Tips and a Recipe

Getting out of bed this morning with everyone else still sleeping didn’t end up being as hard as I’d thought! Seeing as I just had myself to get ready, I was able to catch an extra half hour of zzz’s myself!! I woke up pretty darn hungry, too! There was a half of a banana in the fridge from my hubby’s after hockey smoothie last night, so I used it up!


- ¾ cup unsweetened chocolate almond breeze
-1/4 cup water
-1/2 Quaker oats
-1/2 a banana, mashed up


I just love the combination of chocolate and banana. Actually I love chocolate with almost anything!! **Please excuse the messy bowl! I didn't realize it looked like that until I downloaded the picture!

The office was pretty bare this morning which makes the atmosphere a lot more relaxing! The radio was a little louder and we were all dressed more casual than usual. Still lots of work to do, though!! Mid morning I had this cup of TAZO tea with a piece of my carrot cake baked oatmeal from last nights BSI entry. It’s even better today!!


The crew was home went I arrived for my lunch run so I had some company while sweating it up! I ran a nice, smooth 3.28 miles. The only bummer is it was one of those days where I just wanted to keep going, but I had to stop and go back to work. Oh, the unfairness of it all!! :)

I scrambled a bit this morning where my lunch was concerned. I could have sworn that I still had a Lean Cuisine Panini in the freezer, but could not find it! I ended up throwing together an Arnold Thin with almond butter and cinnamon plum tea jam. Here’s my tower of grown up PB & J!!

A little later in the day I tried my first Oikos yogurt.


I absolutely LOVED it! In all honesty, I couldn’t tell the difference between this and Fage. It was thick, creamy and tangy! I put it in my mug and topped it with black berries and pumpkin granola for my afternoon snackie! YUM-O!! :)


As promised in yesterday’s post, here are a few “did you know” tidbits courtesy of Family Circle magazine. I hope you enjoy them! I found them rather interesting!

-a non flowering green plant, like bamboo, can purify the air in a 10 x 10 room in 24hrs

-chapped lips? Smear a little Vaseline on a toothbrush, then use to exfoliate

-Store freshly baked cookies in a container with a few pieces of bread. The moisture in the bread is absorbed into the cookies helping them stay fresh longer

-Keep your shelves tidier by rolling towel, t-shirts, sweaters and sweat shirts instead of folding them.

-Use leftover twist ties to tame the tangle of TV, computer and cell phone wires.

And there you have it! I love reading about little time savers and such. A few of you mentioned in my comments Friday that you would like the recipe for the dessert my co-worker brought in. She graciously gave it to me!

Stained Glass Windows

1 pkg cherry jello
1 pkg lime jello
1 pkg orange jello

Make each pkg individually as follows: pour pkg of jello in 1 cup boiling water, stir until crystals are dissolved, add 1/4 cup of cold water and let set in fridge until firm - I use pie plates to set the jello - should be wiggly like jello jigglers

1 pkg lemon jello
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup cold water

Add sugar and pineapple juice together and bring to a boil. Once brought to a boil, turn off heat and add lemon jello. Dissolve all crystals and add 1/2 cup cold water. Let this completely cool - will become a little thick (like a creamy soup).

1 pint whipping cream

Whip whipping cream and fold in cooled lemon jello mixture. Fold until mixture turns yellow - should not have any pure white areas.

Cut the coloured jello into cubs and add to whipping cream mixture.

Crust

1 sleeve of graham wafers - crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Mix together and spread at the bottom of baking dish - keep about 1/4 cup of crumbs for topping - pour whipped cream jello mixture on top of graham wafer crumbs and sprinkle with remaining crumbs - refrigerate overnight or minimum of 6-8 hours.

Here’s a “reminder” picture of the dessert! Hope everyone that makes it enjoys it!



I had to run a few errands after work so my hubby got dinner going. He made up some chicken with tomato sauce and melted cheese on top. I served my portion with some steamed edamame and butternut squash.

A very satisfying meal...especially since I didn't cook most of it! For my sweet end I ate my last 2 dark chocolate Ferraro Rochers.

I plan on making my cheesecake for Christmas Day tonight so it's ready to go when I need it. I also bought the ingredients for the caramel pecan sauce (oh, yeah!!), but I think I forgot the recipe at work so that might have to wait. Other than that, I think I'll watch a few Christmas shows with the kids. I got a couple magazine's in the mail this week so once the kids are dreaming of sugar plums, I think I'll just chill out with them until bedtime. Stay warm, if need be, where ever you are and enjoy the night!

Bye for now!!