Music is my Therapy

Man oh man!   Friday night I totally  BLEW my healthy-eating streak :( And the rest of the weekend was kind of the same way. Pizza, cupcakes, popcorn, cookies, sushi....embarrassing!! And I was doing SO WELL! But today is a fresh start and I started my day with a big bowl of oatmeal! I added a little less than 1/2 cup of loose (not tightly packed) brown sugar which proved to be WAY too much and WAY too sweet! Next time I'll do about a tablespoon. But it tasted pretty good and was healthier than the pre-packaged stuff so I'm ok with that. I took my dog on about a 30 minute walk and now I'm going to work on cleaning my room! It's a mess! I'll check in later!   STAY STRONG!!

*This is going to be a health related post*   So I've been doing really well these past three days with my food. I've been eating healthier foods and smaller portions. I have also been trying to drink lots of water. I actually downloaded a FREE weight-loss plan, here . I'm really serious about losing this extra weight, especially my excess fat. Nutrition and eating right is actually more important than exercise (but I do want to exercise more too). I'm definitely not one of those super freak health-nuts. But I am trying to control my cravings, resist temptations and eat healthier. It's been hard but worth it. I am proud of myself. Food is definitely one of my weaknesses. And it's even harder when I really love to cook and bake!   So I took some notes about myself and my body yesterday and here are my results:   Measurements:   * Click here if you want to use the same thing I did to get these measurements. A pretty helpful...

Song: Broken Angel Artist: Hanson   This song has been going through my mind all day. It's really simple and beautiful. It's unique and there's so much meaning behind this song and so many different ways you can interpret it. But I love the way Zac Hanson explained it (it is his song after all): "It's a song about the fact that fairy tales aren't necessarily true, that people's dreams don't always flourish. Loved ones die, people who deserve so much don't get what they should, and you should still believe in fairy tales because of the beauty of it, and you should still get up and strive to be a better person, live a better life and do these things; not to fall into the norm, but strive to do something great with your life. It's kind of cheesy, but I think it's a story that everyone should put to their life and go for a little more."     So small, yet still so proud At night before he dreams ...

I made this AMAZING cake for my Mother's Day dessert! It was a HUGE hit, everyone LOVED it! I have to say, the name has it right. This stuff is too good to be true. Very, very moist and chocolaty, it's heaven. Thank you Pioneer Woman!   Ingredients: FOR THE CAKE: 2 cups Flour 2 cups Sugar 1/4 teaspoon Salt 4 (heaping) Tablespoons Cocoa powder 2 sticks of Butter 1 cup Boiling Water 1/2 cup Buttermilk 2 whole beaten Eggs 1 teaspoon Baking Soda 1 teaspoon Vanilla FOR THE FROSTING: 1/2 cup finely chopped Pecans (optional) - I didn't use pecans 1-3/4 stick Butter 4 (heaping) Tablespoons Cocoa powder 6 Tablespoons Milk 1 teaspoon Vanilla 1 pound (minus 1/2 cup) Powdered Sugar - I googled this the day I made the cake and now I forgot how many cups I used! I believe I used 3-1/2....I believe I read 4 cups = 1 pound and then I had to take half of that away. Should have written that down! But that is what is sounding familiar to me. Sorry! Prepara...

Another recipe! I made this Jello-salad for Mother's Day on Sunday. I have been craving this for a long time and I thought Mother's Day was the perfect excuse to make it :) This is definitely NOT a healthy salad (don't let that word trick you ;) It's sugary, salty and sweet and delicious!! I LOVE it! It's like a dessert....but you eat it with your dinner! A couple notes: Make sure you really soften your cream cheese. I thought mine was soft enough after pulling it out of the fridge but I could not for the life of me get that cream cheese to blend in smooth!! (It still turned out fine and tasting great!) Also make sure you let the cream cheese mixture really set before dumping the jello on top....nothing horrendous happened but the jello salad didn't look picture perfect. But the most important thing is that it tasted AMAZING!! And that's really all that matters :)   Ingredients: 2 heaping cups coarsely crushed pretzels - really make sure they are HE...

Doing something a little different today! Posting a recipe :) I LOVE to bake and cook and lately I've been working on this talent of mine. Last week I made some granola bars (a recipe from one of my favorite television programs, The Pioneer Woman ) and they turned out really yummy! They're a little dry and crumbly but that makes them great to put on yogurt or with your cereal. The taste reminds me of the Oats & Honey Nature Valley Bars . I also adjusted the recipe a bit to make them healthier. I'm not saying these things are totally healthy but they're probably MUCH better for you than the store bought granola bars. Plus you know exactly what's going in them! This is a fairly easy recipe and I had most of the ingredients on hand!   Ingredients: 6 cups Rolled Oats (not Quick Oats) - I used Old Fashioned Oats 4 Tablespoons Butter, melted, plus more for greasing - I used Coconut Oil 1/4 cups Vegetable or Canola Oil 1 teaspoon Salt 1 cup Brown Sugar ...

Song: Lost Without Each Other Artist: Hanson   In honor of Hanson Day (yes, that's a real thing ) I decided to give a shout out to my boys! Love these guys. This song is so awesome. I just recently discovered it and I am obsessed. It's so fun and the lyrics are so cute! "All I know is what I'm missin', what I'm missin' is your kissin', are you listenin'? Don't GO! Don't go tellin' me you're alright. There's no room for getting uptight. Don't go sayin' that you're OK, when your lonely. Baby! Don't go tellin' me we're over, when you know you're my one and only lover and I won't go sayin' that we're OK when we're lost without each other! Cause we're lost without each other, cause we're lost without each other!" I ran into your best friend today Twelve nights since you ran away I asked about you and she said, can't say, can't say I'm feeling l...