Dear exercise, we meet at last.

When I talk to anyone about the fact that I want to lose weight and get fit EVERY SINGLE PERSON says the same thing, "No you don't! Your beautiful!" How did being fit and being beautiful get mixed up? Adele is beautiful don't get me wrong, but she is not fit.

Bodies are interesting things. They are like a home and vehicle to our soul while we spend this time on earth. We can modify them in whichever way we like, and with that same power we can destroy them. I live inside my body every day, no one can see or feel the changes I have been feeling like I can. Truth is, I am gaining weight and I have potential to spin out of control. Being a twig does not run in my family and I ended up with a (click to read more...) mesomorph body type.  (Meaning a a muscular build) I will never be Kate Moss but I don't intend too. I would just cry if I lost my boobs! I just want to slim down and be more fit. Recently my hubby and I took  Christmas photos and they made me see I needed to change. My face looks so swollen and my legs are my usually favorite body part but I could not find one photo I was pleased with, they all looked bad! I understand I am being hard on myself but I don't want to slowly let myself go! It terrifies me! I need to remember food is FUEL and should be treated as such.  I am not a teenager and have not been for quiet some time. This means I need to stop eating like one. So rather than complain about it like I have been the last several months, I am going to change it. I am going to blog about the changes I make and take pictures to track my progress. I am overwhelmed and excited, but that is an understatement, this has been a long time coming.

Dear exercise, we meet at last.

Sweet and Spicy Coleslaw

We didn't have a ton of compatible things in the fridge when I had the idea for a sweet tangy coleslaw. But this combo was so good when it was done I just had to share with you. We served this with home made fries and loved it. 

I used:

1/4 Head of Cabbage

1 Cup Chopped Spinach

1 Chopped apple

1 Minced Green Onion

Juice from 1/2 Lemon

Slices from half a Cucumber

1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Red Onion

1/4 Cup Ranch Dressing

2 Tablespoons Mustard

2 Tablespoons BBQ Sauce

...and a dash of salt, pepper, hot sauce and sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl mix ranch dressing, mustard, BBQ sauce and lemon juice.

Next add chopped cabbage, spinach, apple, green onion, cucumber.

Mix until evenly coated with tangy dressing.

Add salt, pepper, hot sauce and sugar to taste.

Hope you enjoy!

-Challice M.

Too many Apples Cobbler

My back yard has five apple trees and only two people live here. We have a ton of apples and yet my generous in laws felt we did not have enough! They gave us a huge bin of 4 different types of apples from eastern Washington. They are SO good. But like I said, we have a TON! So, what to do? Yesterday I made a super easy apple cobbler and tomorrow I am going to try my best to make cider (totally excited for this!) we just need to get our hands on a juicer.

So here is my recipe for a tasty apple cobbler!

What I used for

Apple Filling:
3-4 Apples, I used a Mixed Variety (Cut into 6-8 pieces)
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

Topping:
1/2 Cup of Oats
1/2 Cup of Flour
1/4 Cup of White Sugar
5 Tablespoons of Cold Butter
and I substituted chopped nuts since I did not have any,
with granola to get that CRUNCH I was looking for.

Optional:
Caramel sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Wipe off all apples.
3. In a large bowl mix apples, brown sugar and cinnamon until evenly coated.
4. Grease an oven dish with at least 1 inch walls and transfer the coated apples into the pan.
5. Put all the toppings together and mix well. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
6. Crumble toppings over your apples and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
7. Add caramel if you like to the top and let stand 10 minutes. Lava hot apples are tempting but just DON'T!!! :)

As I was making this dessert, my husband was bathing Maps.
She ran out and hid in our camera bag... not a happy kitty!

Enjoy!!!!!!

FREE Biodegradable Autumn Wreath Idea

A little while ago I took a walk with Jared on the local trail which is such a beautiful place. I try not to take it for granted and I'll definitely miss it when we move from here. The leafs were blowing around everywhere and were still in good condition. We made a game of trying to find the biggest leaf, Jared won by a long shot. :) I still did not know what I was going to use them for but I gathered a TON and when I got home we looked around the yard for anything colorful or with an interesting texture. I ripped out my sad little corn stalks, trying to tell myself, "They were just baby corns! That was the problem!"  I also possibly ran into the neighbors yard with scissors aimed right at their shrubs... possibly... and I hacked off a few little branches of the multi-colored young trees in the garden. (Man, this is sounding violent!) Suddenly *BINGO* The idea of the wreath was born!

Maps "helping" and looking at how beautiful these decaying leafs are

My corn did horribly this year! So I figured I better use it somehow...

Off the topic of wreaths, but I looked over to my kitchen sink window while taking pictures and I wanted to show you this really neat rock we found that looks just like a skull, am I right??!!

Step 1. Layer all the biggest type of leaf you have into a circle, one on top of another and so forth...

Don't worry about any sticking out stems, we will fix that later.

Step 2. Once your done there is a little problem... some stems will be on top of other leaves which does not look so nice. Not too fear....

 

Step 2. (Continued) Lift the leaves from where you very first started making the circle and simply tuck the stems in...

This is how it should look when all the stems are tucked under

Perfectly flowing all one direction

Step 3. I grabbed a very big serving bowl and put it directly upside down on the center of the leafs like so...

Step 4. Now with one hand on the bowl and one hand UNDER the leafs, quickly and carefully flip the leafs over...

Ta-da! Flipped over and still in one piece!

Step 5. Now that the leafs are flipped and heading into the the same infinite direction, the stems should be as well. Since we need the wreath to stay together, I tied a few stems together all over, over and over since I kept seeing a stem untied. Make sure ALL the stems are tied to other stems or the wreath will fall apart. It needs to be strong enough you can pick it up for the next steps...

I just double knotted mine and ended with a bow so the knots would not come undone

See how there are STILL stems poking out? Ugh, it takes a while but they all must be tied for support and so your wreath will have a clean hollow hole in the middle

Step 6. If you are sure your wreath is now steady, go ahead and give it a flip.

Step 7. Anything and everything else. My second biggest item would be my corn stalks so I bent the leafs over and tucked it right in. Then, you guessed it!!! Tie it to the leaf stems.

Step 8. Add anything else you would like in the same way I added the corn.

Step 9. Fix it up! Move leafs around pull things closer to make certain parts fuller or less full and once your happy with it, hang that biodegradable sucker up! I bet it looks awesome!

Here is mine all done and up on our door! Hope you enjoy! 

Also When your done you can just throw it in your garden or compost or wherever you want! :)

Going Easy on the Ornaments

I have been living out of the nest for quite a few years now but as anyone who has ever moved out of their parents house empty handed knows, it takes a LOT of time to get the furniture, dishes, decorations and bed set you want. I always dreamed that when I moved out I would buy everything brand new from IKEA. Hahahahaha!!!!! What a laugh now. I still am borrowing desks, couches and coffee tables. The house we moved into came with an entertainment center and kitchen table (think goodness, since we lacked both) and it sounds silly but it is actually very nice to not have to own a bunch of "stuff". We don't have a ton of money, this does not bother me since I always find ways around it, but we still don't have a ton of ornaments. I want this Christmas to be really special for Jared since it our first house together (last year he kinda just moved into my apartment) and our tree looked rather bare which saddened me since the emptiness reminded me of my wallet. SO  I found some cheap ribbon and ran it threw the branches of the tree a few times to fill up space. Ta-Da! A million times prettier! What do you think? :)

Mushroom Stuffed Eggplant

When I was a kid I had the best eggplant dish ever! Having not remembered anything about how it was served, cooked or anything I attempted to cook it up. It was a huge disappointment so sadly I stayed away from them ever since. But yesterday when at the grocery store I thought, "Hey, why not? " ...We went home and cooked it. Probably one of the best things I have ever made!! There are only a few ingredients and takes less than an hour to get every thing all done! It was super impressive and I want to share it with my in laws, maybe just to butter 'em up. ;D

So here is what you will need:

1 Good sized eggplant

1 Cup of Bread Crumbs 

1 Cup Shredded Cheese

2 Tablespoons of minced Garlic

1/2 A Stick of Butter

1/2 lb of Sliced Mushrooms

1/2 Cup of chopped onions

I forgot to include bread crumbs in this picture! Sorry!

I guess I was not expecting them to look like this inside! I had to image search "Eggplant" to be sure this is what they were supposed to look like. Tee hee

Today we learned Maps likes chips. :)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
2. Cut eggplant in half and scoop out insides with a spoon
3. Put eggplant skin/shell in a greased baking dish using some of the butter stick, cover in tin foil and put in oven while doing the next few steps, cooking the skin alone for a little bit will help it be more tender
4. Chop eggplant into little cubes
   
5. In a large skillet heat butter until melted then add mushrooms, garlic, onions and eggplant. Stir and cover for 8 minutes
6. Add bread crumbs and half of your cheese to the mixture
7. Take out eggplant shells and fill them, place back into the oven and bake them for 15 minutes
8. Put the rest of the cheese on top of them and place them back in for 5 minutes
9. Add a dash of salt and pepper if you'd like! 

Enjoy!!!!

Four Minute Fudge. (Seriously!) NO BAKING REQUIRED!

My mother in law suggested I go to an ornament exchange, and by "suggested" I mean leaving me with out any excuses or hope for staying home, being a hermit. (I have been in hibernation mode lately and leaving the house seems more like a chore than an adventure...) But after the night was over I was really glad I went. Sometimes you just need that boost to go get out and do things. And one of the things I needed to do was make a finger food to bring to the exchange. Hmmm.... something easy ..... let's see....

 What you need:

1 large microwavable mixing bowl  + microwave

3 cups chocolate chips (I used peanut butter swirl... mmm!!)

1/4 cup room temperature butter

1 14oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

Tin foil

8x8 inch baking dish

How to:

Mix all ingredients into large mixing bowl

Pop into microwave on medium for 2 minutes

While that is in the microwave line your 8x8 inch baking pan with buttered foil

Ding!!!* 2 minutes is up... Mix. Mix. Mix.

Back into microwave for 2 more minutes.

Mix. Mix. Mix.

Pour into tin foil lined baking dish and cover.

Put in fridge and let it set over night.

EVERYONE complimented this recipe at the ornament exchange, 
saying it was the smoothest fudge they had ever had. I was very pleased and I will be making it again for sure!

Here was the ornament I got to take home! I love it!

Sleeping Beauty

All my students are so totally different. Today "Sleeping Beauty" asked if she looked beautiful in her angel costume. (That's going to be her name for the sake of my blog) I replied "You always do." She smiled and hugged me after I finished pinning her hair up. After a bit of waiting around hoping the rest of the kids would show up in the classroom, we helped the boys get their costumes on and all of us took a trip downstairs to find my "little king's" fancy prop. It was tin box that for the play's sake was supposed to be holding gold, frankincense or myrrh. The "little king" asked why he needed to have it for the play. I explained that it was a gift he would be giving to a fake baby doll who represented Jesus in this play. He did not seem to care either way, he just wanted to know when snack time was going to be. He is so care free, I miss being a child sometimes. "Why do the boys get necklaces?" Asked  Sleeping Beauty. I told her because their roles in the play were to be great wealthy kings. "May I have one of the kings necklaces?" I said yes and chose a white pearly strand that matched her gown. Trying to put it around her neck she kept insisting she did not wear it but wanted to hold it. I barely got this picture since she ripped it off two seconds later. I did not understand, Sadly I thought she was just doing "A little girl thing" and left it at that.

During the play the little kings took their places next to the cradle and put their gift down for everyone to see. Then something surprised me, Sleeping Beauty walked up to the cradle while my dad in law was speaking. She silently took her necklace off and wrapped it around her fingers trying to make some imaginative design  and placed in in the cradle as a gift for the child. Wow. She had learned the boys were to give the baby Jesus doll wonderful gifts and wanted to give her own. That is why she did not want to wear it. She wanted to give him a gift. She is five years old and is more giving than most 25 or 35 year old's I know.

You can learn a lot from a child. A pure heart is such a beautiful thing.

My Wonderful Sunday Kids

My class was in a play a couple of days ago and I came right home to edit pictures so I could put them on my blog, but I only got the editing half done since I have been Christmas shopping! (Which believe it or not I am incredibly excited for, since I mostly bought craft items so I can make gifts this year, YAY!!!) But besides all that, I finally got around to putting them up. I just love the colorful costumes my mother in law made and I wanted to capture the fun they were having all dressed up. Here was the problem, how do I share them with out posting their faces? (Since I feel that is inappropriate, am I wrong?)  So I took many picture without a full facial shot. What do you think?

This was the metal tin I mentioned in my previous post...

I love his smile!

 

The tin man? Hehe

Fancy bling bling

Getting ready...

Keeping 'em busy...

He actually chose the celery over cookies. I was shocked!

Dad in law at the church

3 Kings

Mother in law

This little girl is the angel I mentioned in my previous post. ...