whole30 compliant creamies

Yeah that title is a complete lie. I dont know if that is even possible. If someone tries it please tell me how they taste because I dont think I'm brave enough to try.

Today Makayla and I thought we would put our little popsicle mold to good use and make creamies/fudgesicles. I didnt get to taste test them but thy smelled like them and looked divine. Makayla and Annie thought they were good. So heres my little recipe for them, in case you get bored.

1 small package of instant chocolate pudding
1 cup of whole milk
1 1/2 cups of vanilla ice cream

Blend the milk and ice cream together, then add in the pudding.

Pour into molds.

Enjoy!

If you don't have the molds try plastic cups- its worked for me in the past. Also running the bottom of the frozen pops under hot water for a few seconds eases them out nicely.

p.s. It's my anniversary and to celebrate I got myself a treat. It's pop, and its whole30 "approved". I'll let you know if its any good.

The real story behind spring cleaning

I know spring is coming to a close but I still have bunches to do in the spring cleaning department. I'm finally feeling the motivation. So far I have: washed the curtains in our house, washed the carpets in the living room, dusted a bunch, and cleaned the refrigerator (I do that more than annually my dears). I had quite the time of it. When I was putting the curtains back up on their rods I ended up tearing one day and almost badly injuring myself. When I washed the carpets (baby pooped on them YAY) I left the wet vacuum on the carpet over night. Well, I guess our vacuum is broken because a gallon of water leaked into our carpet (it was sopping). At least it was clean water and not the brown crap I sucked up the night before. Then when I cleaned the refrigerator I couldn't remember how to put things back together, that took some time. I still have a list of things I need to do. Like: scrub the floors really good, scrub the walls, doors, and cabinets in the house, clean our bar chairs and dining chairs, wash the washer, and there are probably more things I ought to do. I am afraid that something catastrophic might happen when I finish up my cleaning. Such as, using the wrong cleaner for the chairs and ruining their varnish (or whatever it is). I guess that wouldn't be the worst though- maybe I could get new ones. Another possibility would be using too much elbow grease on the walls or cabinets and "magic erase" the pain away.

What do you do for spring cleaning? Give me some ideas because I am sure I am missing something obvious.

Hope you guys have better luck than I am.

bad

Today has been a horrible, rotten, no good very bad day. I know I sound a little dramatic and I am being dramatic but today was/is not good. I need a break. I spent a lot of time doing endless piles of laundry. lug, sort, wash, dry, lug, fold, put away- over and over again. I know it sounds fun but believe me, it isn't. I cleaned my house just to have it completely trashed within minutes. MINUTES PEOPLE! My kids would not take naps. this means they wont stop crying and eating and fighting and crying... It's driving me crazy. I am also super hungry. I didn't buy groceries for this week and only have a few pieces of fruit and sweet potato hash to eat. Its boring and I need sustenance. I filmed a "whats in my bag" video to put up here because I think they are fun to watch. I mumble too much and look like a cow and the lighting sucks-. Hence, I didn't post it. So here is a list of things I wish I could do today instead of the day I've been "doing".
watching t.v.
watching a movie
eating a cupcake or maybe an entire cake
getting a pedicure
getting a massage
plucking my eyebrows
napping
organizing my craft room
  -possibly doing all these things at once-

So here I am pouting/moping/being a cranky pants. Hope your day has gone better than mine. I just feel crabby. I hate days like these. Luckily, there are few and far between.

p.s. the weather today has been cold, windy, and rainy. Maybe that has a bit to do with my crankiness.

My Favorite T.V. Shows

I was thinking on naming this post "My Favorite Things" then I got this weird vision of Oprah dancing around in curtains. I do like The Sound of Music, but Oprah- well lets just say she ain't my cup o' tea. I can't believe I commited to a "bloggin 5k" what was I thinking? Zoinks! I spent most of this day thinking of things I could write about and mostly fitness, and cleaning things came to mind. However, I am no expert on either of those subjects. Maybe on how to avoid working out 'til the last possible moment, or how to let your house waste away while you pretend everything's alright. So, I decided, after talking to my friend Eliza, that I want to write about my top 5 t.v. shows. I know how lame right?, but seriously I think I could introduce some of you to some great ones. If you have seen all of these before then press on and hope for a better blog tomorrow (yeah, right!).

NOT IN ANY SPECIFIC ORDER

#1. Chuck- yeah this show isn't on the air anymore but its awesome. It seriously makes me laugh so hard. I love all the characters (which is hard to find) and I love the plot lines. It's also a good one to watch before bed. You can get away with watching 1 or 2 and feeling satisfied enough to pick it up the next day. Zachary Levi is oh so adorable, especially that smile and nerdiness. Yvonne Strahovski is so beautiful and sexy (in a non slutty way) and kicks butt that you want to be her. Joshua Gomez is the best friend you probably already have and its hard not to love his enthusiasm and loyalty. Lastly, Adam Baldwin growls and its hilarious. This show has it all; comedy, romance, action, drama (okay, just a little). This shows best seasons are 1, 2, 3, and 5. 4 is sort of annoying but they totally make up for it in the final season (5).

#2. Gilmore Girls- who doesn't love Gilmore girls. The witty banter, the pop culture inserted in almost every scene (if not conversation) is awesome. I love the characters. I always wanted to have the confidence and sass of Lorelai Gilmore and the brains and grace of Rory. Who didn't love Luke? Seriously, I wanna know because they are probably crazy. This show has the best wardrobe (ok, it was the early 2000's) for its time, intro song ( I love Carole King), and the most awesome mother-daughter dynamic on t.v. When I was a teen I so wanted my mom to be Lorelai (good thing she wasn't though). I also just loved Jess, Rory's boyfriend, played by Milo Ventimiglia who was and is a babe. He was only on the show in season 2 and 3 and shows up in a few random episodes after then. I love LOVE seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5. 4 is boring, and 6 and 7 got different writers and its obvious. This show literally makes me happy after I watch it. Sadly, this show is off the air.

#3. Psych- so awesome, so funny. I love the main characters, Shawn and Gus. There is so much 80's and 90's pop culture thrown into this that sometimes I look things up just to know what they are talking about. They are like watching two real best friends (that are slightly "special"). They have their inside jokes, mannerisms, and have a "mind connection". Its really a comedy but there have been a few (I can only think of 4) episodes that have been sort of dramatic. Their is a love interest in this show but it really doesn't over power it which is such a nice change. I have literally loved every single episode of this show that I have watched. I have only seen the first 5 seasons so there is some catching up I need to do, so please Netflix, if you are reading this- update this baby fast!

WARNING: The next two will show how completely nerdy, and weird I am. Please still be my friend.

#4. Doctor Who- This is complete nerdsville. It took me about six episodes to get into it but I was told that I had to stick with it and I am glad I did. It's basically cheesy on purpose sci fi. It does have a lot of good moral, plots, stories. It's also British and well, isn't the ideal show for some of us 'mericans. It's basically about an alien time traveller who goes by "The Doctor" and his human companions (women).  He basically saves the world whilst teaching humans how valuable they are and what their are capable of doing. It's good. I must admit this though: I have only seen the first 4 or 5 seasons (2005 series). Something happens and I can't bear to keep watching. It's good though.

#5. Merlin- its pretty easy to guess what this BBC (yeah it's British) show is about. I love the main character, Merlin, and I think young prince Arthur is pretty hot too. It has a really interesting way at looking at the whole Camelot story. I think its entertaining and captivating. I still have yet to see its most recent season (5). I really can't wait to see what they've come up with next. This show is also one of those shows where they make you hate the bad guy and make you love the heroes. It's also super clean which is really nice.

I hope you still want to be my friend after seeing what I put up here. There are so many other shows I like as well but these are probably my top 5... Until I go to bed at night and think of others :D. What do you like in a t.v. show? What are your favorites? Leave a comment and let me know. I am always up to learn about new ones I might enjoy. 

The Countdown Begins.... A 5k of Blog Posts

Today marks the 22nd day of doing the whole30 challenge. It's crazy. I honestly can't believe I have made it this far. I only have the feelings now of finishing this strong. This last week for eating I have been on quite the hamburger kick. I have been cooking up my 100% beef hamburgers, which were a little harder to find than originally thought. Who knew that most burgers have soy oil or fillers like panko? Not me. I've been cooking them on our grill and wrapping them in large pieces of iceberg lettuce. I have liked putting onion, tomato and mustard with a drizzle of balsamic on top. Another goodie I did was saute some onions with mushrooms in a little olive oil. That was divine. I made the best all-veggie dish yesterday. It was so good. It was kale, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, cooked in olive oil balsamic and minced garlic. IT WAS YUMMY. You should give it a try. So yeah, balsamic vinegar is my best friend. It tastes amazing when its reduced.

Right now I am trying to come up with a follow up plan (the social worker in me, I guess) for day 31 and beyond. I will do a post on that when I get it a little more finalized.

Brandon and I celebrate our 6 year anniversary on the 31st of this month and I have been trying to come up with things to do that don't revolve around food (eating out, making a dinner, etc).  So far I think it would be a lot of fun to go to the Riot Zone in Rigby (yeah I know that name changed, call me old school). Brandon isn't so sure but I love mini golf and bumper cars. Another idea I have been mulling around would be to go swimming or something. We shall see and I will tell you what we do.

Since I am in the 8 day countdown to completing my whole30 challenge. I was thinking I could do a "marathon" of blog posts. However, saying marathon is a little ridiculous considering it will only be 8. Since I am doing a 5k in July I thought that a "5k" of blog posts would be more suitable. I hope you guys are looking forward, nay, super duper pumped/ecstatic/excited pee-your-pants happy that I am going to be writing every day for 8 days.

Day 16 and past the half way mark

Yes, today is day 16 of my whole30 challenge. Thats right 16/30 days completed (pretty much). Has is been easy? NO! Has it been fun? NO, and yes, but mostly NO. Can I keep this up for the whole 30 days? I sure hope so. about an hour everyday I second guess this whole thing and then my friend Becca or Brandon gets me back on track. I do feel like I have a consistent energy level throughout the day and my skin has been clearing up (which is great). I also have come up with different meal ideas and have had to do a lot more planning. This has taught me that I can be in control of what I put into my body. Sort of a strange concept to say out loud but seriously, before, if food was out then I would eat it. It didn't really matter if it was going to give me a stomach ache or if I didn't really like it. Food was, well, food. My time filler, the way I dealt with being bored, tired, and stressed.
Yay for passing the halfway mark and yay for losing 16 LBS. That's right. Since January I have lost 16 LBS. Not all of this can be contributed to the whole30 but it has significantly helped me. YAY for mind over food.

Men and their skinny jeans

First off I want to say that I sort of like wearing skinny jeans now that I've lost a little of my scrumptious muffin top. Only though if they are higher quality. I do own mostly cheap ones and they don't look the best and I have to say I would rather wear a good straight leg if I could ever find any.

So, anyways, I hate seeing guys wear skinny jeans. Seriously, I hate it. If they fit then I think "Man that guys has a femmy body" or "Bird legs, anyone?". Then on the other hand if they don't fit then I keep thinking "You're a man, dress like one!". I know some of you will disagree, and thats okay. Everyone has their own opinion. I am just glad that Brandon doesn't even attempt to try to wear them. He's a man and wants to look that way.

What sparked this weird post? I found this video on facebook and it totally cracked me up and I wanted to share. WARNING: yelling will occur.

P.S. I heard someone once say "I think the hispster kids are just the emo kids grown up" -so funny. Not really sure I think thats true but funny none the less.

Obviously A Workout Genius

As the title states.. DUH?! okay, I know I'm not but I thought I would show some of the things I use and like for my zumba and 5k training. Yes, I said 5k training, not half marathon or full marathon. Right now I would be so happy to run a mile without throwing up. So obviously I am NOT a workout genius. I got these things at Scheels in Utah and for a decent price since they were on sale.
First off, if you have short hair, tons a fly-aways, or both I recommend a head band. I bought this Under Armour one for like $12. I know that sounds expensive but it is super tight and has rubber grippy strips in it which is great because I have a small head. It stays on for at least 2 hours before I have to readjust it. Also, its bright, which I like and I think its sorta perty. If I were in high school I would wear it to prom.  I also wash it with baby shampoo every week because it gets nasty. It's also a great sweat collector, keeping it out of my eyes.

(obviously, I wear it like this)

My next item is my water bottle. It is a Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories brand. Its sturdy and is dishwasher safe. It came with 3 straws (somehow I lose those things) which is nice. It holds about 24 oz plus a little more.

(This is how to not drink it. It does have a straw!)

 

I also love cottony shirts. I want them to absorb my sweat, not "wick" it, or whatever that means. I don't care if people see how sweaty I get, I am working out.  My favorites are these two. The green one I got from Scheels on the cheap and I love the color and the length and the softness. I may or may not wear this everyday. The second is a cottony stretchy one I got from Walmart for $6. Its just a tad short for when I do the arms over my head thing and that part isn't my favorite since I have tummy issues. But it was $6 and Is comfy. 

(best pose ever)

Lastly, I love my shoes that I bought specifically for Zumba. They are the Nike Musique . I was using my running shoes but it was causing a lot of pain to my knees and ankles. I really needed the ability to pivot and slide a bit on the floor. These do the job amazingly.

So here it is. My full workout loves. I am cheap, I am not "fit" but these are some of the things I recommend/have/love. Hope you enjoy the slightly blurry and awkward shots I showed today. Love ya guys.

A Whole30, Paleo, Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Yeah, that's right. When you eat whole30 you have to come to terms that dinner for breakfast is fine, and normal, and preferred. Today I made sweet potato hash with fried eggs and bacon. I was gonna use steak but mine went bad so I used bacon instead. First thing when I say sweet potato I actually mean yams. Real sweet potatoes are white, I've made the mistake buying sweet potatoes when I really wanted yams.
Buy some hearty nice looking yams. I think about 2 super long ones fed my family with plenty of leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. Peel then.
Secondly, shred those suckers. Fortunately I have this electric shredder. If you do it by hand its possible and probable that you will end up with peeled skin and maybe blood in your yams. YUCK I KNOW.

Third, season those bad boys. I used garlic powder (Penzey's brand is the best- seriously, try it), onion powder, and seasoned salt. I would also like to try a sweeter version using cinnamon and nutmeg.

Fourth, I chopped up bacon and fried it up in a large skillet.

 

Then I removed the bacon and cooked up the "hash" in the fat.

Fried and egg or two...

 

Voila! Dinner is served.

This whole30 things isn't too bad. However, my husband and kids still eat bread and I don't buy bread I make it. So please meet my arch nemesis.

I only have 19 days left, I think.

"Aint nobody got time for dat" or How I Waste My Time

So I think that wasting your time is a lost art form. Right? Okay, probably not. If it was though I would be considered quite a lucky person to have mastered the art so beautifully. The best way to do it is to find an electronic device and FAST. I always turn to my trusty tablet, PC, or cell phone. On my tablet I play a little Sugar Crush until I go crazy because I cant pass this darn level (35 right now ugh), watch my subscribed youtube channel updates, insta-stock people, and of course feed my lovely creatures on tiny castle (stupid, pointless game I cant get rid of). If I choose my PC for the moment then I usually follow my 3 favorite blogs, blog myself, or facebook stalk (I'm quite the creepster, I know), and of course listen to my many (20) Pandora radio stations. If my cell phone is sitting snugly in my pocket then I just stand up and pull it out (difficult to get out if I'm sitting, if you wear pants that don't fit then you know what I mean) and text my sister dumb/important things like pictures, and the office quotes. Yeah, we are cool and we know it. Oh, but lets not forget about my T.V. ROKU baby! Its great for during naps and after baby bedtime time wastin'. I am quite partial to the Netflix and Hulu Plus channels. Also, there's a new PBS channel that I must download. Also there is the most common time waster I implement and that is booty shakin' it to my music, also known as practicing my Zumba. How do you waste your time?
p.s. Who practices Zumba? Ha!
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY. MUAH

Windows down, a song, a crappy car, and a little bit of sweat

What are you thinking about? Hopefully you're not thinking of some steamy night with a special someone. If you are I don't wanna know about it. Lets keeps those thinkers clean shall we?
I guess today made me feel about seventeen again. I was driving home from Zumba and it was a beautiful warm day outside. I rolled my window down and cranked up the radio. Yes, I said radio. Our car is a "piece" if you know what I mean. You actually have to R-O-L-L the window down. A Darius Rucker song came on. As I was driving down that country road back to my home I was sent straight back to high school, in Wyoming. On saturdays I would run errands for my step dad, go to work, or go visit a friend. On those trips I would be a little sweaty from the sun in the hot '93 Honda Civic hatchback that I drove. I would crank my radio up and listen to country music. I was usually happy because I was getting away from home for a little bit. I didn't really listen to country music when I was in high school because most people "hated" it and would make fun of it but I really loved it (might be something you didn't know about me). I felt free driving down that highway and shifting my little hunk o'junk into 4th gear.  Now this Darius Rucker (momma rock me) song wasnt around when I was in high school but just the atmosphere brought me back. I was signing at the top of my lungs, and boy I felt alive (insert flashback from dirty dancing (not a steamy scene :D)). Its funny how certain things bring you back. Lets just say if I were in my mini van at the time, sweaty, and listening to Christina Aguilera (Lady Marmalade) or Smashmouth (allstar), I would probably get thrown back into 8th grade driving to Ted Lewis pool on a hot summery day. Oh, to be young, carefree, and a little sweaty- listening to loud music. Don't you love that feeling? or is only me? Let me know. I would love to hear about that.

Trashed, Wasted, and Completely Crocked...or sometimes mom needs to party too

No, I didn't get drunk last night but I sure feel pretty awful this morning. Last night I hosted a book club meeting. We all read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. If you havent read it and like historically based books, you might want to check into this one. I liked it and even got used to the writting style (the story is given through the view of Death). I didnt finish it though. Pretty bad for a book club meeting AT MY HOUSE! Its good though and takes place in WW2 Germany so you can probably guess the ending... Anyways.
It was an awesome night and we talked about the book for a good 5 to 10 minutes and then of course moved on to more fun/important things to talk about.
People brought snacks and stuff which I always enjoy. However, last night was sure testing my will power. So while everyone munched on fudge, rice crispy treats and taco dip, I had an orange. Not super exciting but I am proud of myself for not giving in.
We ended the night around midnight and I was wired. I wasnt able to fall alseep until about one and then I woke up at 4:30 with my husband and then Makayla go all of us up at 6. I AM TIRED! It was worth it though. I also looked in the mirror and realized I forgot to take my mascara off. So here's a look at me "trashed. Yep thats my water bottle. I got a little dehydrated. And dont mind my zits. I believe they add to the whole effect.

Then I was thinking that this is probably a runway look or something and sorta rocker-ish. So here is my posting a makeup look of the morning. Notice the lack of concealer and lip gloss. I was going for a "natural" sort of look. This is the best face pose I could come up with- so please feel free to judge. I know I look like a middle school girl taking pictures of herself.

So I just want to encourage you to take some time for your self. Everyone needs it and as a mom I don't get it that often. I am super grateful for a husband who is so willing to watch our kids and let me have some fun.

Whole30 day 2 and Zumba

this year I've been trying to lose weight but most of all to get healthy. Its the beginning of May and I'm still at it. This is great for me because I usually poop out on these sort of things in March. I have been exercising and am now working harder at my eating habits/diet.
So far I have been exercising 3 days a week doing Zumba. Its awesome, fun, hard, and most importantly, makes me sweat like a pig. I really like the place I go to because of the following reasons;
1. Its clean and smells nice. I know this might sound weird but I hate the smell of gyms.
2. Most ladies are in their 50's. I hate going to exercise and everyone is super sexy, tan, and muscular, and running 10+ miles in their Victoria Secret sweats or Lulu Lemon gear. I dont exercise that way. I'm more of a walmart sweats and old t-shirt kind of gal.
3. Its cheap! I only pay $35 a month (unlimited pass) plus and additional $5 a month for child care. If you have kids you know that right there makes it totally worth it.
If you live in Rexburg or Sugar City you should check it out. It's called Fuzion Dance Studio. You can find them in Sugar City and only takes me 8 minutes to get there.

Right now I am trying this Whole30 diet thing. Its more of a way to get your body healthy. Hey, if it helps me lose a few inches I wont complain. I have been having some digestion (TMI) issues the past couple of years so maybe this will help. From their site it reads:

 "Whole9’s original program designed to change your life in 30 days. Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food." (source)

I read a bit about it and watched a ton of youtube videos of people who were doing/did it and read bloggers reviews and decided that I should give it a go. So far I am on day 2. A big WHOOP for me right?. I think the hardest thing for me to give up is the sugar and dairy. It's in everything. I have given it up for a month before (about a year ago) and I think I can pull it off again.  I have never given up dairy. Mainly cheese- except those few weeks when Brandon and I were too poor to buy it. I love cheese! Seriously, I have an addiction. Yesterday I made myself a real Whole30 approved dinner. I made Fajitas. I made my own seasoning because the packet has sugar and other unwanted items. I cut up some onions, yellow and green bell peppers, and steak. I couldn't eat the tortilla, so I wrapped it in some Romaine lettuce, and then topped it off with avocado and tomatoes. It was really good. Last night I also cooked up a pound of bacon to store in the fridge for snacking and meals for the next couple of days. I do love me some good bacon! I also washed and cut up some strawberries. For dinner tonight I made myself some scrambled eggs with my Mexi seasoning from last night. I topped it with bacon, avocado, and a little homemade salsa that we canned way back in 2010. It was really delicious. I have been craving though. I cannot lie about that. So far I have wanted; tootsie roll, nachos, cheese, more cheese, cookies, ice cream, chips, bread, the list goes on and I think you get my drift. I really want to keep this up. Its gonna be really hard but worth it at the end- that's what I keep telling myself anyways. Maybe after I've completed I'll do a before and after picture, but don't count your chickens. It's also helped that I have been following others who are doing the Whole30 on instagram. You can follow the Whole30 instagram at that username.

Wish me luck. Oh! Heres a pic of my dinner tonight, sans salsa.

Danielle Can Do.. What?

So I thought I should start a blog about me. I started one about my family but it sort of got repetitive because my husband does a family newsletter every month and everything family-wise gets recorded there, so I decided that I could start one about me. My goals, dreams, projects, thoughts, etc will be posted here just so I can keep track of it all and hopefully find time to do some things that are "me" related. Also, I thought it would be fun to learn a little more about myself. When I think about who I am or try to "define" myself I usually come up with negative things and very few (if any) positive things and that needs to change. So here I go. We shall see how long this lasts (negative thinking already?). Hopefully, I can try new things and introduce people to things I love. So lets give it a try.