A Follow Up on Fall Goals and Pumpkin Spice Syrup {Recipe}

November 10, 2014November 18, 201717 Comments

A few months ago (whoa time is flying), I posted my Fall goals. I’m proud to say that I’ve ticked most items off the list! Huzzah!

We finally made it to the pumpkin farm this past weekend. Thank goodness for by-weeks because college football has been dictating our Saturdays. Boo!

The main person who grumbled about going to “take pictures in foliage” had a great time. I’m happy to report that he did not break the hobby horse.

While these aren’t the professional photos I had in mind, they’re still frame-able so I’m counting these as family photos too. Score! Besides, we just sank $1500 into the car so the hubby doesn’t see professional photos as a necessary expense at the moment. Even though I understand and agree with his logic, there was still a small part of me that was butthurt about the decision until this weekend. I’ll remove the little guy to right of us before printing. Or maybe I’ll leave the kid in the picture. He was hellbent on photobombing us. I have three to four pictures that show him getting closer and closer. Kids.

This is one of Harper’s new headbands that she thinks is “pwetty” but refuses to wear. She has some pretty stylish teddy bears now. My crafting slowed down last month because I was running out of space for my completed projects. Someone gave me the idea to just start decorating as I complete the items. Genius! I usually start putting up Christmas decor the day after Thanksgiving anyway.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup via Earl-Leigh Designs

This may not be the healthiest but we’re going to count this as one of my easy, healthy recipes. 😉

Ingredients:

1 c pumpkin puree

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (I used a little more…obvisiously)

1/2 c water

Pure maple syrup or liquid sweetener of choice to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.

Store in a mason jar or a container that has a good seal.

Refrigerate for about 30 days.

As far the skirt thing goes…yeah…we’ll get back to that at a later date. Ha!

How are you doing with your goal list?

This post was fueled coffee, a dark chocolate, nuts & sea salt KIND bar and Two Door Cinema Club (they’re one of my faves).

Linked up at Melt in Your Mouth Mondays , Made by you Monday and Mama Moments.

Frisky Fall Update and A Sweet Treat

October 28, 2014January 15, 201520 Comments

I try my best to not spam y’all with progress pictures because that could be obnoxious. With that being said, let the spam commence. Ha!

I was challenged by a fellow TIU beach babe (we call ourselves beach babes fondly, not cockily) to complete the daily fitness post from FitMiss yesterday. I love any reason to pull out my hot pink yoga mat and kettlebell so I was all “challenge accepted” when she tagged me.

Knowing that I had someone out there holding me accountable gave me an extra push because I was tired and sore after my shoulder and calves training session. My pompadour, sadly, did not make it.

That’s one sad looking poof and I used half a pack of bobby pins on that one section of hair. Not really, but dang near close. Because I’m in fit girl happyland aka “bulk city”…that’s what I call it anyway…I decided to treat myself for working so hard.

I received the following product complimentary (that means for FREE and y’all know I love free) from Influenster for testing purposes only. All opinions are my own. Now that the legal biz is taken care of let’s back to the tasty treat I had.

Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa! Yes, I drink hot chocolate and I mean real hot chocolate. When my Influenster box arrived, this packet of chocolaty goodness (the hot chocolate…not me…HA) was probably the first thing I noticed. By probably, I mean definitely. Mike was more excited than I was because I’ve been talking about hot chocolate for as long as I’ve been talking about pumpkin. I think he was under the impression that I would stop talking about it once I had a hot cup of cocoa in my hands. No, sir!

What is Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa?! I’m glad you asked! It’s their new cocoa mix that only has 5 ingredients- cocoa (duh), nonfat milk, sugar, salt and natural flavor. Less “stuff” than traditional hot chocolate mixes but still with a rich chocolate flavor. Delicious!

Do you use your “good” housewares on a regular basis?
Are you a hot chocolate or apple cider person?

This post was fueled by water, pasta and the impending doom of cardio.

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Popcorn, Fire and Ledbetter

October 23, 2014January 15, 20159 Comments

Halloween is quickly approaching so that means the Frisky Fall Challenge will be coming to a close soon. I decided to start bulking a few weeks ago but I’m still participating in the challenge because the women in the Tone It Up (TIU) community are just so encouraging!

This is what I imagine TIU girls to look like when people post progress pictures. Its what I do. I love to see the excitement on someone’s face when they’re meeting goals or excelling! For people who seem unsure or disappointed, please know that I’m going to let you know how awesome you are for working on YOU. That goes for any facet of life.

Yesterday at work, someone in the building overcooked a bag of popcorn. That happens everyday, right? Around these parts, it is apparently proper protocol to have the fire department show up. During the “this is not a drill” announcement, I did the only thing a lady in bulking would do. I grabbed my gym bag and saved my lunch.

Thankfully, the building did not burn down because my headband from Ledbetter was delivered soon after we were allowed to reenter.

I love the company’s mission to “Live, Love, and Learn Every Day Better through Body, Mind and Soul”. Remember my ultimate goal of creating a life that I love? Their mission plays into that. I’ll post a review on the headband soon. Yes, I would have saved it from the flames too.

What is the most dramatic thing you’ve seen or done lately?

This post was fueled by last night’s Chinese takeout, water and my 90’s Christmas Music station on Pandora.

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Blogging, Detoxing & Flexing

October 20, 2014November 18, 201713 Comments

The Blog Well Summit took place this past weekend. Here’s my report back…I wasn’t able to give it my full attention.

If you follow me on Instagram you may know that I was home sick on Wednesday of last week. I haven’t been sleeping well lately and last week I had a massive migraine with nausea that struck almost at random. I ended up leaving my office around noon. After a self assessment (and a negative pregnancy test), I realized that the culprit is work-related stress. I keep harping on the importance of following up on goals because one of my MAJOR goals is to get the hell out of my current 9 to 5 before it gives me gray hairs. I pretty much used this weekend as an unplanned but needed mini mental detox.

Set Your Life on Fire via Earl-Leigh Designs

I was so looking forward to connecting with other bloggers and learning from the guest speakers at Blog Well. Because I wasn’t able to give my full attention, I’m going to purchase what was covered over the weekend.

Bulking/Frisky Fall Update:
This was one of my “non-flex” pictures from Flex Friday! I think that my guns are digging the fact that I’m bulking now. Woo! I’m going to start logging my meals on My Fitness Pal again because I find it difficult to hit my macros (carbs, proteins and fats) if I don’t. Around 6PM I’m usually scrambling because I’m nowhere close to hitting my numbers. Well…I dont really scramble…I’ve been eating pumpkin spice Oreo cookies to fill in my carbs and fats. Ha! They’re so good! I searched all over my part of town with no luck but Michelle was able to get her hands on a pack for me. Yum!

I went to Whole Foods this weekend in search of Call Me Pumpkin, one of Suja’s Holiday Editions, and every flavor but that one was in store. Every flavor. Mike was embarrassed when I asked one of the store associates about “the Suja situation”. When you go out of your way to try something and it isn’t available…it kind of seems like a situation. No?! Anyway, I ended up grabbing a couple bottles of pressed juice from Arden Farms instead. So good! If you are a juice drinker, I would suggest trying their flavor “Oops”. Its tropical, not too sweet and would probably make a killer cocktail. If you don’t like pineapples, you will hate this drink. You’ve been warned. 😉

What is your favorite way to detox?

This post was fueled by water, Band of Horses and my delicious but smelly broccoli.