy came into our house we've griddling like there's no tomorrow.  We got a Cuisinart® Griddler® because we just die over panini's and this seemed like the best one out there.  When I found out that you can buy waffle plates that attach I was all over it and ordered them quickly.  When they all came, it was like our kitchen appliance cabinet was complete and filling a void.  The first day we made them, I didn't have a clue what I was doing and didn't do the best job, but the second day, I knocked it out of the park.  This weekend I decided to change things up and made some amazing Blueberry Banana flax seed Waffles with strawberry sauce. Even the Kupcake loved them.  Here's what we did:

Blueberry Banana Flax Seed Waffles 
with Strawberry Sauce

Makes 12 waffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of regular flour
• 1/2 cup of rice flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 1 egg
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 teaspoons of flax seed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce:

• 2 cups of cut up strawberries
• 1 teaspoon of Splenda (to sweeten up)
• 1 splash of Balsamic vinegar 

Directions:

1. Turn waffle iron on to highest setting
2. Mix dry ingredients together (this include flax seed)
3. Separate egg and mix in yolk, almond milk, extract, blueberries
4. Mash in Banana
5. In a Separate bowl, mix egg white till fluffy and fold in last.
6. Spray waffle iron with Pam and pour mixture in waffle and cook for appropriate amount of time (I cook ours for 3.5 minutes).
7. While they are cooking, heat up sauce pan and toss in all sauce ingredients.  Let mix simmer and mash up strawberries in there. If you want it a little more runny, add just a splash of water.  
8. Serve up and eat!

Nutritional information for waffles and sauce (1 waffle and dollip of sauce is one serving):

Enjoy!!!

Today was filled with...

Little giggles and big smiles
Perfect weather
Pilates classes
In & Out grilled cheese
Family and a big bird chair
Hedgehogs and foxes
Dirt and blueberries
Crock pot dinner
Apple crisp and movies

Just another Saturday in Little Miss Planner's life.

The backyard... the evolution of our suburban homestead.

I always loved to garden since I was little girl.  During spring break in junior high and high school, my parents would buy me 6 packs of flowers to plant in the front yard.  I never thought about planting anything else.  That is what my mom did.  When I moved on my own, I never thought about it again.  It wasn't until we moved to our home did I toy with the idea of growing a vegetable garden.  Our backyard has been revolving since the year we moved in.  First it was just simple as adding some flowers.  Then we took the leap and with a good friend who knew a lot about all this stuff, he helped us add a retaining wall to start a small garden back in 2009. 

Then I got bored and needed to expand. I talked my friend into helping again and we added onto that:

Two years past (didn't do much last year since I was growing a baby instead!) and I decided that I wanted to do more and we added yet again...

In total now, the garden is about 30 feet long and two tiers to grow whatever we like.  Thank you Southern California for a good grow zone!!!

Then while we were borrowing a friend's chainsaw, we decided to cut down a tree (the one on the far right on this photo):

Planted a concord grapes, hung a swing for the Kupcake, laid pepples over the dirt (nothing grew here because of the tree roots) and turned the remaining area into our grilling area. (Note our mini compost bin to the right of the covered grill.  I asked for a heavy duty one for mother's day! ☺)

With all that, we done, we still have a container garden.  We decided to keep all the herbs together (except for basil since that is going to scattered all over the garden) near the door.

It's come such a long way sometimes I forget how little we started.  Right now, in the garden we have quite a few things growing:

• Brussels Sprouts
• Artichokes
• 4 kinds of Tomatoes (heirloom - 2 types, cherry, and grape)
• Celery
• Sweet Onions
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Strawberries
• Bok Choy
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• 2 types of Grapes (Concord and Thompson)
• Apple Tree
• Orange Tree
• Plum Tree

 This weekend we are going to add a few more blueberry bushes and perhaps toy with planting the corn too.  I want to make one more run to Home Depot to see if I can find a date tree.  I'm just in love with dates now.  We are also going to start a shade garden for the Cabbage family plants and hopefully I can get that up and running too.    

What are you growing anything this year?

mmmm.... peanut butter!

If you know me, I have a fascination for all things peanut buttery.  It's the cat's pajamas and to say I love love love it is a vast understatement.  When I heard it was National Peanut Butter Month (YEA!!!) I decided I will celebrate weekly by making forms of peanuty goodness at least once a week. This week I made Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal cookies.  OMG it was delish!  I had about a trillion of them (okay, I had two but would have had more but they fill you up).  I knew once I tasted them I had to share the recipe.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup of regular flour
• 1/2 cup of brown rice flour
• 2 cups of oatmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (or one small container) of apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of splenda
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's Organic non salted peanut butter)
• 2 teaspoons of natural honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients together in small bowl until fluffy, then add into big bowl and mix together.
4. Spray pan with Pam and spoon out cookie mix.  Push down each cookie so it's flat and not rounded.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. While cookies are baking, mix and mash all the topping ingredients together.
7. After Baking, take out and let cool on rack.
8. After they are cool, spoon the topping mix on top.
9. Eat!

They are just too good to be true.  I made about 36 of them.  You can always use regular flour instead of the mix of flours I used.  I've been toying with healthifying recipes I find hence the apple sauce instead of oil and Splenda instead of regular sugar.  If you use regular sugar, use 1 cup.  

Wordless Wednesday

Hello March!!!

  So did anyone notice that we are in the third month of 2011?  Where did the time go?!    I think this month I'll tackle another goal on my list, blog for two months straight.  I have a feeling it's going to be rough at times and there will be posts coming from my phone at 11:59pm but what can you do?!

  It's weird to think that Summer is around the corner and Spring is knocking on the door.  I'm happy that it's here and we can start enjoying more time outside.  This means more gardening, more outdoor dinners, more walks, more outside.  It isn't like we don't have weather the rest of the nation is basically jealous of, it's the fact we'll have more sun in the day.  I'm looking forward to it all. 

  What are you looking forward to this month?

Nothing but Blue Skies....

We had a big downpour on Friday but on Saturday, the storm that was suppose to dump snow in our backyard decided to head north and instead we got beautiful blue skies. We were completely bummed but what can you do, I guess we'll just have to make a trip up to the mountains to see snow this year.  Aside from that, the weekend was just simply wonderful.  We got more plants (a few more tomato plants and two blueberry bushes).  I am thinking of trying to find a fig or date tree this week too, yummmmmm!  I've started to get better about working out again which is nice.  I'm finally not all talk, I'm also action.  I can still feel my abs from my morning of pilates on Saturday.  Sunday I fixed that nagging feeling and did some reorganization in the kitchen.  I think I will finish up cleaning out the pantry tonight and I can breathe again.  :) 

Now, what's for dinner this week?

• Sunday: Chicken Satay in peanut sauce and Garlic Sesame Broccoli
• Monday: Blood Orange Tofu* (inspired by Iowa Girl Eats) with stir fry Bok Choy & Carrots
• Tuesday: Trader Joe's Pizza and backyard Salad (Hooray we have Lettuce!!!)
• Wednesday: Taco Salad
• Thursday:  Chicken and Rice Casserole (crockpot style)*
• Friday: Mahi Mahi Tacos
• Saturday:  Pulled Pork Nachos

 *is part of the new recipe and crockpot meal item on the yearly to-do list

So excited for this week's meals.  I think we will officially start doing one vegetarian meal a week now this way we won't get tired of the same proteins since there are only 3 types (bird, fish, pork) we eat.  I'm also excited to finally start a little harvesting, granted it's only just lettuce but still. This week is a busy one, filled with gym trips and pilates classes.  Let's see what's in store:

• Go to the gym 3 times
• Go to Pilates twice
• Finish organizing pantry
• plant blueberry plants
• Create a new waffle recipe... will blog more about it this week
• Really post about the garden
• Get side garden set up for cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage.
• Find a fig or date tree and buy it 

  What an exciting week coming up and to top it off, it's March tomorrow!  What are you looking forward to this week?  

My heart is bursting...

...because my heart if full.  Happy Valentine's day everyone!  I'm a sucker for this holiday!  My first valentine's with the hubby (before he got upgraded to hubby status) I  got 30 heart shaped balloons and placed them in his condo and on the end of each one, I wrote a reason I loved him.  This year, I didn't do any grand gesture, just made dinner (it's a casserole, pop in oven and woolah) and going to have a relaxing night in.  I know, we are just WILD aren't we!  I did however help the kupcake make a few valentines for her grandparents and one of her buddies (that I delievered late last night).  This morning I decked her out in a festive top and just gave her the biggest cuddles I could!  I love my little girl! 

Moving on, how was everyone's weekend?  We worked on the garden more and even planted a few more goodies!  Late last night we planned dinner and I even prepped some stuff, been a while since I did that!  So what are we eating?

• Monday: Macaroni Casserole with Garlic bread  (Hubby choose this one) 
• Tuesday: Burger Pizza
• Wednesday: Butternut squash soup with popcorn chicken
• Thursday: Hawaiian Pork* with roasted corn
• Friday - Sunday : Out of town

*is part of the new recipe and crockpot meal item on the yearly to-do list

This week is filled with comfort foods.  I'm so excited.  I think it's just what the doctor ordered too since it's going to be a little chilly in our neck of the woods.  In other news, I'm quite excited for our trip out of town.  We are going to New Mexico to visit my relatives and can't wait, I hope there will be lots of home-cooked meals there too.  :)  DROOL! 

Onto the weekly to-do list:

• Run at LEAST 5 miles before we leave. Is that too much to ask? I think not!
• Do the workout video at least twice.  
• Pack 
• Make kupcake meals and freeze to take with.  Always easier and better than buying baby food
• Update the blog with garden updates with PHOTOS!!!  finally took some, now just need to do this.
• Update inventory on the store
•  Figure out a way to keep the cat out of the garden.  

That's my week.  Fun filled and exciting huh!

  What is your favorite part of Valentine's day? 

Little Miss Klutz

That's what I should rename the blog for today.  If I was in the audience watching my life today, I'd be on the floor laughing my head off (and probably covered in bubble gum and pop corn because you know that's what on the floor when you think of audience, right?).  Life was all well and good when the day started.  The kupcake slept through the entire night in her crib and awake at 630.  She ate her blueberry oatmeal nice and early and we even got a chance to have a good morning.  No rushing at all.  I was ready to be out the door by 8 when I went to pick up my lunch bag and wham, hit my travel mug and my coffee went SPLAT.  16 ounces of sweet goodness otherwise known as Decaf Hazelnut Coffee.  A million F bombs filled my head but none came flying out. I just sighed and started to clean it up all the while the sweet smell permeated the room and the hubby got wind of it.  He moaned and hawed how it stunk (he hates hazelnut, what a weirdo!).  I cleaned it up and with some 7th Generation spray and now the house smelled like herbs.  After the fiasco, I made another cup of delights and ran to work. 

  On the way in, I was caught behind every slow poke out there.  I somehow managed to get to off the freeway without losing my cool and while stuck at the light, I decided to take a sip of my coffee, BURNT my tongue.  EEK!  Moving on, once I got into the office, and got situated, I went off to warm up my oatmeal (I made a big batch Sunday night for the work week).  What did I do this time?  I put it into long and it bubbled over and made a big mess.  Oh, I think somewhere I even dripped almond milk all over the counter tops too.  I'm shocked that I made it to my desk without walking into someone with it. 

  I'm a bit fearful for the rest of the day.  Who knows how I'll survive without making a complete mess.  I'm even afraid for the stairwell, knowing me I'll trip on the last step.   With all this said, I'm still in a good mood.  I think I'm still relishing on the kupcake sleeping through the night all by herself. 

Ever have one of those mornings where you feel like you are just one big hazard sign?

Cold...

...it is not here.  I spent the weekend in a tank top and shorts.  The joys of living in southern California where chilly is 60. (not it was not 60, it was closer to 80 here)  The weekend was a good one.  A little bit of this and a little bit of that.  There was some gardening (YEA, the dirt is ready to start planting in), a swing was hung for the kupcake, and an overnight trip was taken to the happiest place on Earth.  We even watched a football game, got in some pilates, took a long walk with my friend and her munchkin, made taco salad, and folded some clothes.  It was everything we wanted it to be, it was a perfect weekend.  Now because it was so perfect, there is always something that tends to drop off the radar and that was food prep.  I was so relaxed we didn't even plan our dinners until LATE (okay 730).

So what's for dinner?

• Monday:  Sloppy Joes (turkey style)
• Tuesday: Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole *
• Wednesday: Sushi with Friends
• Thursday:  Asain Style Pork Wraps*
• Friday: Spaghetti
• Saturday:  Eat out
• Sunday: Chicken Fingers and Butternut Squash Soup

* works for the things to do list (slow cooker and new recipe)

  I'm looking foward to this week's meals but afraid I don't get lazy and just ask the hubby "can't we just pick something up?!"  I did that last week, I felt guilty afterward but when you are tired, you are tired.

What's on the weekly to do list?

• Workout  (more than just pilates)
• Plant broccoli, bok choy, and garlic
• Get top shelf of garden ready to plant (buy more dirt)
• Ebay some items
• Pick up a few things at the grocery store
• Clean media room and guest room
• toss dead plants (every year we get this lofty idea that big plants would look great in the house, then we buy them and kill them.  I have two dead plant corpses in the media room now.  very sad)

Looking forward to yet another week.  It's funny, I don't dread Monday's like I used to.  Now I just think of them as telescope to the the weekend.  Hope you are all having a great Monday so far!

  How do you find inspiration for your meals? Do you plan them in advance?

Good bye January, HELLO FEBRUARY!!!

Happy Monday everyone!  Where did the month go?  Seriously, I could have sworn it was just New Year's.  I have to say I'm in a rather chipper mood today.  I don't know if it's because it's chilly-willy outside or that my backyard is one step closer to being everything we want it to be.  The addition to the garden isn't quite there yet but holy moly is the the new BBQ area pretty groovy!  I can't wait to show you all our hard work but until then, you'll just have to take our word for it.  I think we have about 3 more hours of shovel duty until I can show the "fruits" of our labor!  :)

  I have to admit something, I didn't do the best job planning dinner this week.  I feel as if it's a bit redundant for some reason.  Oh well, let's see what we are eating:

• Mon:  Slow Cooked Chicken*
• Tues:  Burger Pizza*
• Wed: Spaghetti*
• Thur: Chicken Stir Fry
• Fri:    Pulled pork sandwiches
• Sat:   Eating out
• Sun:  Taco Salad and the SUPERBOWL

* works for the things to do list (slow cooker and new recipe)
 
Yup... that's it.  Nothing fancy.  For food prep, I didn't do any.  I just made dinner (Turkey Meatloaf and my goodness was it DA BOMB! BEST EVER!!!!)  I just wasn't enthused.  I did my usual shopping at Trader Joe's and wasn't... inspired.  Usually browsing through the produce section gets me excited but not this time.  I think the only thing different I bought was sweet potato slices for the kupcake to eat this week.  I think next weekend I'll need to run by one of the farmer's markets in our area and hope to find something different. I need variety!  Come on spring veggies, start growing!!!


Onto this week's to do list:

• EBay a few things
• Start making a pile for garage sale. 
• Clean media room
• Finish moving dirt for the garden
• Repot front pot 
• Relax
• RUN... i need to RUN RUN RUN!

  In other news, I'm become obsessed with my new skillet.  I'm in absolute love with it.  I even want to toss all my frying pans away and just run off with this one. I'm currently toying with cleaning out the pans (they are good but do I need them all?) we have and just owning a few key pieces.  Still undecided.  Is that wrong?  Do I really need frying pans when I have such an amazing skillet? What do you think?

Photo Source

Joss and Main... sweet deals on kitchen and other household items

You know all those supercool, in the know websites that have bargain deals?  A new one just popped up and want to share it with you.  It's called Joss and Main.  They have some fantastic deals on cookware and household things.  If you join now, you get $15 credit for your first purchase (when you spend $50)!  There are great deals like this sauce pan for $40.95!!!  (It's on sale for 55$ from $135, use your $15 credit)

Now, go Join!!!

Coffee on a Monday Morning...

There isn't anything better, wouldn't you agree?  After the weekend, I totally felt like coming to work was going to be my vacation since we were so busy but I am S W A M P E D.  Not only did we terrorize the backyard by adding onto the garden and chopping down a tree (when I say we, I mean the hubby and our good friend, I was supervising from the inside with the kupcake). We also cleaned to high heaven (still need to do a little more, yuck).  I am happy to report though we did a lot with the 48 hours we had.  Even food prepping tired me out, I chopped, sauteed, boiled, and packaged quite a few things for this week's dinners.  So what are we eating this week?

• Sunday:  Chicken Pot Pie
• Monday:  leftovers (i'm on my own)
• Tuesday:  Chicken and Broccoli Pie with Orzo & Swiss Chard
• Wednesday: French Dip Sandwiches with Quinoa & Kale, Turnip Fries
• Thursday: N'awlins Stuffed Bell Peppers with Collard Greens
• Friday:  Chicken Tortilla Soup*
• Saturday:  Eat out!

*completes the yearly to do list (crock pot and new recipe)

I'm so excited to try a bunch of new recipes and new foods.  Almost everything we are eating comes from new recipes.  The only things I need to do this week is the au jus for the French Dip Sandwiches and Thursday's dinner.  This entire menu was inspired by the box of produce we got.

On to list of things to do this week:

• Finish building extention on the garden
• Work and Finalize plans for Trellis 
• Complete BBQ ground area (will go into this later)
• Plant more
• Clean bathrooms (Lame)
• Repot two planters
• bake 
• Run during my lunch breaks
• Hang Swing

I think the backyard is going to keep us busy for the next week and am excited to show you everything we've done so far (it entails a chainsaws!).

  How was your weekend? 

Color seeping in

In your wardrobe that is. When do you add more color? In winter, I tend to fall into shades of dark purples, navy blues, greys, all shades of brown, camel, black and ivory. I love me some dark blends but with the sun just shining through the windows I feel like I need a break.  Now that January is almost over I was wondering when should I start adding in that splash of lemon yellow or a burst of berry. Or do I all out and just jump into spring with lots of color.


Now if I won the lotto, I'd totally go all out and buy a brand new wardrobe like these off to the side. I'm not, so this will just be my inspirations. For now, I will be just be shopping for a few key tops and some scarves to add that splash I'm in need of.

  What is the one type of clothing you always must buy for springtime?

springtime by lilmissplanner featuring steve madden shoes

Trying to stay hip... CSN Preview...

  We've always tried to live a hip existence.  I think I use clothing, travel, and decor to mask my unhip-ness and inner geek.  Having a kid, kinda kept me off the map on what is trending now and what is cool.   With the house, I knew I needed some help with  modern décor.  In the middle of flipping through websites and trying to find splashes o' fun while not spending a boat load for a gazelle (was it a gazelle Joey bought and if you get that reference you are hip!) that will look tacky in 3 months, I received a great opportunity to help me out.  CSN stores is literally wonder to be hold.  They have everything under the sun and gave me a chance to do a review on one of their stores that feature items for  just what I was looking for. 


  Looking at all our options from vases, figurines, fireplace accessories, and everything else under the sun, we decided that adding some accent pillows will give our room that pop it needs to keep us looking and feeling a little hip.  Not to crazy but just enough to say we can be whimsical too? No? yes?  Just right?! 


  I can't wait for them to arrive and see how it looks.  I have a feeling all this will do is make me want to spruce up the room more and poor hubby will have yet another project on his hands.  


Thanks CSN for the opportunity to preach about your awesomeness!


This blogger received a promo code and did not receive financial compensation. 

A Farmer's Market at my front door...

A few weeks ago, Groupon offered one for a company called Farm Fresh to you.  I was really intrigued by co-op farms and this was similar to that and was orgainic too so when it came along I had to try it out.  I bought the Groupon and quickly signed up to get  a box of veggies.  Little did I know I would get so much!

In the box, I received:

• 2 Red Bell Peppers
• 1 Bunch of Broccoli
• 1 Bunch of Mixed Chard
• 1 Bunch of Mixed Kale
• 1 lb of Purple Top Turnips
• 1 Bunch of Nantes Carrots
• 1 Bunch of Bunched Collard
• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 lb of Mixed Baby Lettuce
• 1 lb of Klamath Pearl Potato
• 1 lb of Yellow Onion

I'm so excited to cook up some great meals with all this yummy food.  If you are interested, you should definitely try it out!  Here is a promo code for $5.00 off your first order:  6164.  You can cancel after your first order.

  Now I'm off to start planning next week's meals with all this goodness!

Square foot gardening.

A few friends of mine asked me where to start if you've never really grew anything before.  I always love to tell them about square foot gardening.  I think it's a great stepping stone to growing without going big or broke.

Square Foot Gardening is the practice of planning small but intensively planted gardens.
The original square-foot-gardening method used an open-bottomed box to contain a finite amount of soil, which was divided with a grid into sections. To encourage variety of different crops over time, each square would be planted with a different kind of plant, the number of plants per square depending on an individual plant's size. A single tomato plant might take a full square, as might herbs such as oregano, basil or mint, while most strawberry plants could be planted four per square, with up to sixteen radishes per square. Tall or climbing plants such as maize or pole beans might be planted in a northern row (south in the southern hemisphere) so as not to shade other plants, and supported with lattice or netting.
The logic behind using smaller beds is that they are easily adapted, and the gardener can easily reach the entire area, without stepping on and compacting the soil. 

                                    --Thank you Wikipiedia



Photo Source


  Basically all you need is a spot to grow (can be in the ground or raised with wood or cinder blocks for the sides), soil, string (to make your squares), nails/screws (to hold down the string) seeds and a means to water the garden.  It really is that easy.  The more it grows, the more you will learn, like how to get rid of bugs that eat your plants (tip: Plant Marigolds all throughout the garden, it helps keep the bugs away).

Next up, container gardening...

Living Social Amazon Deal

I was checking out the daily deals and found a great one for Amazon that I had to share with you!!!

For 10, get a 20$ gift certificate to Amazon!

If you haven't heard of LivingSocial, I highly suggest you go check it out now!  It's just like Groupon but have to admit the deals seem to be a lot better there!  Enjoy!

2011 Garden start up...

This year we are doing this right, we are going to be remembering dates, remembering how to water, remembering to pick our veggies and just remembering to garden and not let it turn to weed.  In order to get motivated I drew up a mockup of what our main section of our garden will look like. 

We are going to try corn once again and crossing our fingers we can get our artichoke plant to grow.  It hasn't grown in two years, and it's only 8 inches tall.  Last weekend we started planting and hopefully this weekend we can finish it all off so we can have the bottom section completely ready to go once the seedlings are ready for the outside.

We will also be working on some type of watering system for the entire hill but we'll talk about that later.  For now, dreaming of a summer filled with abundant veggies.

Just another manic monday....

  You know you hear about those people who have just the crummiest of the crummy days and it falls on a Monday? Well, I'm living it right now.  It really started just after midnight.  Our little kupcake is teething and woke up in sheer pain.  She didn't want anything else other than for me to hold her.  Cute, but not when you are extremely exhausted.  That was from 330-430.  Moving on, woke up and low and behold, I broke out... eh.  Then, I lost my wallet.  No CLUE where it is.  Didn't fix lunch so had to grab a frozen meal from the fridge. Next, the shoes I wore, I totally forgot how UN-FREAKING-COMFORTABLE they are. Moving on to getting to work.  I was walking from the parking structure with my groceries for the week (multigrain cheerios, oranges, apples, bananas, almond milk) and my bag breaks.  The ONE time I use a brown bag instead of the reusable bags.  Of course.  Then, when I finally arrive at my office, my computer is showing the blue screen of death.  Seriously, this was all before 815.  Luckily my computer rebooted fine but still.  Oh, and it's suppose to be 84 today.  It looks so beautiful outside and I will be stuck all day inside.  Nice. YEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPP!

Enough about today, how was everyone's weekend?  Our was just glorious!  The sun was shining and the birds were chirping.  We were busy but we also had time to relax.  It was wonderful. I finally got some gardening down and am just super excited about that.  YEA! 

Now, let's plan our meals shall we?

• Sunday:  Sushi Night
• Monday:  Turkey Burgers (didn't have them last week) -- on the Grill outside, can you hello 80+ weather
• Tuesday:  Fish Tacos
• Wednesday:  Cuban Sandwiches
• Thursday:  Artichoke Lemon & Chicken  Pasta *
• Friday:  BBQ turkey Meatballs (slow cooker)*
• Saturday: Eat out / Order in

Sides will be consisting of Sweet Potato Fries, Roasted Brussels Spouts, Caesar salad, Corn, veggie slaw, and black beans.  YUMM
Desserts will be apples with Peanut Butter... (i so love this combo), Frozen Yogurt, Fruit Smoothies. 

The little kupcake is eating lentil and chickpeas and whatever she grabs off our plates.  :)

The weekly to-do list:

• Work out
• Work on garden
• Repot flowers for the front porch
• Put away little girl clothes
• Catch up on reading
• Reorganize recipes into new binder
• Clean the floors
• Baby proof...someone is crawling.  

Did you ever have a morning where you wish you could just start over again?

Sandbox Lane

I'm so happy to announce Sandbox Lane is finally open.  When I was pregnant, we searched high and low for eco-friendly baby products like cloth diapers, feeding supplies, clothing, and toys.  Most of the shops were online and it was expensive.  When KLM arrived we decided it was time to fill the void we found and made Sandbox Lane. 

  

Learning to sow...again.

2009 was an awesome year learning how to garden.  2010 we stalled because I was growing a little kupcake of my very own and didn't have time to garden.  2011, we are back and we are going to do it bigger and better.

Here is what we have in store for Little Miss Planner's Garden:

• Building a cold frame
• Extending the garden
• Building a real trellis for the grapes  (fingers crossed we get some grapes this year)
• Adding two more dwarf fruit trees
• Build a better watering system

As far as what we are planting and hope to produce:

• Onions
• Carrots
• Leeks
• Artichokes
• Cucumbers
• Squash crock neck and Pattypan
• Brussels Sprouts
• Beans
• Butter Lettuce 
• Cabbage
• Bok Choi
• Beets
• Chilis
• Oranges (already producing)
• Plums (new)
• Grapes
• Apricots
• Raspberries (already producing but hard to get to)
• Sunflowers (multiple varieties)
• Corn
• Eggplant
• Cherry and Grape Tomatoes
• Big Tomatoes
• Chives
• Garlic

We start the big renovation of the garden next weekend so I'll get some photos up before then.  

If you had a garden, what would you grow?

14 hours to go...

So is it wrong that I'm just waiting for midnight so I can have some type of sugar? It's funny how MANY things have it. Example, the hubby pulled out his box of wheat thins and it sounded soooooooo good, (perhaps with a little bit of swiss cheese -YUM) and before I devoured it I read the ingredients... SUGAR. Really?! Uggh. I'm looking forward to the little things like coffee, or even gum for that matter. I just can not friggin wait.

This weekend is going to be a good one.  Let's see what is in store for us:

• Two pilates classes back to back (they are 30 min each)
• Dinner Sushi date with our family friends and their kiddo
• Home Depot Garden Center (seriously, this store is paradise to me)
• Cleaning the backyard up for next weekend's big job
• Baking with three of my nieces 
• Make your own pizza night and a movie
• Hazelnut Coffee with Hazelnut sugar free sweetener and a splash of almond milk
• Target for misc goodies
• Trader Joe's and Maddy's Market (it's our local organic store... local as in the veggies and fruits come from local farms) for groceries (random note: I rarely... I mean RARELY go to regular grocery stores now...)
• Food Prep and menu planning for the week

 It's going to be high seventies here so I'm busting some shorts and flip flops too and just enjoying the weekend. I cannot WAIT!
 
How are you going to spend your weekend?

Half way there...

Trying to get through this sugar-less week has been easy and hard.  Oh boy, what I would give to make cupcakes right now, or even macaroons.  Seriously, I never made macaroons before and there is no need for cupcakes in our house but I'm just dying to bake.  I think I'm finally having withdrawals.  On the plus, I'm half way there to winning.  Granted it's just a measly car wash but I'm in it for the bragging rights. 

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

34 hours down... 86 to go!

  No sugar that is.  I must say I've been pretty nice.  Last night was my first real craving.  It was dessert time and didn't feel like making a fruit smoothie so I sat in the media room folding clothes and was really jonesing for something, then it dawned on me, PEANUT BUTTER!  Why didn't I think of this before?  I skipped down the hallway and checked the ingredients... just peanuts!  HOORAY!!!  I pulled out an apple, chopped it up and slathered peanut butter all over it and omg, OMG OMG OMG... it was good!  I probably ate about 10 tablespoons of it but who's counting.  The hubby saw me come back in the room and asked what I had.  The conversation went something like this:

Hubby: What are you eating?
Me: Dessert!
Hubby: HA! I win!
Me: No you don't! I'm not eating sugar. ~smirk~
Hubby: Peanut butter has sugar.
Me: NOPE, not ours. It's OHHH natural! ~dancing in my seat~
Hubby: Well..hmmm.
Me: MMM MMM MMM
Hubby: I'm going for a run! ~walks outs in a huff and comes back in a few minutes later~
Hubby: Okay, I'm going. ~kisses me~ Eww, you smell like peanut butter!
Me: I know, right?! YUM! ~big smile~

Awww... sweet victory!  I know it's only one day down but still, I'm happy I made it through day one.  It will be interesting how quickly I will finish off this bottle of the good stuff and move onto bottle numero dos.  Tonight, I think I will have some bug snacks... celery with peanut butter and raisins.  :P

  Have you ever given up sweet treats?  If so, how long did you last?

Let the withdraw begin...

I made a bet with the hubby about giving up processed sugar for 5 days.  He didn't think I could do it (part of me does too) and I now I am sitting here, going on nine hours without.  Granted 7 of those hours I was asleep but lets not talk particulars here. You see, the last 3 weeks I've been off the sweets wagon and living the high life like I was at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.  Now there isn't anything wrong with a little sugar but seriously, I must have been consuming a lb a day.  So, what did I give up? Anything with the words like sugar or syrup in the ingredients.  In an effort to be ready for this week (Monday - Friday) I bought lots of fruits and veggies, plain greek yogurt, and cottage cheese for snacking.  What's at stake? A executive car wash.  I'm talking about the fancy one that even cleans the dash and makes it smell nice.  Last car wash I had was ions ago.  I do keep the inside clean and once in a while I run it through the car wash after I get gas.  It looks clean with all the rain we've gotten but still, my baby needs a little TLC.  I will give daily updates on how I do. 

Now, let's move on.  It's Monday so you know what that means: MEAL PLANNING DAY.  Yesterday while at Target, I was browsing the dollar section I found a little dry erase board. What a perfect little thing to keep us on track.  We have a saying at the planner household, "if it's written down then we must follow through." I tossed it in the cart and took it home.  It helped out a lot when I was prepping meals for the week.  So what are we eating?

• Monday: Hawaiian Pork Nachos (we didn't make this last week)*
• Tuesday: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Turkey & Mushroom Sauce
• Wednesday: Chicken Tikka Marsala with Garlic Naan (naan came from Trader Joe's)
• Thursday:  Prosciutto wrapped Turkey Burgers
• Friday: French Dip Sandwiches (with pork meat)*
• Saturday:  Sushi with friends!  

*acts as part of yearly to do list, slow cooker and new meals.

Desserts this week will be fruit slurpees.  All fruit, no sugar.  :) YUM!

So what did I prep last night?

• Boiled the chicken and now marinating in the Tikka Marsala sauce we bought
• Slow Cooked the pork for Monday and Friday's meals
• Made the Turkey and Mushroom Sauce
• Made Minestrone soup for a side dish for this week's meals.
• Made a week's worth of Banana/Apple/Walnut/Raison Oatmeal
• Made the turkey burger patties

This time around, I had less dishes dirty since I figured out a good pattern to only get the same ones dirty so I was cleaning along the way.  I'm really enjoying my meal prep time now.  I feel more relaxed during the week and have more time to enjoy playing with kupcake.

Moving on to this week's to-do list:

• Work out 3 times during my lunch break (must bring running gear and shower gear to work)
• Finish cleaning my room.  Yup, it's dirty and it needs a good deep cleaning.
• Figure out vacation plans for Memorial day.  I'm DYING to plan another trip.  
• Fix the vacuum.  I broke it... how?  I have long hair and if you do too you'll understand. 
• Finish cleaning the garage.  Hubby did a terrific job this weekend and now all that's left is the shelves.
• Put away little girl clothes.

That's about it.  How is your week shaping up to being?

Sugar shock...

That's me... I told myself this morning I would be good, apparently humanity had other things in mind.  A coworker just stopped my desk with treats.  To be specific, a tray of beautiful cupcakes her husband's coworker's daughter (you follow?) bakes as a side business while putting herself through college.  Now, I was ready to say no, until A: I noticed they were cupcakes (my weakness) and 2: there was a peanut butter and chocolate one.  DROOL!  It's not even noon and I already ate some of it, hence the sugar shock I am feeling.

  Now in my sugar induced coma, I can barely think straight.  When this happens, I try to remember my weekly to do list.  It's pretty sad I haven't done much other than put away little girl clothes.  Tonight I will go running.  Or at least attempt to go running.  My gut feeling is that I will probably just run down the block and than walk back.  LAME.  I will follow it up with some sit ups because well, I said I would.  I need to do something especially with this yummy cupcake looking at me. 
 
 In other news, did you know it's Thursday?  This week kinda flew by.  I wasn't ready for it to be over if that makes sense.  Luckily the hubby had a business dinner yesterday so last night's dinner got pushed to tonight.  YEA!!!  Tonight's dinner consists of heating up the oven and sticking casserole in it.  I love this whole new food prep thing I got going. 

  How is your week shaping up?

WHERE'S MY SNOW???!

I woke up this morning and in my haze, opened my phone to see the latest Facebook ramblings.  Funny how almost all of them were from my friends who still live in my home town, all the same thing... SNOW!!!  Now they barely got 2-3 inches but that was still enough to close down the town.  No school, no work, nothing.  If there was any moment in my life where I wanted to live there, right now was this moment.  Oh how I didn't want to go to work today!  I stumbled to the window and said a little prayer, in hopes that there'd be snow outside our home but when I pulled the blinds back I got was wet wet wet earth. No snow, just more rain.  Something I really like but today it wasn't cutting it.  I wanted my snow day.

Now let's get this party started.  Are you ready for a new week? I am.  I spent the better part of my evening yesterday menu planning/prepping for the family.  For the adults and for the little kupcake.  Let's see what is for dinner this week:

• Monday: Roasted Chicken with potatoes and artichoke hearts (*new menu item)
• Tuesday: Butternut Squash Soup with popcorn chicken 
• Wednesday: Macaroni Casserole with Turkey meat sauce
• Thursday: BBQ chicken pizza (using leftover chicken from Monday)
• Friday: Hawaiian shredded pork nachos (*crock pot meal)
• Saturday: Dinner out

*items for yearly to do list challenge

Breakfast and lunch for the week were prepped too:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal.  Mine has Apple, Banana, Blueberry, Walnuts, Raisins, Almond Milk and a hint of brown sugar and Cinnamon.  YUMMM!!!!
• Lunch:  Balsamic Vinegar Chicken salad. 

The kupcake will be eating apples, apples with blueberry, and of course lots and lots of milk!  Exciting huh?

By the time I was done, the kitchen was a MESS!  I'm surprised the Governor didn't issue it a DISASTER AREA!  I made my breakfasts and the chicken for my lunches, made the butternut squash soup, steamed a bag of apples, got the chicken prepped for Monday's dinner, made Wednesday's dinner so it will just pop into the oven when it's time and packaged everything up.  Phew!  It was a lot of work but so happy it is over with.

Now onto my to-do list:

• Get the website up.  I tried migrating stuff over last week but broke something.  Fingers crossed we can open up the store this week and I can finally share it with you!
• Run/Walk 10 miles (must bring running gear to work this week)
• Do two hundred various types of sit ups
• Put away little girl clothes
• Take down last of the Christmas Decorations and pack it all up
• Sushi dinner with friends
• Create a chore list.  See... I totally plan everything out.  Only way to live I say!  
• Get back on track with food.  I ate at least  15 pieces a candy everyday for the past 2 weeks.  I am all for moderation, two pieces a day to combat cravings, but seriously, I dove in and never looked back. 

So that's our life here at the planner household. 

I'm looking forward to moving again.  I feel like a total sloth!  What are you looking forward to this week?