Food, tv, and treadmills

I'm still on board with the smoothie craze.  It's fun trying different combinations.

This was plain greek yogurt, mixed berries, flax seed, and almond milk.  Not bad, but a little too tart for the kids.

Cooper called this the dirt smoothie.  It was spinach, mixed berries, banana, a clementine, flax seed, 3 oz of plain greek yogurt, chia seeds, and almond milk.  It was delicious.  I had it for lunch yesterday after my visit with doctor drill and fill.  They finished my root canal which took all of fifteen minutes.

Have you ever had grilled cauliflower?
Delicious!
I adapted a recipe from here.

A whole wheat tortilla, hummus, broccoli sprouts, tomato, onion, lettuce, pepper, and a little feta cheese served with baked Lentil chips.


Broccoli sprouts are like super broccoli.  They provide up to 100 times the power of mature broccoli to neutralize carcinogens.  


I've been concentrating on eating better.
I honestly feel like I have more energy which is good, because God knows there's plenty to get done around here.




*******************************************

Once the kids are in bed, it's time to start up the DVR'd shows.  Our DVR is pretty busy, we have a pretty big line up of shows we watch.  A list that just got longer thanks to some great new shows.

Alcatraz.  Lost fans, Hurley is back!  Clyde and I are digging Alcatraz.


From executive producer J.J. Abrams (FRINGE, “Lost,” “Star Trek,” and the recent blockbuster “Super 8”) comes ALCATRAZ, a thrilling new series that follows a unique trio investigating the mystifying reappearance of 302 of Alcatraz’s most notorious prisoners and guards, 50 years after they vanished.  via

The River.  The two-hour pilot was almost packed with too much at once.  That said, I'm still going to watch the next episode next week.  It stars Bruce Greenwood, whom I still associate as Nick Parsons from Double Jeopardy.  Funny how some roles stick in your mind.

Revenge, without a doubt one of my favorite shows on right now. 


We also DVR The Good Wife, Criminal Minds, CSI, Bones, Unforgettable, and American Idol.  Throw in a occasional episode of Hoarders or Pawn Stars and that DVR is well worth it.


Pathetic, right?  This is why we're almost never in bed before midnight...and why I need more energy.


*********************************************


Walking on the treadmill has to be one of my least favorite things to do of all time.  Our treadmill is pretty basic, no ipod plug in, no cool screen to mimic a walk outside, just a ridiculous button to take your pulse...or so it claims.  So to battle my boredom, I turn on Pandora and usually play these two games...

Temple Run...oh my addictive.  Currently, Cooper holds the record in our house with around 2.5 million points.  It's a little tricky to play on the treadmill and I'm honestly waiting for the day I fall.  I'm sure that will be quite the sight.

7 Little Words is like a crossword puzzle meets a word find.  It's fun and time flies by when I'm playing it.

 I also discovered that having Rowyn paint while I walk on the treadmill is not a good way to keep her occupied.  She painted the dog.

Basketball and a banana-orange smoothie

Well, Riley made it through her first Iowa Games tournament.  She couldn't fall asleep the night before, undoubtedly nerves and excitement.  They started at at 7:40am and played five games that day.  She was one tired girl by the end and came home and took a long nap.  She had a great time even though her team went 2-3.  This was her first season playing basketball and it has been fun watching her progress.  She's gained more confidence, learned the basics, and made some great new friends.

********************************************************


I jinxed myself at work last week.  Someone asked me how I work at the desk and am not sick all the time.  I made some comment about how my immune system has become pretty good since I've been there for nine years.  


The next day I woke up with a sore throat.


Next time I'll just smile and say, "Oh, I do."


So, I decided to try some Vitamin C to combat the stupid virus.  

So good!  The kids each had some and once they got past the look of it and actually tried it, they emptied their glasses.  Good stuff!


There are a plethora of smoothie or green monster recipes on the web, but since I only had bananas and clementines on hand that's what I used.


1½ to 2 cups baby spinach
3 clementines, peeled
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
½ to ¾ cup soy milk, almond milk, or skim
ice cubes


blend until smooth.




****************************************

source google

Inspiration for this Monday morning.

This morning I choose to be tired and sick of this sore throat.

Not very inspiring. Ha!

Friday randomness

Well, I had my first root canal this week.  Honestly, the pain I had before the root canal made the actual procedure seem like a walk in the park.  I'd heard so many horror stories about them, that I damn near talked myself into an anxiety attack sitting in the chair waiting.  I go back next week for him to finish it, but now that I know what to expect I feel much more relaxed.

source

************************************************


I saw this on Pinterest and laughed...

I saw this heart hair do on Pinterest too and did Camdyn's pony tail like it today.

I've had this wreath for awhile, but made a felt heart to go with it this year.

On the weekends, my kids love to sleep in the same room.  
Sometimes, it works fine.
Sometimes, I want to rip my hair out by the roots because of the constant fighting.
When I'm at the end of my rope, I need to remember that there will be a day...probably all too soon...that they won't want to have a sleep in with their siblings.  
They'll be teenagers.
They'll be too cool for that.

Cooper LOVES eggnog.
I don't mind it in small amounts, but it's so rich. 
Clyde bought these for Cooper at the store...I had no idea So Co made eggnog.  


******************************************

Tomorrow is a big day for Riley.
Her basketball team is playing in the Iowa Games.
She is excited...and nervous.  I just hope she has fun.  I think once they have their first game under their belt, she'll feel much better.

On Sunday, we're planning on keeping it pretty low key, but we'll definitely be watching the 2012 Pro Bowl...go NFC!

********************************************
Inspiration today from Miss Audrey Hepburn...

3lambsgraphics

Instafriday

Our week by Instagram...

Zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, marinara sauce, on a whole wheat english muffin topped with feta.

Our sweet neighbor, Katie, helped Camdyn make a snowman.  We're currently getting dumped on with more snow, so I'm sure they can build him a snow friend. :)

My parents took us out for dinner.  So nice not to have to cook!

I had stuffed french toast with bananas and pecan sauce.  Oh my delicious!

Lump had a smiley face breakfast, except it isn't smiling most likely due to the fact the chef threw an egg on its head.

Cheeks filled with water.  Thankfully, she didn't decide it would be fun to spit it out.

I made a braided fabric key chain fob with inspiration from here.

I saw this on Pinterest and immediately thought of my sister Meghan.  She's the queen of inappropriate, yet hilarious jokes.

We sat down to watch some of our DVR'd shows, but some of us didn't get to see them.  Must have been a long day!






Snow day today, so I better come up with something for these stir crazy kids to do!  Have a great weekend!

pinterest, puzzles, and a passage

Lunch today via eatliverun on Pinterest.  I made another pin.  Better slow down here, two in one week. Yeah, the other day I made the homemade apple chips.  They were horrendous.  I overcooked them or something.  They were like little cinnamon charcoals with no hint of apple to speak of.  Clearly, I did something wrong, which is no surprise.

These turned out much better than my apple mess.  I had mine on whole wheat english muffins that I had on hand and added some feta cheese to the top.  It was yummy, but I think next time I'll go with a spicy hummus instead.

****************************************************
Rowyn and Booth and I spent most of the morning playing and doing puzzles. 

Okay, Booth didn't do the puzzles, but we are seriously questioning whether or not he ate the missing corner piece.

What?  He ate the puzzle piece!?  Ahhh!


***************************************

Have you heard of the passage Mother Teresa wrote on the walls of her home for children in Calcutta, India?  Some sources say she also wrote them on the walls of her very own room.


What an inspiration.

source artichokey studio on etsy

Rowyn gives another haphazard performance

Rowyn gave another performance...this time as Belle.  She dressed herself in three of Riley's shirts, a pair of my heels, and one messy hairdo.  

*******************************************************


Inspiration from Pinterest.  What a good reminder given all the ugliness we read or hear about daily on the news.  The world is a beautiful place.

Saturday and The Spazmatics

What a great weekend!  We packed our fun in on Saturday and Sunday was just a take it easy and relax family day.  The 49ers won and the Packers lost, my husband couldn't have asked for a better football weekend!




Cooper had his first basketball game on Saturday.  He was so excited, he couldn't stop smiling.  They dubbed themselves the 'Orange Crush' and he gets to play with many of his best buds from school and from our neighborhood.  His coach is also his school principal...so, I expect Cooper will be on his best behavior. ;)

W

Saturday night was my work party at the Diamond Jo Casino.  First we did team gambling...my team lasted less than five minutes. Ha! Afterwards, they had a burger/chicken bar for us.  We then had the option to go bowling or go to a concert downstairs.  We opted for the concert...and I'm glad we did!

We saw The Chicago Spazmatics: The Ultimate New Wave 80's show.  They were awesome, the music brought me back to my Aqua Net days.

Oh 80's and your big hair, John Hughes films, Kirk Cameron, The Breakfast Club.  I remember playing The Outsiders and fighting over who got to be Ponyboy, Dallas, and SodaPop.  But your music, your music helped get me through those awkward teenage years. 


*********************************************


I'll leave you with a link to some sweet and FREE printable from Sprik Space.  Oh happy day is one of my favs!

Snow and stuff

Not much to recap with Instagram this week, but...

Tap and ballet started back up this week.

She felt her arm needed the lint roller.

No one likes stray arm lint while you're practicing position one. 

Valentine's Day sprinkles from The Calico Bean

Potato soup on a cold night.

***************************************************

The kids and Booth were very happy it finally snowed. It was freezing out there.
I just don't have that drive like I did when I was a kid to stay out there and play in that crap.  But I sucked it up for awhile for the kids.

Booth LOVES the snow.  
He was ridiculous when we first let him out. 
Jumping, running, eating, rolling.
He had no interest in coming back inside.

Oh hell no!
I'm going back inside.

Sledding.

Riley played catch the snowball with Booth.

Our yard gets most of the snow from the snowplows.
Bad for the grass, but good for the kids!

Even Booth helped dig.

The face I got when I told him it was about time to come in for some hot chocolate.

Speaking of hot chocolate....this is what we've been drinking.  I will admit the kids like it, but I'm not a big fan.  I'll stick with the classic hot chocolate warmed on the stove.


************************************************
Inspiration today comes from Martin Luther King Jr...