Let's Play Catch-up

Hello, my name is Jenni & it's been 16 days since my last blog post. Whew, now that that's out of the way, let me catch up on the many things that have caught my interest lately. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a research-hound to anything that peaks my interest...so needless to say, a large part of my "home" time is spent researching subjects online.

Here are the subjects I've been interested in over the past 16 days:
1 - organic gardening
2 - buying organic/sustainable meats
3 - blueberries
4 - Dr. Klenner: Vitamin C
5 - repurposing plastic/glass food jars/bottles
6 - DIY crafts/homemade gifts: body scrubs & sugars
7 - composting
8 - furoshiki
9 - Netflix: food documentaries
10 - nutrition
11 - tea
12 - art from repurposed old books & sheet music
13 - simple syrup
14 - smoothies
15 - raw living

The thought of trying to do a post for each of these interests seems highly daunting, so I'm just listing them now & may go back to add links (if I can re-find the sites/blogs I found on each subject).

Most of these subjects have one thing in common: natural living. While there has been a huge 'green' movement in recent years, I am not one to jump on a bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it. I prefer to take my time & do plenty of research to find options that I can practically apply to my life.

As terrible as this is to admit, I've not recycled since 2005 - this is because all of the places I've lived since then have not participated in recycling. My current place of residence does participate in recycling; however, you are required to purchase "special blue recycling bags" from the company's website to put your recyclables in...doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of recycling? I digress...so now, I am shifting my focus toward repurposing in lieu of recycling until I move to a place where I can also participate. In addition to repurposing, I am way more conscious of the items I do purchase & what type of packaging they come in & what can be done with it after it's been used.

Cutting out a majority of processed foods definitely helps in this effort...while I did cut out alot of these items about a year ago, I've tried to focus more of my food dollars on raw foods recently. The whole idea of consuming only a raw diet seems a bit far fetched since I, as much as anyone, love yummy, warm & gooey comfort food...however, adding more raw foods to your diet has massive health benefits - which I intend to explore.

Thanks to my last visit with my best friend, I learned that I do, in fact, like blueberries...who knew? For years, I would never eat them because the only ones I'd ever tried were amazingly tart & for a super-taster like me, one never really forgets an unpleasant taste experience...at least until it's replaced with a pleasurable one. Well, kudos to my best friend for turning me around & starting me down the path of an oh-so-sweet love affair with the one, the only blueberry :) I love them most of the frozen variety...and in smoothies...oh-sweet-yumminess!

My most favorite smoothie to date is blueberry, banana & pineapple - I put everything in my nifty Magic Bullet & whirl-away!

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 banana
1/2 cup plain organic yogurt
2 Tbsp crushed pineapple

This loverly concoction makes about 2 cups of smoothie goodness & has just under 250 calories for the whole thing - which is roughly the same caloric equivalent as a small McDonald's french fry! So with that tasty fact, I bid you adieu & good night :)

Dusty bunnies

Although it's the 8th day of January, it felt like spring to me...well, not temperature-wise, but in the aspect of spring cleaning :) Do you ever just get to that point where the dust bunnies are multiplying faster than real bunnies? I think I had an entire dust bunny colony...actually, it's cat fur, but even still - it was taking over!


After vacuuming & decluttering the living room, cleaning the kitchen, sweeping the kitchen & dining room floors, shredding the receipts, filing the bills & decluttering the office I decided that I deserved a little (or a big 'ole) treat! This decision also allowed me to use the spiffy little fryer I purchased last weekend. So I treated myself to fried zucchini & coconut shrimp with coconut pineapple dipping sauce...can I tell you that it was most fabulous?!?! Dare I say, this coconut shrimp may even rival the same dish from Red Lobster!

Although my work is not quite complete, the bed & bath are on the schedule for tomorrow, but over 1/2 of the apartment is quite spic & span and that makes me unbelievably happy. I have yet to take down my sweet little Christmas tree since I love seeing the lights each night. I suppose it may be defrocked tomorrow & put back to rest for another 10 months or so...but I still have not fully decided on that.

I am thrilled to report that my One Word 2011 - speak - is still changing my life one day at a time. Watching my tongue & guarding my lips is getting easier & easier - which is amazing to me :) God is so faithful to us when we are faithful to Him...all it takes is one decision & He will honor it.

This year is not only about cleaning up & clearing out my home, it is also happening in my heart - focusing on organizing my priorities & clearing out the dust bunnies of complacency. 2011 will be my greatest year yet!

Speak in 2011

As you well know from my previous post, My One Word for 2011 is Speak. Today is day 3 of paying attention to all things that are spoken out of my mouth & it's been very enlightening to say the least. It seems that somehow just proclaiming my word has caused my brain to stop & dwell on the words before they exit my lips, and for this new ability, I am truly grateful.

Day 1 was quite easy since I worked from home, had no phone calls & only had my cats to conversate with...let's just say there was not much pull to speak in the negative since my cats are pretty content creatures :)

Day 2 was my first day back to the office since my vacation began on 12/23, so I was very well-rested, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed & raring to go! Even with the crazy amount of emails, help desk tickets, calls from accounting, meetings with accounting...all in all, the vibe of the day stayed on a positive note. It's definitely amazing what a vacation & some rest can do for your daily outlook!

Day 3 (today) did not start out quite as highly cheery as yesterday, but still on the positive side. There were opportunities to join in office complaining sessions, but amazingly enough the words were halted, pondered & squelched...in that order :) This makes me a happy camper!

As we all know, it takes 21 days to stop, start or change any habit; here's hoping that by the 3rd week of January all negative words will be erradicated from my speech. In 2011 I want to speak words of love, peace, joy, comfort, strength, prosperity, faith and patience - not only over myself but over those I come in contact with.

Psalm 141:3
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

One Word

My friend Michelle at Brain Drops has issued a One Word challenge for 2011 so I am jumping onboard with a quickness!

My one word for 2011 is: speak

At church, Pastor Keith Moore has begun a new series on Sundays called The Power of the Tongue (which can all be downloaded free of charge). In this series, he focuses on power that lies within our tongue & how what we speak is what comes to pass...no matter what that might be.

So, my focus for this year will be to pay more attention to the words that I am speaking & only to speak positive & blessing instead of speaking complaints & negativity.

What's your One Word for this New Year?

Sometimes Mini is Better

After the recent acquisition of my new 1.5 qt slow cooker, I am officially in love! Today, I put this little baby to work on 2 new slow cooker items & am proud to say I'm more than pleased with the results!

First, I decided to attempt to use this litte slow cooker as a rice cooker...and shazam! Perfect rice! Although this method of cooking rice takes about 2 hours or so, it's just so darn easy...especially since I enjoy planning my meals quite ahead of time, the time factor is perfect for me :)

Second, I've been craving some luscious homemade caramel for quite a while now, but when cooking sugar on the stove, the possibility of burning it happens more often than not. So, I combined some super yummy ingredients with my new favorite kitchen appliance & voila...I am in love!

HOT CARAMEL DIP
(Makes about 3 Cups Dip)
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Apple Slices

1. Mix together all ingredients except apple slices in saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Pour into crock pot. Set on Low.
3. Dip fresh apple slices into hot caramel dip.

This is the original recipe I found; however, I changed it just a bit. I used honey instead of corn syrup & I put everything in the slow cooker without boiling it on the stove first. I checked it every 20 minutes or so, whisking at each check. I think I ended up cooking this on High for about an hour & then cutting down to low for the next 30min or so.

I plan on putting some in a microwave safe container so I can take it to work & then the rest will go in a jar in the fridge. I currently have about 2 dozen apples in my fridge & my ooey-gooey homemade caramel sauce is the perfect compliment for all those apples!

I wonder if an apple a day still keeps the doctor away even if it's covered in caramel???

No Eat Out January

Now that the craziness of the holidays is over & our corporate office move is a thing of the past, I am making it my mission to cook more & eat out less. I have a wedding to attend on 1/28, so eating out will be inevitable on that day, but I plan to not eat out at all until the wedding...we'll see how this goes :0)

Today, I had a huge time grocery shopping for my Eating In event! While I know there will definitely be subsequent trips to the grocery store, I made a large dent in restocking my fridge with tons of fruits & veggies as well as healthy pantry items.

Although cooking at home has definitely been one of my major areas of focus for 2010, I am making a conscious effort to do it even more so in 2011.

Two of my culinary finds today are a 1.5qt slow cooker & a small deep fryer! I have been wanting both items for quite a while & am so thrilled to finally be able to add them to my kitchen. The smaller slow cooker will allow me to use it at work or to keep items warm - such as mashed potatoes, rice, etc. While I do like fried foods - mainly vegetables - I hate the actual frying process...thus the reason I have been wanting a small fryer. This one only holds a max 4 cups of oil & has a cover that you close until the frying is complete.

Fried zucchini & green beans, here I come...oh yes, and homemade french fries too! If I'm planning to not eat out, I might as well be able to get my fried fix at home, right???

There's nothing thing like setting yourself up for success :) I wish you luck with your January goals!