COMPUTER & HEALTH ISSUES

This is a quick post to apologize for not being here on a regular basis as I'd hoped.

We spent the month of October in talks with the bank about a loan. Things were a bit chaotic as I tried to keep up with work and deal with them. October 25th my beloved gateway computer crashed. While I didn't lose everything, per-say, my new system does not accommodate my graphics programs and other things I use for business.

November 3rd, we broke ground on what will be my new office and art studio. Two days later I got hit with a serious sinus infection that kept me out of commission - and off the computer - for six weeks. For the first time I developed vertigo. The cursor on the screen was enough to make me nauseous. Ten minutes on the computer was about all I could handle... and not long enough to take care of business.

I am finally getting back to 'normal', the outside construction of the studio is complete and the holidays are here.

With that in mind, I am taking this blog on hiatus until January  12, 2015. That is only about 5 weeks. The time down will let me enjoy some minute sense of our holiday, get business stuff on track and get some things ready for posting here.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, a Blessed New Year.

Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly

RECIPE WEDNESDAY

I am not a 'food first thing in the morning' kind of person. Though I do know I need something to kick-start the metabolism.

So my kick-start usually consists of a cup of fluffy with either 2 fig newtons or a Belvita soft cookie. Banana is my choice there.

By 10 a.m. or so I am ready for real food. And must be loaded in protein. My go to of choice right now is this easy wrap. 1 large flour tortilla (though I'm thinking of dropping down a size) with a T. of Thousand Island dressing (you know, 'special sauce') 4 or 5 deli slices of smoked turkey, sprinkling of shredded Monterey Jack/ Colby cheese and 3 strips of bacon. If I drop down to the smaller tortilla, I can pare down to 2 strips of bacon. I'd also like to add tomato and lettuce but I didn't have any on hand.

Share your 'filling' ideas. I'm always looking for new twists on my favorites.
Enjoy the Journey!
~Kelly

WEEKLY PLAN - October 6-12

I love this shot. This is from Fort Drum Army road. I just want to start walking.

Which is something I've determined I HAVE to do more of. Right now a regular exercise routine is just not in the schedule. But I can walk. I love to walk. So whether I walk on the treadmill, on one of the walking trails in the area or in front of the Wii... I WILL WALK EVERY DAY.

Strapping on the pedometer and away I go....

Enjoy the Journey!

PLANNING FOR THE WEEKEND - September 29 - Oct. 3

I'm still on the hunt for apples. I would love to find a 1/2 bushel. That would give me plenty to make apple butter, apple sauce and apple pie filling.

In my honest opinion, nothing you buy in the store compares to homemade. And making apple butter or apple sauce is not difficult. With a slow cooker, the task is not even really time consuming. Put the mushed apples in to cook down and go do something else. Though I prefer low and slow in the big roasting pan in the oven.  I like to use apple sauce in place of oil in a lot of my baking and is good on top of low carb pancakes - which are almost like a crepe in consistency.

Bob and I like apple crisp as oppose to apple pies. Not big on the crust. Though Bob would prefer I did not put oatmeal in the crisp. I made THIS peach crisp and turned out great so thought I'd try the same with apple pie filling instead.

Okay.. off track.. Planning for the weekend.
I need to go to Springfield (2 hrs away) for a writers meeting tomorow. I think I'm leaving early enough to go by the Farmer's Market. I'll stay in town overnight which means eating out. I have coupons for my birthday from various restaurants. My favorite is going to be Applebees. I like their 2 for $20 menu... especially since they've added the Wonton Taco as an appetizer option. I can pick 2 light entrees. Eat one for supper and bring the other one home to put in the freezer to eat during Nano. I also get a free shooter dessert. Oh yeah, and Sat. night supper will be crab legs at the chinese buffet. Lots of protein in the crab legs and the mussels in black bean sauce.

I hope your weekend goes as planned..
Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly

RECIPE WEDNESDAY

I purchased our FoodSaver last night. I'm looking forward to putting the new addition to our kitchen to use. I've been wanting one for a couple of years. Having one would allow me to take advantage of bulk meat sales and package fresh venison, rabbit and turkey when hubby goes hunting.

Then I saw THIS on Pinterest. I followed the website link to Paula Rhodes'  Salad-in-a-jar If the process works as well as Paula claims, I'll be able to enjoy salad or lettuce in a variety of dishes throughout the week without any waste.

I need to purchase the canning lid accessory sealers shown here: http://www.foodsaver.com/accessories/T03-0006-02P.html#start=9

They have them for the Regular and Wide mouth lids. None of the places I checked locally had them in stock. I'm going to look at Bass Pro on Saturday. I may wind up ordering from Amazon where they are less expensive.

I just imagine the healthy foods I can store longer. Vegetables in single pouch servings. And no more freezer burn! Most excited about that, I think.

Do you use a FoodSaver? If so, share your tips and recipes. I'd love to hear from you.
Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly

WEEKLY PLAN - September 22 - 28th

I love Fall. I also love the foods of fall.. you know, Turkey, stuffing, pecan pie, LOL But one of the things I love most about fall is that the weather is finally at a comfortable temperature to get outside and do something.

Bob and I have been hard at work around the property trimming back trees - he cuts I haul. I also need to dig a trench to move my day lillies into and start thinking about stocking up firewood for winter heat. The point - I get more exercise in the fall. Shame I can't have those temps year round.

I'm not really focusing on anything in particular where the weightloss is concerned right now. Too much going on here on the homestead. We have a major change coming in the next couple of weeks. I can't say anything right now except that the change will hopefully help my blogging/ writing organization a lot!

One of the last times I posted I talked about how the detox was helping my energy level. Well, that is all it helped. I lost 1 pound the entire week! Seriously?

For the remainder of the year I'm focusing on more home prepared meals with portion control in mind and less eating out. You know, where all the chemicals and bodily fluids have been added to what may have once been the idea of a healthy meal. We are eating bread again, but I'm making the bread from scratch. I miss bread sometimes and food in general is not bad for us. What is bad is all the crap that gets added before making the journey to our table.

Next month we are going to purchase a Food Saver system. I'm looking forward to buying lettuce and storing a weeks worth in glass jars in the fridge. Maybe I'll get to eat more salads. Living in the country as we do, lettuce in the off season for growing isn't an option. The stuff purchased at the local market has been on a truck so long, I'm lucky if a head lasts 2 days in my fridge. Just not worth the expense. With the food saver, I can vacuum seal the cut up romaine in pint jars for a whole week. Even if I don't use the lettuce in salad but say on tacos or something else, I can keep the produce longer. So that's my goal.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

When I posted last, I did not realize my new editor would be handing me edits on my novel as quickly as he did. Nor did I know that three weeks later my book would be on Amazon.com.  Suffice to say things have been a bit crazy around here. And although I've not been posting, the journey is a daily progress- and battle.

The protein shakes with the fruit turned out really well... until we went on two mini -vacations back to back and got away from our schedule. We tried a variety of frozen fruits. One I was sure I would enjoy tasted AWFUL! Through this I discovered I may not like Mangos. This bag had a mixture of pineapple, peaches, strawberries and mangos. The mangos left a nasty aftertaste. So I'm either sticking to just strawberries, or at the very least using the fruits individually.

One thing I did discover is that I was more apt to make a strawberry protein shake than a chocolate shake. As much as I love chocolate, I found that interesting.

What is your fruit of choice as you enjoy your journey?