Relay for Life

Recently I decided to join a Relay for Life Team… some of you might not understand why I’ve been asking for donations or trying to get you to let me babysit your kids for donations only. Any donations given to my relay for life team #7 Hunting for a Cure, go straight to the American Cancer Society. I know we have all been affected by cancer in some way or another. A few of my family members have had cancer and survived due to effective treatment but others have not. I want to make a difference, so I joined a Relay Team. If your one of those people who doesn’t like to give away your cash here are some other ways you as my friend can help me out:

1.       Give me a donation for babysitting your child. I will donate 100% to the American Cancer Society.

2.       If you don’t have a kid, I will pet sit or clean your  house for a donation.

3.       Come to our Dinner at the casino in June…. I know you need to eat.

4.       Donate an item to be auctioned off at the dinner.

5.        Donate your junk to me to sell at my relay garage sale

6.       Come buy stuff from me at my relay garage sale

7.       Volunteer at the event. There are options for everyone.

You can make a difference, even if you don’t have money to donate. Let me know if you have questions about how exactly you can help out, or if you’re interested in any of the following.

For those of you who have donated money or have let me watch your child for a donation, I appreciate your support! Thank you for doing your part to make a difference. :)

Meatless Monday's

I would probably be a vegetarian if it weren’t for my meat loving husband. To try and stay healthier we have agreed upon meatless Monday’s in our house. We started this about 3 weeks ago and I am really enjoying it. This week for dinner we had veggie stir fry with brown rice. My good friend/coworker Kira is vegetarian and shared one of her fabulous cookbooks with me, while flipping through I found a great looking easy stir-fry recipe. After doing some research I found that meatless Monday is actually something that exists and promoted by Peta. Now for those of us who took rhetorical theory we know about Peta…. And no I’m not talking about Pita Pit. J

 I found out that just lowering the amount of meat you eat and going part time vegetarian as some would call it… you can lower your carbon footprint, cholesterol, fat intake, and a whole bunch of other things that should be lowered in all of us.  This made me feel even better about incorporating meatless Monday’s into our lifestyle. It is awesome because Monday’s are always rough for me, and not cooking meat lowers the cooking time of a meal by quite a bit… now only if my rice cooker had a turbo button.

Farm Share 101

Before I moved to Humboldt County I had no idea what in the world a farm share was. Did it mean you share the farm with a bunch of other people? Well kind of. A farm share is where you pay a certain amount and each week during the defined season you get a vast amount of vegetables. So in a way you are getting to take home a share of what the farm produces. After hearing about this and wanting to have a healthier diet, I checked into it a bit more. My friend recommended a little farm in Arcata called "Deep Seeded Community Farm". (http://www.arcatacsa.com/) I checked into it a bit and realized I could get fresh, organic, produce for $24 a week. Below is a picture of what I got during week 1. Note in the summer you also get you pick fresh flowers, strawberry and rasberry patches and fresh herbs.

After pondering a bit I thought about how much I spend at the grocery store on unorganic vegetables and how often we eat canned or frozen vegetables. I made an executive decision to take part in this farm share. The first week of pick up I went with my mom. She was amazed... I dont think they have many farm shares in Florida but maybe we just never knew about them. We actually met the man in charge of the farm that started it out and is responsible for the production of this beautiful food. His name is Eddie Tanner and he was very friendly and informative. He gave us a quick tour of the farm and let us know what was growing where. You then get to go through an essembly type line and pick out which veggies you want to take home according to the quanities defined.

Each week I would go to the farm and pick up my veggies. They are always very fresh and tasted alot better than the store crap I bought at safeway. If you are thinking of participating in a farm share I highly recommend to try and sign up as soon as possible. It is a little too much food for 2 people, if you shared it with another family or have a child it would probably be perfect. Its great to meet the person growing your food.

I feel that I was very lucky to get to actually see my food growing, see it ready for pick up and then consume it! This is a great opportunity. All my Humboldt County people should definitely take advantage. The food not only is delicious but you are also lowering your carbon footprint. This food only traveled about 10 miles to my kitchen. Most of the time our food is sent about 300,000 miles or more! By eating local your carbon footprint is a whole lot smaller. In this case I think it is very fairly priced and will help you eat healthier.

From Farm to..... Kitchen

Thank you Humboldt for having no traffic!!!

I don’t know how I ever attended college and lived in Orlando Florida. I am not sure how I rode with Tim’s mom an hour to my job in Virginia. Both of these places are high traffic areas. I was recently in the Oakland area in California. It took me twice as long to get to my destination as it should have. I was in traffic for 2 hours with the sun in my eyes. Worse… I had never been where I was going before. If it weren’t for my trusty GPS on my car I probably would have paid the $5 bridge toll multiple times instead of once. Living in Humboldt I don’t really deal with traffic. I work 8:30AM-5PM which means I drive in “rush-hour”. I would hardly call what we have here in Humboldt a rush hour. I am not sure what we will do if we end up getting transferred to a city in 2012. I absolutely don’t like traffic. I guess it is something you just have to deal with. But for the next year and a half… I will be thankful that I don’t get stuck in wall to wall cars on my way to work, that my palms aren’t sweating, and that I can make it to my job in the actual amount of time it takes to get there and not double that. I want to give a big thank you to Humboldt county today for not having traffic!

What will they think of next?

My little nephew Hyatt is turning 4 today. I feel like it was just yesterday my sister was pregnant with him at my wedding. She would probably kill me if I put a picture of her pregnant on here... so ill refrain. J

Hyatt is into Star Wars and his cake was pretty amazing, that is his face on it! Although I wasn’t at the birthday party all the way in Florida… I feel like I was a part of it. I mailed him a Coast guard helo, water bottle, and 2 cute tshirts which I am sure that he will love. He knows that Tim and I are from California and likes to tell people he is from California too. Although I haven’t seen him in a year, the use of technology has allowed me to facetime with him and I show him my dogs which I think he loves. I miss him dearly and hope to move closer to him so that I can watch him grow older. In the meantime here is his cake and him. This has to be the coolest cake I have ever seen in my life? What will they think of next? I wonder what his 16^th birthday cake will look like?

Baby shower cookies

I am not a huge cookie person. When I received a baby shower favor a couple of weeks ago… I was very excited. The presentation of all the ingredients made me want to bake the cookies and see how great they would all look when mixed together.

I am working on getting this recipe because they were delightful. Tim was returning from a week long school and I wanted to make him realize how much I missed him. What better way than to make delicious cookies? I really enjoyed this favor vs other favors I have received at parties. It is pretty and useful and yummy! What else do you really need? Thanks to Sarah for hosting my good friend Lupita's baby shower and making these yummy favors.

End result... as my Friend May would say... Have a happy mouth! Check out http://www.maybowser.com/

Easy Pleasy Pasta

Easy Pleasy Pasta

Tim and I loved this! It was easy to make and you could really add any veggies to it. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ whole Red Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can (14.5 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
• ⅓ cups Assorted Olives, Pitted And Roughly Chopped
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• ⅓ cups White Wine
• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Pounded To Even Thickness, I cut these up to have them cook a bit quicker
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• ½ pounds Linguine, Cooked Al Dente And Drained
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Heat medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add olive oil. When warm add diced red onion and stir. Cook slowly for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, then stir and cook for one minute. Pour in diced tomatoes with their juice. Add chopped olives. Stir and cook for a minute or two.

Splash in wine, then stir and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Spinach and sauté until slightly wilted.

While sauce is cooking, sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper over the chicken breasts. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a separate skillet. Cook on both sides until golden brown and done. Set aside.

Toss cooked linguine in olive oil and arrange on a small platter. Spoon 3/4 of the sauce over the pasta. Place chicken on top, then spoon remaining sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle on grated Parmesan and serve immediately.

Adapted from Pioneer Woman:

7-11 Slurpee over 70?

On my journey last week into parts unknown aka Alameda California I passed by a 7-11. There are no 7-11's in Humboldt AT ALL. It's been over a year since ive been to Florida and I can start to tell how much I miss it. People here dont even know what a slurpee is here..... I passed by MANY 7-11’s. Everytime I would pass… I would look at the temperature gauge. For some reason I couldn’t stop… it was only 67 degrees out. I am from Florida and it usually doesn’t get down to 67 degrees. For some odd reason I associated a slurpee with warm weather and a drive to the beach. This is probably because my dear friends Sarah, Ellen, and Melissa, would hop into my yellow mustang grab some slurpees and head to the beach when we were younger. I just couldn’t bring myself to stop because of the cold weather. Who wants a slurpee when it’s cold out? Now that’s no fun. I ended up not stopping, I just couldn’t give in.. it just wasn’t over 70.

My Secret Mission

So last week I completed my secret mission. I went to Alameda to Coast Guard Island, which is beautiful by the way… to meet the commandant’s wife. For those of you who don’t know what or who a commandant is… his wife is like the first lady of the Coast Guard. She was beautiful poised but yet seemed very down to earth. I really liked her and am very thankful for the opportunity to meet her. While at the conference I was representing group Humboldt Bay. We talked about all types of issues military spouses face… things from Jobs to childcare. I am going to try and take a poll from the spouses at our group in the coming months to see what we can do to improve these areas.

If you are a Coast Guard spouse and haven’t checked out: www.Worklife4you.com it is a great resource for all types of things that go on in our everyday lives. I am very pleased with the website. In the future there will be a link added that is just for military spouses that will be a little bit easier to navigate…. Now on to some key points that were discussed in our meeting….

1.       Housing-

2.       Childcare- The Coast Guard is currently working on expanding childcare benefits to help more families and provide more resources.

3.       Jobs- If you have a specific need please contact me and I can assist you in this. There are certain benefits that apply within 2 years of you reporting to a new duty station.

4.       Spouses night out- This is a great way to meet new people reporting to the station and meet new friends. If you haven’t gone to this I definitely recommend it. There are some great ladies that have lots of experience with the military and may be able to assist you in finding resources within our area.

5.       Ombudsman’s- Will be given more training

These are just some of the many things to get excited about. The Commandant’s wife also brought us cookies, which was a great ice breaker. Her ability to speak and listen well really impressed me. I am doing my best to help spouses as much as possible. Let me know if you need anything even if it may seem silly. J

Secret Agent Woman

This month I have an awesome adventure in store. It it top secret. I can't tell you who it is with or where it is at. In addition, I cant say a word about my location or destination. I am a secret agent woman until I get back. For those of you who I have slipped and told my secret to... you better be quiet if you want to live. If I tell others I may have to kill you. I am really excited about my mission. I feel like I am off to meet the president or something. I can't wait to get back from my secret agent mission and tell everyone where I was and what I was doing.... Sometimes I love feeling like this girl above... like a super hero.

To Hip or not to Hip

My neighbor Danielle and I were hanging out this weekend and started to question people’s interpretation of the word Hippie. I told her things I associate with this word is pot growers, smokers, dreadlocks, stinky, Petrolia oil, sloppy dress, and hugging trees. I never even saw someone that met these criteria until I moved to Humboldt County three years ago. Danielle quickly advised me that is not what a true hippie is. She uses words like free spirit, peace seeking, love, chill kind of people. She has lived in Humboldt County for a long time, so I believe her interpretation is correct.  This made me ponder… do our interpretations of people change due to when we encounter them? Do we classify people by stereotypes? Obviously, my answer to the 2^nd question is yes. I called these people hippies because of what they look like. I didn’t grow up in the free love peace sign era. I am making my observations and associating that with what I think a hippie should be. I came to the conclusion that there are lots of actual hippies that grew up during that era that live here. Are the people that are my age, that I am seeing now, newage hippies?  I consider myself to possess many of the characteristics listed… not the stinky, Petrolia oil ones J But, I do believe in sustainability, organic local food, getting in touch with nature, yoga, herbal remedies. So all in all since there is not a clearly defined set of characteristics for this new age hippie. I am starting to think… maybe I’m a hippie too…. Even if its just a little.  I am not associating the word hippie with good things.

Thanks Danielle for making me look at the way I was stereotyping and think different.

3 Foods Cafe Arcata

Definitely by far the BEST food I have had in the Humboldt Area. The price is right with entrees/appetizers ranging from $3-$13. I had a lavender lemonade pictured above which was to die for. Upon entering this place I though “I’m not in Kansas anymore”. It was a chic, hip place… that I picture in a place like San Francisco. The service was great… people in California just don’t have the same hospitality as the south… but these people were excellent. The menu’s were in little picture albums and were beautiful. On top of all this they bring you goldfish at the beginning of you meal and a chocolate at the end. This café provides an all around very balanced experience. I would recommend it to anyone and imagine I will be there quite often now.

If the Krazy Coupon Lady met Skinny Bitch

As you know Skinny Bitch is one of my favorite cookbooks/books. I recently discovered another lady known as the Krazy Coupon Lady. To give you a little background Skinny Bitch is a witty novel/cookbook on how important it is to put good foods into our bodies instead of crap. It is written from a tough love prospective and uses lines like “get off your ass”. On the other hand the Krazy Coupon Lady is a fellow Coast Guard wife who used her stock from coupons to live off of for quite awhile. Her book is called “Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey”. It is also written from a similar prospective which implies that is just dumb to not use coupons. After reading both of these books it was quite easy to realize what they have in common. They both include a tough love approach to making smart decisions about your life. So… if the Krazy Coupon Lady decided to shop for vegan foods with coupons or skinny bitch decided she needed to save some money, the meeting of these 2 would be brilliant. These two should definitely meet. I would love to see a tough love approach on how to coupon and eat vegan. I am not sure if this is even a possibility because vegan coupons are few and far in between. I think if there was a book written by the two of them working together it would be a great combination. I could see it saying “Quit spending so much on shit and start saving money on healthy food”!!!!

And that's whats for dinner tonight.........

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
• 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
• 1 pound Fettuccine
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• ½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• ½ cups White Wine
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Cayenne Pepper To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!
Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.
Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.
With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!
Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.
Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!




Tim and I had this for dinner last night and it was amazing!!! Yum Yum!

INDIA and YOGA

A few months ago my neighbor was kind enough to give me a CD after I watched her dog for the weekend. It contained music from India. I kind of set this aside and didn’t begin to appreciate it until I began my practice of Yoga. If you think Yoga is too easy you’re wrong! If you think you need to be Buddhist to practice Yoga your wrong! I started practicing Yoga at my local Gym with friends. It is a great way to get more flexible, release stress, and learn a lot about you. My thoughts of beginning to practice Yoga were inspired by the Book/Movie Eat, Pray, Love. The main concept of this book/movie is to discover who you are and do things for yourself. Yoga for me is an appreciation of myself. It helps me to clear my head, and think about who I am as a person. I consider Yoga a method of worship, not to Buddha in this sense but to the higher power I personally believe in which is God in the Christian religion. By practicing I am not only showing appreciation for my body, but my heart and soul. In yoga you have to forget about thinking and follow your heart/spirit. I think this is the part of the stress relieving benefit. I mean how often do we not think with our brains?

                                                                                                                                        

The India CD my neighbor provided is amazing. You can play it and just feel as if you are in direct connection with the higher power you believe in. It is uplifting yet relaxing. Today I left this CD on for the dogs while I journeyed to work. I hope they can get the same benefits from the music of India that I do.

                                       

Namaste

Couponing!!!

I have always had a love for couponing. It is great to walk out of the store and know you have not been ripped off. When Kmart doubles coupons I usually pick up my friend Lisa and we walk through the store looking for awesome bargains. I couponed for awhile but when I started working got out of it for a bit. I was on one of my favorite blogs when I read about the http://thekrazycouponlady.com/. I was intrigued and later found out this krazy lady actually is also a Coastie Wife and lives in the same town as me. What are the odds? I live in a small place and nobody famous is really from here. I was overly excited.... she kept coming up in conversations like at my dinner table when we had fellow Coasties over. I would somewhat call this girl my idol. She has reinspired me to coupon and I have started a binder in accordance with her guidelines. Pictures coming soon. I have her book on order and cannot wait to recieve it. I would love to contact her to host a couponing seminar for the Coastie Wives monthly ladies night out. This lady is truely inspiring, she dontates to the local food banks. Unfortunately in our community poverty is common. I really appreciate her using her mad skills to better the local area in which she lives in. All in all she seems like a great person and fellow coastie wife.

My vegetarian dog

When I cook, I tend to drop food on the floor quite often. Kona has learned this and usually lays on the floor under my feet as I attempt new recipes. She is not a picky eater by any means, she will eat ANYTHING I drop. I have never met a furry friend that actually enjoyed her vegetables. Kona will eat whole carrots, celery, lettuce... and just about any other greens you can think of. Although Kona is not completely vegetarian, by eating a wide variety of vegetables, she is reducing her cute little carbon foot print. People are always concerned about what kind of impact they are making on the world when it comes to recycling and reusing. Can we hold our dogs to the same standards? Although, I will admit I am a bit wasteful, moving to Humboldt county has made me more aware of the environment because it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Tips to lowering your carbon footprint that are practical and I use:

1. Run all of your arrands after work, instead of making multiple trips.

2. Buy produce that is grown locally.

3. Avoid drive thru food runs, this will not only lower your carbon footprint, but can help you be a skinny bitch.

4. Recycle. I know this is debatable due to the cost, but atleast we can reuse the material again.

5. Buy a reusable water bottle and coffee mug, they are awesome!

Those are just some of the EASY things I do to make an impact in the world.

Ghandi once said "Be the change you want to see in the world"

Everyday I make small changes that impact the whole world.

After a long day, Kona fell asleep along with her vegetables :)

Feeling Great!

I am not going to lie. I am not in shape by any means, and do not consider myself a fitness guru. But, the last week and a half, I have been working my butt off. What I mean by this is the dedication I have put in to eat healthy and make time for walks or the gym. My little pups sure like this new lifestyle since they tend to get long walks on almost a daily basis around the neighborhood. In addition, they play laser pointer tag in the cul-de-sac at night when nobody is around. SHHH don’t tell the neighbors. I have incorporated many of the vegan recipes I have acquired into my daily diet. I haven’t eaten meat much at all not having DH here makes it much easier. I still feel full, satisfied and healthy, but I am reducing my carbon foot print day by day along with animal cruelty.

I have been working out… quite a bit. Yoga, Zumba, Running, Elliptical, Pushups, crunches, are some of the many activities I have been doing. I have started making exercise a habit and not a chore. When I got home from work yesterday after working out at my lunch, I felt as if I could keep dancing to Zumba all night.

So far I am fulfilling my New Year’s resolution and couldn’t be happier. If anyone in the area wants to work out let me know!!!!

Cracking the Case

Broken Makeup compacts may shatter your patience, but you can doctor the most daunting cracks witha  little James Bond move.

"Use an eyedropper, trickle enough rubbing alcholol onto the broken makeup to form a paste, then drag the back of a spoon over it to reshape. Leave it overnight- the alcohol will evaporate, returning the makeup to it's original form"

Courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine February 2011

Being an ombudsman

Many of you have asked what I do as the Ombudsman at Group Humboldt Bay. This is a cute poem I found that gives you an idea.

 

I AM AN OMBUDSMAN

I am not a crutch, but I can support you

I am not a counselor, but I know how to reach one

I am not a taxi driver, but I can steer you in the right direction

I am not a rescuer, but I can help save lives

I am not a baby sitter, but I can refer you to a caregiver

I am not a gossiper, but I am a great listener

I an not an enabler, but I can provide tools to empower you

I am not a master of anything, but I know many experts who understand your needs

I am not a Recreation or Health Specialist, but I am concerned about

your morale, well being, and health

I am not a busybody as I’ve been called, but I am a Coast Guard Ombudsman

I am a Coast Guard Family Ombudsman

The Coast Guard Family, and I am of service to you

Since I became a member of the Coast Guard family 4 years ago, I have realized how important it is to be close to your fellow Coastie Families. It is great having a tight knit group of people to lean on.

Skinny Slow Cooked Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork)

This is whats for dinner tonight. I know it's not following the vegan flow of my blog, but I havent had meat in a few days and needed to use this up. This is a weight watcher friendly recipe adapted from one of my favorite blogs http://www.skinnytaste.com/. I absolutely love all the recipes on this site. I will pair this with some brown rice and some veggies.

Skinny Slow Cooked Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork)Gina's Weight Watcher RecipesServings: 6 • Serving Size: 4 oz  • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 176 • Fat: 7.2 g • Protein: 24.4 g • Carb: 3.6 g • Fiber: 0.2 g
 

• 3 lb pork shoulder blade roast, lean, all fat removed
• 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp crushed black pepper
• 3 oranges, juice of (1/2 cup)
• 2 limes, juice of

Using a sharp knife, cut slits into the pork and stuff holes with half of the crushed garlic. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over pork. Place in the ceramic part of the crock pot, cover and refrigerate, turning pork occasionally so the marinade covers all of pork.

The next day, remove the crock pot and cook on low, 8 hours.

After 8 hours, remove pork and shred using two forks. Remove liquid from crock pot and add pork back to crock. Add about 1 cup of the liquid back and adjust salt, pepper and cumin (you will probably need to add more). Let it cook another 15-30 minutes

The Nutty Monkey

So last night my friend and I decided to do flow yoga instead of cross fit. I feel it was a good relaxing workout but still feel sore today.

I started my day off with another "Skinny Bitch" smoothie The Nutty Monkey. It was delicious. I drank half when I got up and half around 10am which was a good snack. I am taking a run on my lunch break today and want to feel energized.

The Nutty Monkey

(makes 2 servings)

350calories/serving

Eating half will fill you up

1 Cup Almond Milk

1 Frozen banana, cut into chunks

1/4c organic creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons whole, raw almonds

1 tsp wheat germ

2 tablespoons all natural strawberry jam

Put all ingredients in a blender and combine.

Adapted from Skinny Bitch

In addition to my better eating habits for the year I am also the Ombudsman for Coast Guard group Humboldt Bay. I am in the process of learning my role and getting the hang of things. So far this position can vary from day to day but I am loving it. As the ombudsman I am the main point of contact for the command and the families. I feel that I am fully using my communication degree that I worked hard on for 4 years. Being an effective communicator is one of the most important aspects of this position. In addition, I have recieved many compliments on my ability to speak infront of the whole station at morning muster effectively.

Skinny Bitches Wake-Up Smoothie

Unfortunately I live a half hour from my job. I usually get to work and eat two packets of oatmeal and try to snag some coffee from the trailer next door. The coffee lately is horrible!!!! My co-worker and I are always wondering what in the world they do to it because they buy good coffee... but it tastes horrible. I guess nobody in that trailer knows how to make it. So this morning I decided to try Skinny Bitches "Wake-Up Smoothie." It was delicious!!! I have now been awake for about three hours and don't feel the slightest bit of hunger through my stomach. I didn't have my usual morning coffee and yet I feel energized. Recipe to follow. In addition, I have made plans to go to cross fit for the first time after work with my good friend. I would say I am kicking butt with my New Years Resolution.

Skinny Bitches Wake-Up Smoothie

Makes 2 Servings

1 (6-ounce) container Soy yogurt

1/2 C Chilled Orange Juice

1/2C Frozen Blueberries

1 Banana, sliced

2 tbsps wheat germ

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until combined. Serve immedietly.

So there you go. A quick and easy breakfast that will keep you full all day!

New Years Resolution

I realize that New Year’s resolutions usually get broken quite quickly or forgotten about. I plan on being accountable for mine by tracking my progress with my readers. DH and I have decided to get in shape by our family reunion in July. Neither one of us is by no means overweight, but we seek to be healthier. I started the year off right by purchasing a cookbook entitled “Skinny Bitch”. Although I have previously read the novel Skinny Bitch the cookbook is actually a spinoff. For those of you who haven’t heard of skinny bitch you can check out the website here www.skinnybitchdaily.com. It is written by a girl who majored in Holistic nutrition and realized that it was time to start putting better shit in her body to live a longer and happier life. Although it is a vegan cookbook, I have no intentions of becoming completely vegan. My goal with this cookbook is to incorporate some of these healthy recipes into my daily diet. I started the new year snowboarding, which if you have ever been you will know that afterwards every bone in your body aches and hurts. But, I already feel stronger after snowboarding. Yesterday I did my zumba ab workout, washed the cars, and walked the dogs. I do not have a planned workout for today, but am going to make an effort to do something physical. I look forward to this healthy year ahead of us!

Happy 2011!

With the New Year beginning I have decided to start a blog. My neighbor and good friend Danielle has always encouraged me to channel my inner creativity and I figure this is a good start for the year. DH and I rang in the New Year snowboarding at Mt. Ashland Oregon with a great group of friends. The area was beautiful and we had a great time. Next... on to making my new years resolution.