Coconut Sweet Rice Breakfast

Today I was originally going to post about "the day after". And how much my joints hurt...and how frustrated I was. But...meh. I think I was being dramatic. And I pretty much hate to knowingly have the attitude of "poor me". The truth is, I came to realize yesterday...and again today...that I really should've built up to what I did. Even though what I did wasn't much, I should've began with speed walking for a few days. Then adding in a minute or two of jogging. And keep going at that pace. Yesterday, my knees felt broken. Literally. Like...they needed to be bandaged up or something because they just weren't moving right when I walked on them. This morning...my hips. And if anyone says anything like, "You know, it's normal to be sore after something like that" or "you know a lot of people have joint problems when they run" I might sucker punch you through the computer screen cause that's one of the most annoying comments I've ever heard since having Lyme. I actually DO have a brain that holds memories and a body that holds memories and I understand what "sore" and "achey" feels like. In fact, I have those feelings ONTOP of the other feelings. Clay used to get so annoyed at me when I'd say things like that to him, hoping he really is better and doesn't know it...but now I completely understand. It's just not the same...and you wont understand until you're experiencing it. Anyway...rant over.

I'm okay though. I'm basically just bummed I couldn't go to Zumba last night. They did it outside, and who doesn't want to try Zumba outside?! Hopefully they'll do it again. 



So this has been a favorite breakfast among much of my family lately. It's SO easy, and SO delicious, and SO healthy. 

Coconut Sweet Rice Breakfast

Brown Rice

Sliced Berries

Chopped Nuts (I use pecans)

Coconut Oil

Agave (use xagave brand for optimal nutrition)

Make a bunch of brown rice at the beginning of the week so you can scoop out a bowlful each day and just warm it in the microwave for a minute after putting coconut oil and agave on top. Put berries and nuts in. Eat.

AMAZING. 

It seriously feels like a treat. But your getting a ton of nutrition. I eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's good for any meal really...it takes maybe a minute longer than a bowl of cereal, and less time than oatmeal, and in my opinion it's healthier than both. 

DO IT! You wont regret it.

Did you know about the benefits of coconut oil? There are so many benefits...but some of them include: improving heart health, boosting your thyroid, increasing metabolism, supporting immune system, regulating blood sugar, among other things. I have been trying to replace butter and oils in recipes with coconut oil, and in some things you really can taste the coconut, in others not so much...but it's never overpowering.

Today I have a big “to-do” list before vacationing…change address on my license…return a book to a friend…get clay’s meds…pack…WAIT- change my address? Yeah. I got called to Jury Duty in Rexburg, a place I haven’t lived in about 3 years…and the letter came to my Idaho Falls address and well, it’s pretty silly. I have to send in proof that I don’t live in Rexburg to get out of it and so I need to go change my address on my license which, I KNOW, I should’ve done three years ago. Blah. The timing is just annoying. Oh well.

Do you want to spice up your 4^th of July décor? Download my free print with the “God Bless the USA” lyrics on them. Who doesn’t love that song? I pretty much tear up a LOT of the times that I hear it. I have to say, I think I’m a pretty proud American. I just love this place! I’m so proud to be an American, and I love other countries and want to visit them too…but America is just a different kind of special I think. I just wish more people realized how blessed they were to be here.

Happy Independence Day!

Well, I did it. I ran. Kinda.

I feel kind of ridiculous even talking about it because when I look back on my "running" experience...it involved a lot of walking and panting like a 500 pound couch potato. The route was around the Idaho Falls Greenbelt- but it wasn't the FULL huge route...it was what they call the "Temple loop" or something...which is 2.3 miles. It's a pretty beautiful area around the river and temple. I have to tell you, I was expecting the hard part to be my joints...but that was only a MINOR inconvenience. 

My LUNGS! 

Boy oh boy. We ran for MAYBE five minutes? Then I was like- okay I need to walk. So we walked for a bit, then started back up...THAT is when I felt my joints kickin in. But like I said, just an inconvenience really, it wasn't horrible. I soon realized after about a minute? I was like thinkin..."holy crap, I'm going to have to walk even sooner" and so then we walked again. This pattern continued a LOT- and everytime I thought things like, "Okay I can get to that tree" or, "As soon as we hit those shadows" or something. Honestly, my friend was hilarious because she was like, "Just so you know, when I run...I can't really talk, so we will have to be silent running partners...and I breath HEAVY. Just to warn you..." like she was insecure or something. But let me tell you, compared to me she seriously seemed like she was just having a nice stroll around a park. But she has been running for a while and gotten conditioned. We finally got to the car and I was PARCHED. I have a ginormous water bottle that usually takes me all day to drink. I drank the entire thing in less than an hour after the run. 

When I got out of her van, I was so worried. I felt like I did after DC. My joints were KILLER. I felt like an old man. I felt defeated. I was like...even coughing when trying to talk to Clay. I had to sit down. I started worrying, oh my gosh...this is my life. My joints just suck. 

But I am happy to report, they are already doing great, just like...an hour after we finished. I am recovering already. And I'm realizing this is nothing like DC. 

Clay and I have talked a lot about this...cause I've been feeling insecure lately about my joints and what their status is...and we've realized that logically...my joints need to regain their strength just like my muscles, lungs, everything. I went over a year doing NOTHING with my body. Just laying around. And at that same time I would be losing weight. It was just an unhealthy time. So it will take a while before my joints can handle things you know? So I'm excited to keep trying to regain strength in them and build a healthy strong body :) 

I have to say, as miserable as that run was....I felt pretty tight when I got home. I don't mean "tiiiight dude, that was sweeet!", I mean...tight muscles. Tight abs. I like it. So, I definitely want to do it again. I will be on the Oregon Coast next week, so I plan on doing some more running/walking there! Woohoo! Hopefully I'll be a little more conditioned for when I come back. I still definitely don't want to run everyday. Eck. And no thanks on my joints. I just think it could be a good thing for me to do 1-2 times a week? We'll see.

I feel so funny posting this whole story. I feel like most "running" stories, are these EPIC races and marathons that people ran for like HOURS and over hills and mountains and things...mine was pretty pathetic comparatively...but this felt like a pretty big milestone in MY life that needed to be documented :)

Quilty quilt!

So, this is the quilt I told you I started 3 years ago. Now...the truth is, I worked on it everyday for about 2 weeks three years ago. Then I worked on it everyday for about 2 weeks or so this year. And now it's done! I'm SO PLEASED. I just love it. It's got a kinda vintagey feel in person and I'm just a bit obsessed with it. It's definitely not perfect. But I kinda like that about it.

Tonight I am going to try to RUN. Around the river with my friend. I'm super nervous about it. I'm planning on only running once a week or so...I don't want to overdo it and I like having variety in my workouts. Planning on incorporating some yoga soon as well. Don't worry, I'm still a firm Zumba believer! I just need some more I think. Wish me luck! Hopefully I don't die. 

My green Maxi Skirt

So I've wanted to make a maxi skirt for about the longest time. I finally did! 

 

I used this tutorial. It's super easy to follow! Yippee! I surged a rolled hem on the bottom instead of a double hem. The picture totally doesn't do it justice. And I had just gotten home from work, meaning tired old face and everything. Blah. Oh well. It's life. And of course I had to put two pictures cause I just couldn't decide which one was better.

And incase your wondering, I totally considered editing out my zits. I just thought- oh that'd make it look better. But then I went through this big debate in my head about how I HATE the magazine industry for the mere fact that they airbrush and photoshop every cover person so that they look like this amazing person and then of course it makes every normal person feel like WOAH- my face sure is blotchy! Even though that exact cover person has a blotchy face too, they just are photoshopped. So after my internal deliberation...I decided that's retarded. Even though I think I wouldn't mind doing it for something hanging on my WALL- why give in to the industry on my blog and possibly make someone think, "Wow her face sure is nice" when in reality, it's quite acne-infected. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with myself and I can tell you I am definitley working on the zit issue, I want them GONE! But the point is...I'm not going to be fake and look like I don't really look just to let others believe I have this perfect face. Not to say it'd be perfect without zits. You know what I mean. Right? Anyway. I'm pretty excited about my maxi skirt.

SF/GF Fruit Cobbler

So this weekend I had these raspberries and I thought, "I want cobbler". So I made it! And don't even ask me how much of it I ate. Cause then I'd have to explain that Clay doesn't like cobbler, and I'm the only other human that lives in our house. 

I discovered better batter flour when I saw tons of people using it on gluten free blogs and stuff. They claimed it worked wonders! Well, I looked at our health food store and they didn't have the mix, so I worked my google magic and found a mock recipe for the better batter flour blend. The link is down in the recipe. I have to say this- this blend works WONDERS for cinnamon rolls. And it turned out beautifully for this cobbler! I still would rather use my other blend for other things because I don't think this blend is quite as healthy as my other blend. However, it's good for cinnamon rolls and in my book, that means they should be praised. I plan on doing a whole other post about THAT. 

 Fruit Cobbler (Gluten Free, Sugar Free)

 adapted from Better Batter Recipe

4 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup Better Batter Flour*
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
2 cups sliced fresh or frozen (12 oz pkg) peaches, nectarines, whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pitted cherries or a combination of fruits
1 Tablespooon coconut sugar

Preheat oven to 350
 

Put butter in 8 or 9 inch square pan (I use a glass one and melt the butter in the microwave – or you can set the pan in the preheating oven to melt the butter)

Whisk Better Batter Flour, 3/4 cup coconut sugar, and baking powder in small bowl. Add milk, whisk to form a smooth batter.

Pour batter over melted butter in pan.

Scatter fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tablespoon of coconut sugar.

Bake at 350 until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50-60 minutes.

When using frozen fruit, do not defrost.

 *If you aren't gluten-free, this could totally be subbed out for white flour.

Lyme Disease & Ticks FAQ

Isn't that the truth?

What is Lyme Disease? Lyme Disease is a serious bacterial infection caused by a spirochete, which is transmitted via a tick bite (the truth is, any bug that bites can transmit it, like mosquitoes and flees). Lyme Disease is OFTEN misdiagnosed as arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson's, Crohn's, Irritable bowel, autoimmune, autism, and many other things. There are thousands of examples of people who have been diagnosed with one of those things only to find out YEARS later that it is actually Lyme Disease.

I heard that Lyme disease doesn't exist in my state? NOT TRUE. I have talked to, and personally known multiple people that live in states that "don't have lyme", and they got bit by a tick there and got it. A few things to think about, a tick can easily migrate much like a bird. First off, they can attach to a bird, deer, human, ANYTHING...and stay attached for a long time. So lets say they get on a bird. Bird flies from Idaho to Oregon. Tick drops off in woods. EASY. Ticks don't know state lines. Another thing is, Lyme Disease can be sexually transmitted. Not to mention the fact that you could've been bit without knowing it while on vacation. The entire excuse that you couldn't have Lyme Disease because you live in a certain state is severely flawed.

I got bit, but I didn't get a bulls eye rash. That means I didn't get it...right? FALSE! My husband didn't get a rash, my niece didn't get a rash, 2/3 of people who get bit, don't see a rash. DO NOT go by this small symptom. HOWEVER- if you do get a rash, you got it. Get on antibiotics IMMEDIATELY.

The tick wasn't engorged, and it was on me less than 12 hours. I'm okay right? NO! Again, this is such a false notion that the tick has to be engorged or on you for a long time. My little niece was in Oregon (a state that supposedly doesn't have Lyme, or has LITTLE likelihood of getting it) the tick was on her for less than 12 hours, was NOT engorged, she didn't have a rash, and she has Lyme Disease.

What are the Symptoms?
Early Symptoms within a few weeks after being bit:
-Flu/Fever
-Achey Joints
-Fatigue

What happens after a long time? When gone untreated, Lyme disease can do some SERIOUS damage. It aggressively attacks the immune system. People with chronic Lyme often have severe joint pain, extreme fatigue, memory issues, seizures, digestive issues, heart problems, among a myriad of other things.

What should I do if I got bit by a tick? First, follow these instructions to remove tick:
Any tick that is attached to the skin should be removed carefully and quickly using the following guidelines:

• Using small tweezers, grasp the head of the tick at the skin and hold firmly without squishing it, and pull STRAIGHT OUT without twisting or turning it.  There may be some resistance as ticks secrete a cement- like substance that allows them a tight hold on the skin site of attachment.
• Place the tick in a small jar and save to send to Igenex, Inc. for PCR/DNA testing of the tick for Lyme Disease.
• NEVER squeeze or burn a tick.
• NEVER use any ointments at the site of the tick bite.
• Clean the tick bite site thoroughly with alcohol.
• Phone your physician and make an appointment immediately.
• Monitor the site of the tick bite and note any strange rashes.
• Take a magic marker and draw an outline around the edge of the rash so the Lyme Literate physician can see the extent of the rash. The marker won't wear off in a shower if you have to wait to see the physician.
• Take a picture of the rash with your camera, and bring the camera with you to the doctor's office so that if the rash fades, the physician can still assess it.
• Rashes can also occur on the body other than at the site of the tick bite so make note of these as well.
• Fleas, mosquitoes, sand flies, and probably any biting insect may also transmit Lyme Disease, so if you have suspicious swelling after an insect bite, take a picture of it and bring that picture to a Lyme Literate doctor's office.

Just know though, that when they test the tick, they only test for like ONE strain of Lyme Disease, and there are over 100. So it's pretty unreliable. Also, if you can get your doctor to give you a round of antibiotics immediately, that would be ideal. Most doctors wont, but remind them that people get medication for acne and all sorts of things that aren't as serious as Lyme Disease. You really should get at least 8 weeks of antibiotics to get rid of it before having to have major long-term treatment.


How do you get treated for Lyme? There are many methods of treating Lyme disease, but what we personally believe is best is this: long term antibiotics and supplements. There is a lot of controversy on this topic, but from our experience so far, we feel like there's no way to get rid of it without antibiotics. You may make the Lyme dormant (which happened to Clay when he was treated naturally, then it came back full force), but to fully get symptom-free and in remission, you need antibiotics. It's really important to be treated by a Lyme Literate Doctor who knows what they are doing. It's such a smart disease. The other major way to treat Lyme is diet change. Lyme feeds off of sugar and gluten, so those are big no-no's when diagnosed.

Why don't more people know about this? For a number of reasons. But mostly, people just don't understand this disease, especially doctors. There are only a handful of doctors in the entire nation that are qualified to treat this disease, which is why it is so often misdiagnosed. Also, because of political/financial ties to insurance companies and people in the infectious disease board, truth has been covered up and denied. If you want to learn more about this, watch "Under our Skin", a documentary, or just google it. And again, people think this can only come from ticks, but like I said, it can come from a number of things. So if someone never found a tick on them, they think there's no possibility, but there is.

What can I do to help? TALK. Communicate to people who you think may have it. Talk to people about me and Clay! Tell people what you know about Lyme Disease, and DON'T back down to doctors. Share this link with people. Most people don't understand ticks and Lyme.

What do I do if I think I have Lyme Disease? Find a Lyme Literate Doctor. Email me if you want to know who I see. Get TESTED by Igenex Labs. http://igenex.com/Website/ If you have been tested before by a different lab company, get tested again with Igenex. They are the best at testing Lyme. Because Lyme is so smart (really it is), it's very hard to find and diagnose. Igenex is TRAINED to recognize Lyme and know the things to look for.

Lyme Disease is serious. It kills people. It destroys lives. I'm not being dramatic here, it's the truth! This is why I want so badly for more people to know about it, because it can be PREVENTED. I hope so badly that I can help people to NOT have to go through what Clay and I have gone through these past couple years...not to mention the pain involved before treatment. It's hard. Really hard. So be smart, be aware, and be careful. Don't let doctors bully you into thinking it's impossible for someone to have it where you live. Demand a test, and tell them if they don't help then you'll find someone else.

If you or someone you know thinks they have Lyme, or you have Lyme and have questions, or need someone understanding, please feel free to email me at daniellephillipp (@) gmail (dot) com.

If you have any more questions about Lyme, feel free to comment and I can always add more to this. I just wanted to cover the general things most people talk about and don't understand. 

Free Patterns

So, since I am no longer doing etsy, I put these patterns I made in my tutorials section! They are so fun to make. I know it's not the holiday season, but sometimes it's nice to make these things before the holidays so you can enjoy them :)

Just click on tutorials in the header if you want the directions!

Free 16x20 prints

Want this print? Or any of the other prints I've made? I have decided to offer them for free (sick of doing my etsy thing- too big a hassle) on my blog! You can download them right from here. Just click on the link in my header titled "free prints" and there are links to download them from there, with directions. You can print these at Costco or Sam's club for like...$5 bucks I think! They are just such easy decorations for holidays...and I have fun making them! I know they probably make design people cringe...I'm probably breaking a million rules :) haha...but people seem to like them and I love them so that's all that matters to me I guess. 

It's in the 80's and this weekend it's supposed to be 90 degrees! HOORAH! I love getting more heat!

Continuously learning from this Lyme thing...

Well, today I found out that my little sweet niece has Lyme Disease. She is just under 2 years old...the CUTEST thing- the one you saw in the pictures from DC.

She got bit by a tick earlier this year in southern Oregon and after so much annoyance...my sister finally got some answers! Just being involved in her process of going to multiple doctors and multiple doctors being COMPLETE IDIOTS- I was reminded of how little this world knows about Lyme.

As much as I HATE this disease and everything that goes with it...I'm so grateful for the knowledge I've gained. If anything, I'm glad I've gone through this so that little Scarlet doesn't go through life with Lyme and get sicker and sicker until it's too late, or she has YEARS of treatment. Thank goodness though, I have been through what I've been through, my family knows so much now, and my sister knew to not brush it off, and trust doctors who said, "We don't have Lyme in this area", or a bunch of other COMPLETE moronicness. Because of what Clay and I have gone through...Scarlet can get treated, get better, and live a wonderful life!

It does makes me sad that she has it though, and that she has to be treated at all. It makes me so mad that there are tiny bugs that can give you diseases that can just change your life in an instant. It makes me LIVID that there are big headed doctors that think they know everything and don't listen or care...and that there isn't more publicity or knowledge on this topic. The whole thing exhausts me really. It's exhausting to tell people, "GET TESTED" or "GET ON ANTIBIOTICS" or, "I don't eat Gluten or sugar because I have Lyme"...and everytime I say these things people give me questioning stares...like, ehhh...maybe. It kills me. Clay and I have both decided so many times if we ever came upon a lot of money, we would try so hard to increase lyme awareness and research. It's a freaking epidemic, ALL around us. People need to be aware. It can be prevented. It can be fixed! And unfortunately there are only a small handful of doctors who know how to properly treat this...meaning it's super hard to get appointments, travel, etc.

All this being said though, I feel like maybe that's the reason I got this disease. Among so many lessons I've learned of patience, perspective, judging, perseverance, and a lot of other stuff...I feel like I'm just one of those people that isn't embarrassed to say I have a disease...and talk about it and be open about it. Even though sometimes it IS hard...I just can't bear the thought of me NOT doing this, and letting people get sick...when I could've helped give them knowledge. I hope that's not coming off as big headed or something, like I think I have this big calling or anything. I don't. I just feel like I'm capable, so I need to. I honestly feel like I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't make people more aware. Since I have such issues with the fact that people aren't!

Anyway, I sure hope I can help SOME people in this small way of sharing on my blog. Be smart when camping! The bugs are plentiful this year. I got this from my doctor's website:

Any tick that is attached to the skin should be removed carefully and quickly using the following guidelines:

• Using small tweezers, grasp the head of the tick at the skin and hold firmly without squishing it, and pull STRAIGHT OUT without twisting or turning it.  There may be some resistance as ticks secrete a cement- like substance that allows them a tight hold on the skin site of attachment.
• Place the tick in a small jar and save to send to Igenex, Inc. for PCR/DNA testing of the tick for Lyme Disease.
• NEVER squeeze or burn a tick.
• NEVER use any ointments at the site of the tick bite.
• Clean the tick bite site thoroughly with alcohol.
• Phone your physician and make an appointment immediately.
• Monitor the site of the tick bite and note any strange rashes.
• Take a magic marker and draw an outline around the edge of the rash so the Lyme Literate physician can see the extent of the rash. The marker won't wear off in a shower if you have to wait to see the physician.
• Take a picture of the rash with your camera, and bring the camera with you to the doctor's office so that if the rash fades, the physician can still assess it.
• Rashes can also occur on the body other than at the site of the tick bite so make note of these as well.
• Fleas, mosquitoes, sand flies, and probably any biting insect may also transmit Lyme Disease, so if you have suspicious swelling after an insect bite, take a picture of it and bring that picture to a Lyme Literate doctor's office.

Just a note...even if the tick comes back negative, you could still have Lyme. Happened to Scarlet. They only test like...ONE strain of lyme on the ticks...so if you got some other strain...it wouldn't be picked up on the tick, you know? So in my opinion...now that I know this, the testing of the tick is kind of ridiculous...unless you really can't find a doctor that will test you.

I know I've said this before, but symptoms of Lyme include a fever/flu within a couple weeks of getting bit, achey joints, and fatigue. I'd say those are the main ones to watch for. 

Have a nice day! 

A little BBQing.

Tonight after some begging, Clay went outside and taught me how to BBQ (I didn't do anything, just watched). It's pretty simple, but it was so much fun being out there in the sun together while Dante was running around excited in our backyard, I told him that we should just do it like that all the time! I'm pretty sure next Friday will be another BBQ day- yay!

 I saw this idea on Pintrest a while ago and have been thinking of it ever since. SO simple and easy. Just ham and pineapple. It wasn't anything OUTSTANDING or BRILLIANT! But it was very tasty and I will definitely do it again! 

So this is typical Dante/Clay play time. Clay will throw something (like the small tire in the pics) and Dante will go wrestle it on the ground...then he will run it back to Clay....then he will try to play tug-o-war with Clay...sometimes Clay lets him, sometimes he says to let it go and they just do fetch. Dante loooooves it. 

 This is what happens if I am outside and Clay goes inside for a minute. Dante will go to the door and watch it until Clay comes back out. This often happens when the situation is reversed. Dante left inside, Clay goes outside.

 

After eating our BBQ'd goods we snacked on the rest of the fresh pineapple. I asked Clay about fruit in Brazil that he's mentioned before and he once again declared that mangos in Brazil are just amazing and the ones here are crap comparatively. 

I finished my quilt last night! I love it SO MUCH! It's so wonderful and feels so good to finally have it done! I will probably take pics tomorrow :) 

I have just been in such a sewing mood lately and I LOVE IT when that happens! 

Thank heavens it's the weekend. My plans are to play guitar, read, watch tv, sleep in, ride my bike, go to farmers market?, clean a TITCH, sew?, we'll see. I might just end up watching tv. It happens.

Twisty Turban Headband Thingy

               

 

General Instructions (Please pretend that my pictures represent the measurements I wrote. I initially made this a lot wider/thicker but I changed it to be smaller and liked it way better)

1. Cut out 4 pieces of fabric that are 3" wide, 24" long

2. Sew two pieces together along the long edges (leaving the short edges open to turn inside out). Do this two times, ending up with two 3x24" tubes. ***So with the patriotic one, ignore that there are multiple seams...I didn't have a striped knit fabric, so I took white and red knit and sewed together stripes, but then used it as one piece of fabric***Oh and I know the picture looks like they aren't the same length...which wasn't on purpose, but sometimes that just happens and it's okay. 

  

3. This part is tricky sounding but really simple. Turn one of the tubes right side out, and leave the other one inside out. Insert the right side out one inside of the inside out one...kinda like this. 

4. Line up edges and sew across top. Like this

 

5. Turn strip right side out. See how nice that turned out?

 

6. Sew the other end. (It doesn't matter if its twisted or perfectly round, because when you wear it it gets all twisty anyway.

  

 I know the seam is showing, but the great thing is, you just put the seam against the back of your head, then put the clean one you did on the other end ontop. No one will ever know you have an exposed seam!

And that's it! I know the instructions aren't that great. But its pretty simple, I think if you generally follow what I said you can figure it out. 

I used an old knit turtleneck for the yellow one...and I got the inspiration for the patriotic one from here (hers is way cuter...don't judge!). Her shop has so many cute things I want to buy! Like this. 

Anywho....really easy. I might make a few more because I like having headbands during zumba and these knit ones are really comfy and good! 

               


UPDATED: My sister couldn't figure out how the twist works and I realized that is kinda confusing so I made a video that will probably help you visualize how to make it too...here we go.

Buttermilk Syrup & Les Miserables

A little bit of my Gluten Free German Pancake. YUMMO- Gluten Free german pancakes sure do react differently than regular ones, but they are still pretty tasty. Especially when you put my homemade buttermilk syrup and chopped pecans ontop! Here is the recipe:

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar (OR 3/4 cup agave)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

Put butter, sugar, buttermilk into pot and stir until it boils. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. 

I have to tell you...this is the best syrup I've ever tasted in my LIFE. Oh, it's really good. 

So I'm nearing the halfway mark in Les Miserables (as shown in the pic above). It's a pretty great book so far! It takes a while to read it just because the language can be pretty different at times. However, there are also moments where you are like, "What the heck! How will he get out of this one!" and you want to read read read till you find out what happens. Also, this book makes me want to be a good person. I like that. 

Pintrest Wish List

So, I have pintrest, which a lot of you have too...anyway, I find myself constantly looking at my "Wish List" board. I put things that someday I plan on getting...who knows when. But I recently put tons of books. I have the Jane Austin leatherbound classic book from Barnes and Noble...and when Patty told me, "You should get some more" I said..."WHAT?! THEY HAVE MORE?!" and I went online and drooled. Here are some of my faves. 

I want so many of them. I think around 27 or something. I have a vision of having them displayed and reading out of them and reading my children out of the chidrenish ones. Someday, I really will have all those books. And with my new goal of reading classics, I just know it will all work out. I had this idea of rewarding myself with a new book everytime I finish one of them. They are ginormo so it would be quite a feat. And of course I would get some with gifts ;)

A couple other things I have been eyein'. 

Sigh...oddly enough, I don't get depressed or anything when I look at my "wish list". I just love pintrest for these reasons. I don't have to forget when I see something I want. Before when my birthday or Christmas came around I was like...dangit! What did I want? Now I have a solid picture list and it's so easy.

Here is my pinterest if you are into that kinda thing.

Blinds...YUCK!

So, long ago...I declared blinds as the worst invention ever. Not really, but basically I officially decided that they SUCK. Remember when I went from this:

To this?

PURE HEAVEN! (Tutorial here)

Well, I have recently decided that after living in our house for almost 3 years, it's time to do some spring cleaning :) On the list: BLINDS. Specifically, clean them. 

I was pretty appalled at what I saw........FILTH!

Oh boy. Well, I cleaned them, and now they are all white and slobber free! Please note, the slobber comes from Dante, not me...OR Clay. 

After cleaning them...I declared again, BLINDS SUCK. I am so ready to tear them all down and put up curtains instead. Clay likes blinds for whatever reason...but like a lot of things in life, I end up showing him the light and he converts :)

In other news....like I mentioned before, I've been trying to play more guitar.

It's been great. Really. My fingers are getting sore and pretty soon they'll get that familiar feeling of calloused ends. Throughout most of high school I had calloused fingers, but they quickly became soft again once I stopped playing :) 

Clay's been playing lots of Diablo3. He plays online with our bro-in-law Mike and they talk and stuff. It's funny. 

 

 Dante has been really cute and stuff. Just playin with his toys...begging for loves and walks. We have decided that he knows how handsome he is, and tries to use it to his advantage. 

Yesterday I made Chef Brad's rice waffles.

They are 100% rice flour with actual COOKED rice in the batter. I don't notice it much because I put berries and stuff ontop of my waffles. But Clay was like, "I feel like I keep eating grains" haha. Well, he still ate all of his because of my special buttermilk syrup. He will basically eat any breakfast food if I make that. It tastes like caramel. And is amazing. Clay doesn't particularly love breakfast food...so if I make it, I try to make the buttermilk syrup so that he doesn't feel cheated. 

Yesterday I put a braid in my hair. It feels summery and nice. 

But don't let that fool you into thinking we are full on summer here....ugh. Good ol' Idaho. Here is the weather forecast...

You see how the weather changes so? Blah. 

I've been watching Gilmore Girls while sewing on my quilt. It's the best. I seriously never get sick of that show. I just watched the episode where Max and Lorelei are walking in the snow and kiss and Luke sees it and oh! It's so heartbreaking. 

Anywho, hope you have a good weekend. I know I will! Here are my generalized plans: Wipe down baseboards, do a load of dishes, sew a bit, play guitar a bit, watch some Dawson's Creek (its on netflix instant play now...of course I've been watching tons of it and of course it's a completely inappropriate teen show...but I just can't seem to resist these things), maybe read, maybe walk Dante.

goals

Well, I have made some goals.

                       

Here are my summer goals of cleaning, organizing, and sewing. I’m attempting to keep track of our food spending, but I suck at it.

I basically have one thing I do each time I have a day off on Friday. One cleaning, one organizing. And I just have a goal to get those sewing goals done by the end of the summer. It’s been awesome. I already got one done, and I’m almost done with my quilt that I started 3 years ago.

This is the way I am…I need goals to keep myself fulfilled. And I realized that I need lots of things that make me happy in order to be happy…and I’m the type of person that needs to actually write these things down or I forget them. No joke. So here are my goals for a FULL life:)

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Make two new meals a week

Learn and master one guitar song per week (not sayin it has to be hard or anything…the one this week has 3 chords TOTAL) I used to play the guitar all the time. I haven’t much at all for a long time. I LOVE the guitar. It makes me happy. That’s why it’s on the list.

Practice the piano at least once a week- specifically hymns. It’s time. 

Blog everyday (WOAH- this one is far fetched…but it’s a goal…nonetheless…blogging honestly does make me happy, I like it. I like getting comments, I like sharing my life, I love looking back at old posts. I do it all the time)

Always be reading classic literature. I made this goal like this because I don’t necessarily have to like ONLY be reading classics…I just want to be reading them. As I’ve been reading Les Miserables…I’ve realized this book is SO FULL. So much depth and stuff. I feel like I am filled more than when I read others. Not to say my others aren’t wonderful additions to my life. They are so fun and I love those kinds of books too. BY THE WAY- have you seen the preview for the new Les Miserables movie coming out in December?! HOLY smokies I watched it a million times. I’m so excited. It looks a-m-a-z-i-n-g. 

Ride my bike at least once a week. This is silly. But I KNOW how happy I get when I ride my bike. I just never get around to it. So if I ride at least once a week, even if it’s just for like 5 minutes…it will charge me up a bit.

Sew at least one line a day. Haha. This is funny, but I’m pretty excited. Once my mom told me about sewing one line a day and how soon it gets you projects done. This was a LONG time ago we discussed this. Anyway, I decided to sew at least one line a day. It would take me what? A MINUTE?! And it gets me so much further on projects than waiting till I have TIME. You know?

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Goals. I LOVE THEM! I am 100% positive I won’t be perfect at this list. But I am totally fine with that! I’m just gonna strive to live somewhere close to this. When I don’t make goals or lists, my life becomes dull and wasteful. Really…I’m not just saying that. It ends up being this: eating the same things all the time and not even good things, and watching TONS of tv. And a lot of guilt. I’m still gonna watch tv and stuff but hopefully my life will be a bit more balanced now…and my days won’t pass by so slow LONGING for a child to take up my time. Time to stop having pity parties and living.

My trip to Washington DC!

So I went to visit my sissy in DC and had such a great time! 

We went to DC to site see, went to an air and space museum, hung around a lot, ate delicious food (Megan is a GREAT cook- I felt royal), watched some movies, bachelorette, hung by the pool or sand, played with Scarlet, tended to Scarlet (poor thing was sick half the time), and talked lots! 

Lets start from the beginning. Get ready for lots of pictures of....me. haha. Sorry. 

So here I am waiting for Meg at the airport. I had just gotten off a 4 hour flight and I had watched the last Harry Potter on my ipad during the flight. I totally was crying throughout the WHOLE thing. That movie just does it for me. Snape, Harry's sacrifice, Ron & Hermione, NEVILLE! Everyone. I just can't keep the tears from coming. Thank GOODNESS the people sitting next to me were sleeping! How embarrassing. 

  The first day there Scarlet wasn’t that into me. She would give me faces like this:

                                       

Or she would just cry if I even looked at her! She had a major fever, and wasn’t feelin good. Megan kept saying, “I promise she isn’t normally like this!”, but she was still super cute. The next day when we were getting ready for DC she was warming up to me a bit more. SHE IS SO CUTE. Here are some cutie pictures.

 

She liked to be wrapped like a baby and be held like a baby sometimes.

 

Right before we left for DC.

 

The metro! We went on the metro and I really loved it. It was so fascinating to me. I’ve never been on anything like it except at the Seattle airport, which is like…barely anything compared to this. I just kept thinking, “This is genius!” haha. I know, I sound like I’m a amish person or something. But it really was awesome. I felt all “city girl” like.

 

Here we are in DC! We were walking around finding a spot to eat some lunch and the capital building was on one side, and the Washington monument on the other!

 

First stop was the Archives of the United States of America. I totally didn’t expect this to be cool. But it was one of my favorite things! I’m SO GLAD we went!

We weren’t supposed to take pictures, but we snuck a couple.

 

Declaration of Independence.

 

So we saw the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. The Constitution you could see really well, but the others were WAY faded. It was so cool though! I just couldn’t believe the penmanship of them and how perfectly they did it. It had to of taken forever. The paper was HUGE. Way bigger than paper we use! And it was pretty cool to think that they all signed that very paper I was looking at. I liked it lots.

 

I loved the architecture of everything. So cool. I kept thinking at every building, “How in the world did they build this? Amazing!” it made me realize I would love Europe, cause of all the cool buildings.

 

Look at my eye balls closely...freaky!

Next stop, American History Smithsonian Museum! This was way cool. There was everything from pop culture, movies, to war history, presidential history…I really liked a lot of it. It’s so funny cause I swear all the things I didn’t think I would find interesting, I loved. So there were things like, George Washingtons pocket watch, or his ACTUAL CHAIR, or his plate. All of these things, he ACTUALLY used and handled. It was so cool! I just thought how crazy that he was sitting there, or looking at that watch. I loved it.

I wish I’d taken a picture or something, but it was really crowded when we were there- but we saw the American flag that flew, which inspired the song “Star Spangled Banner”. It was AWESOME. Really sobering. And HUGE! I loved it.

This was the actual hogwarts uniform Daniel Radcliffe wore in the first movie! So little and cute!

Next stop, Natural History Smithsonian Museum! I’m probably saying all these names wrong, but they are what I remember them being called…

There were all sorts of things here…animals, fossils, SKULLS!

 

Then we went to the Capital Building. It was way cool. We just sat and ate snacks and rested for a bit infront of it and I kept thinking…”Um…Hillary Clinton could be in there right now doing who knows what” haha. It would be cool to tour it someday.

 

White house. I loved this. There were two men ontop of the whitehouse with sniper rifles set up. Hey Obamas!

 

Then we stopped and saw some ducks on the way to a bathroom which had no toilet paper in any of the stalls. There were two women in there saying, “I would think with ALL the taxes we pay they could handle putting toilet paper in the bathrooms…my gosh”…Megan and I couldn’t help but roll our eyes at them and talk about how ridiculous they sounded…and then realized they were standing right next to us…haha:)

 

Lincoln Memorial! One of my VERY favorites. The building was cool, the view was cool, LINCOLN was cool, everything just felt so important and almost holy. It was pretty great.

 

Megan and I trying to take a picture of the view with both of us in it without destroying the view…

 

Next was the Korean Memorial which was sweet…but we decided to rest there for a bit. Scarlet had fun playing in the pretty fountain.

 

Then, we saw FIREFLYS! Oh my gosh- I’ve never seen fire flies before and they were MAGICAL! We loved them, obviously.

 

Very cool view as we were headin to the Jefferson Memorial.

 

Before we hit up Jefferson, we went to Roosevelt. There weren’t really picturesque areas in that one at night time, but there were SO many quotes on walls that I realized I loved. Like, “The only thing to fear is fear itself” or something like that. He had a lot of good ones.

Jefferson Memorial was cool. Not as cool as Lincoln, but cool in a different way. The whole building was like…see through? As in no back walls. It was like all columns around. I didn’t realize that this quote came from Jefferson and I love this quote. It’s basically my whole belief system. Seeing all the quotes of some of these guys made me realize I really am interested in learning about our American History again. Of course I did as a child, but I was a child and don’t really remember any of it!

 

At the metro waiting for our train. We were EXAUSTED. We had basically been out and about for 12 straight hours. I learned something…a pregnant lady and a lyme effected person make a LOT of groaning on their way back to the metro after a long day in DC. We kept laughing cause we kept moaning and groaning. Megs back was killing her…my knees and hips were feeling like…broken and beat up. Oh man…I felt a bit like death on that tail end. But it was worth it. It took me till today to feel back to myself and my legs back to normal. I am planning on mentioning it to my doctor, but I do think that my joints just are damaged and can’t handle too much! Obviously everyone would be sore and such after a day like that, but it was pretty bad. I didn’t really feel like doing anything but laying around the couple days after.

 

Tired tired tired tired TIRED feet.

Scarlet was OUT and so tired. She was such a good girl! I couldn’t believe it. She like, never whined at all as we were out. It was awesome.

 

This is Scarlet talking to her dad on skype. It was so cute. He would sing her songs and she would dance and smile and sing along sometimes. He is out of town.

 

A few days later we went to the air and space museum. I wasn’t expecting to be TOO into it, but it sounded interesting. Right away it was cool. There were all sorts of planes all over the place hanging from the ceiling, sitting on the floor, it was cool.

This is the VERY plane that dropped the first atomic bomb. Insanity.

 

I just kept thinking, “How in the world did they feel sitting in there flying that thing and dropping it!?”

 

This is an ACTUAL space ship that has been in space! It was HUMONGO! I couldn’t believe it.

 

I just loved looking at that space ship. It boggled my mind that it had been in space.

 

The whole thing, and really all of my trip in general, felt really patriotic. Like this picture.

 

Scarlet just randomly laid on the ground and started scootin around. It was way cute and funny. 

I feel like I’ve left out a lot, but I think that’s pretty much all I documented on my iphone. Thank goodness for my iphone. It was so handy. A few times we didn’t know which way was best to get somewhere and it was night…so I just typed it in my google maps and it told us where to go! It even gave an estimated time to walk there…that was handy too.

All in all it was a wonderful trip! It was so fun being with Megan. We really are only around eachother in big family group settings and so it was fun to be just one on one and get a chance to talk a lot. She is a really good mom and a really good cook! I seriously felt like I was getting royal treatment. Everything was delicious. Scarlet is such a good little girl too! A few things that were cute and funny:

When she got a time out, Megan would put her in this corner kind of, but it was totally open and she could just walk away from it if she wanted. But when Megan put her in time out she’d say, “Time out” and Scarlet would cry and scream and be so upset, but stay there! I thought it was so hilarious. I kept saying, “I don’t understand why she doesn’t just stand up and walk away!” and Megan said she just really is a good girl. It was so cute.

She didn’t snuggle me the first day or so, but after a bit she let me hold her and one day I got her up from her nap when Megan was in her shower and she was SO CUTE. She said, “Mommy?” and I said, “She’s in the shower” and so then she wrapped her arms around me and let me hold and snuggle her for a few minutes. Then she said again, “Mommy?” and I said, “Lets go look” and I showed her the closed door to the bathroom and said, “See she’s in the shower! Should we wait?” and she nodded her head and wrapped her arms around me again and let me snuggle her. It was heaven!

She is just always smiling and so cute. Seriously, just a doll. I read her a book that had a spider in it, not a real one, like…the book showed a spider, and she started kind of singing the itsy bitsy spider. So I started singing it with her and then when I was done she made the sign for more. So I sang it again and then turned the page. Right away she turned back the page and signed more. Haha. She LOVES singing I think. Greg would always sing to her on Skype and she LOVED it. So precious.

 

One thing that I learned while at megans was…days sure do slip away quickly with a child around. I would tell clay what we did one day, and it seemed like…nothing. But the day didn’t feel boring or like we did nothing. It felt full…but somehow it didn’t sound full? It was odd. But I soon realized I think it was because of Scarlet! Haha. She just made time pass really quick cause I dunno…I guess maybe things just get interrupted so often and she is so dependent on others to help her you know? An obvious thing I suppose, but I never fully experienced that till this trip I don’t think!

 

This was on one of my flights. I looked out and it looked unreal. Like...heaven or something? It literally looked fake. I loved it. 

Last stop in Salt Lake before home. I had a really short time between flights, but enough time to think, "I am in the mood for chocolate". Clay and I have kind of a rule when we are traveling. We can eat whatever we want guilt free. So I was thinking...I will get a chocolate bar at one of the stores. Well, I never passed any! So I debated for a good 10 minutes whether or not I had enough time to go look for a store to get a chocolate bar, or if I should just resist. OR if I should go and get a cinnabon. I ended up just waiting for my plane and going without. 

Anyway, it is good to be home. I am still catching up and feeling pretty tired from the travels and time change. The time change isn’t much (two hours) but I think combining it with the long day of travel and still recovering from that long DC day, I’m just pooped. Planning on sleeping in tomorrow for sure.      

Last note- I just read through this whole post and I think I said the words "cool" and "cute" about a million times each. Yowsa.