1st Halloween Event of the Season - Witches Only Dinner Party

Mwah ha ha - do I hear spirits in the air?  

I certainly did on Saturday night with all the witches around!  My annual Halloween dinner party was a hit!

With the weather being so nice, we were able to eat out on the deck, with a friend's canopy for protection from the rain (thanks Darleen!)  Placecards were made from mini pumpkins, glow sticks inserted into paper lanterns made the perfect lighting and ambiance, and wine bottles littered the table.  It was a perfect night.

The middle lantern is battery operated.  The other two are paper lanterns from the dollar store with a glow stick inside.  It made a very cool effect!

Great food and great friends - could it be a more perfect night?

 Very cool dinner by candles and lanterns

The night was truly complete with a visit to the local haunted house (the story was that entire family was murdered and the killer was never found) and karaoke at my favorite place. 

 

Listening to the man behind the speaker try to scare us as I waited to inside the haunted house.

Photo credits to Samantha and Darleen!

Thanks Sam, Katy, Donna, Michelle, Melissa, Darleen, Audrey, & Kimmy for making the night so special!  Michelle E, and Michelle L, we missed you!

Peace.  LOVE.  Serene

Guess what's coming ... (giggle) ... BOO!

That's right ... it's getting to be that time of year!

The other day I stopped into SPIRIT HALLOWEEN, which has been open since  August.  So exciting!

What are you going to dress up as this year?  What should I be this year? I need to start making a costume!

When am I allowed to start decorating?  My mom always said Oct 1st, which I'm sure I had marked on the calendar, but my roommate now says I can start whenever I want.  I think mid-September sounds good.  I'll start with the pumpkins and the fall-type stuff (And ghosts. Ghosts are always in season), then I'll move on to skeletons, ghouls, and spiders).  This weekend sounds like an excellent time to start decorating.  My roommate said it was ok.  : )

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Retro Post: 4th of July

4th of July in Marquette, MI

And yes, this is what the Kid Rock song is all about ....

There's something magical about going back to your hometown each year at a time that you know lots of your old friends are also coming back into town (or still live there, but willing to come out on the town).  This year happened to be ridiculously hot in Marquette, MI.  I'm pretty sure candles were melting without being lit.  And of course most people don't have A/C because they simply don't need it (usually).  So my mom had to invest in a couple of new fans so everyone had their own directly on them, in order to sleep at night.

In addition, I usually like to spend some time in nature, and what I call "Serene Point", which is the spot in which I decided that my life had to have different priorities, with exercise, nutritional, ecological consciousness, and my inner Martha Stewart / Deepak Chopra.  If you've read the blog, no doubt you know about Serene Point.  Anyhoo ... THIS year the heat brought flies.  A lot of flies.  A lot of BITING flies.  So while I tried to go do my meditation, apparently mother nature said, "Not this year, baby."

This year I convinced my friend Michelle to experience the wonders of Marquette, and we had a great time to say the least!  We were also often joined by Baha, from Turkey, who was staying with my mom over the summer.

Walking around at the annual Washington Street parade - Lots of work go into these floats!  And you won't get arrested for carrying around beers!  (the police, I'm sure, would tell you differently)






Seabrook's vintage scooter came in really handy on a very busy weekend - not a lot of parking spots - notice the hog / pig on the front fender.  I'm not sure when the curly tail got broken off.

We had a really good time all week - packed with activities.  This is literally how Sea slept for like 2 hours.

You can't go to Marquette and NOT get Frosty Treats.  Think of it as a classy Dairy Queen.  Ice cream with pizazz!

Beer sampler at The Vierling - also a necessary stop in Marquette.  The blueberry beer is the best you'll ever taste!

BEAUTIFUL VIEWS!

We also had a lot of great food - this is the family at The Portside.  Lots of great food, but you have to try the breadsticks and the round ones!

Climbing sugarloaf mountain - oh no, we don't take the trail!  We scale rocks, jump gorges, walk balance beam fallen trees, rock climb, not knowing where on the mountain we're going to end up.  We eventually got to the top in record time.  So much fun!  

And of course I couldn't resist a handstand!

And I always have to have karaoke :)

Off-Roading on the way home to avoid traffic is fun, but scary when we are in the middle of the woods, our GPS doesnt know where we are, and Sea says "We can make it through that mud puddle."  And it turns out that its a small mud LAKE, and we almost DIDN'T make it through.  Poor little Ford Edge did a lot of work that day!

Not pictured:  Going way out of our way to buy a lot of huge fireworks, 4th of July parade, Fireworks at the lower harbor, International food fest (seriously - they have chinese food and everything!), Bike bus pub crawl (that was hard work!), and time at the 2 other brewpubs in town (yes, there are 3 within a mile).

What a great way to spend a week!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Retro Post: Pool Party

I think I've said this before, but every year I get more and more kids to the pool party, and it's AWESOME!  I know that maybe some adults don't care for that, and they want more of an adult-oriented keg party, but it's a Sunday for pete's sake!  So here are some pics of the great fun we had (in June) at the annual pool party!

Granny looking snazzy, as usual

Raft / pool chair forts!

Katy, our resident OWL - flipping!

Some team members from Bloomfield Gymnastics stopped by!

Just chilling in the sun - couldn't be better!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Too much of a good thing?

I know I'm active.  I know I love to do "stuff".  I'm usually up for anything, especially if it's new.  But is it all too much?  I've recently been accused of doing too much.  Yes, almost every weekend of my summer is booked in advance, and pretty much fall too - all the way to Christmas.  But what would I give up?  Am I not taking enough time to rest?  Is it causing me to get sick?  I just don't want to miss out on anything!  I am also a big believer in living in the moment.  Love the season you're in.  Live it up while you can!  So any feedback is very welcome on this subject.

So I'm headed up north again tomorrow for my BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING!  Yay!  I love Sam, and Alex makes her sooooooo happy.  I'm so excited to share this with her.  And my recent project has been planning her bachelorette party.  I'm can't share details because she may read this, but all I can say is that it's going to be one hell of a party!  I'll post pictures after the fact.

Another reason that I'm so excited for this wedding is that she's taken so many things I have tried to concentrate on the last few years, and incorporating it into her wedding.  She's connecting to nature by having her wedding at the beach.  It's actually the beach that they had their first date.  How cute is that?  Her mom is growing all of the flowers for the wedding, and she is the LEAST STRESSED bride I have ever seen!  She didn't even pick out our bridesmaids dresses - she said "I'm sure you'll pick something pretty"... and we didn't even have to match!  She is so relaxed that I truly believe she's going to enjoy her wedding.  So many brides say that they barely even remember their big day because there were so many things to worry about ... not Sam!  She's going to be a rock star!  I LOVE YOU SAM!

Im going to get a bunch of activities on the blog soon - and don't be surprised if you get a bunch of pictures.   Yeah.  I just like to do stuff.

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Whole 30 Wrap-Up

Sorry guys - you were probably thinking "That's it?  What happened when adding food back in?"

I wasn't as diligent at the very end of the plan.  I did add in dairy only for 2 1/2 days - and I felt perfectly fine (YAY!) so although I understand the fattening agent of dairy (human milk is for human babies to fatten up and get nutrients, and cow's milk is for calves to ... well, you get it), I am happy to say that I have no allergy to it.  And oh my god, it was the BEST broccoli and cheese omelet I have EVER tasted!!  (yeah, I ate half of it before I remembered to take a picture)

Gluten, unfortunately, different story.  My first gluten was and Olga's sandwich & snackers (which I didn't pay attention to, but had soy in it as well).  It wasn't like a felt nauseous or anything, I just didn't feel awesome later that day, and the next day.  I had a little bit of tummy rumbling, and I felt a bit sluggish.  You know what I mean - Nothing in particular was wrong, I just didn't feel great.

I was then getting ready for my annual pool party, so I gave gluten about 2 days as well.  After I started making food, all bets were off.  Gluten, potatoes, beans, corn, mayo, sugar ... it was all there.  So for the party, and then the leftovers last week, I just didn't feel like I did during the plan.  I may take a couple of weeks of no legumes to see how it feels.

So here's the plan:  While I'm not sure that I am ready to go gluten-free, I am making conscious decision to eat LESS gluten.  That I don't need toast with my omelet - fresh fruit instead.  Less pasta in my diet.  I have also talked to people about the best gluten-free bread and pasta.  Im not sure how that works, but Im willing to give it a shot!

Summer is the perfect time for this plan because everything is better on the grill - I love grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, baked sweet potato, all done on the grill.  Try grilled shrimp, chicken, steak, and almost any veggies.  As you can see, I tried grilled strawberries and cherries.  Ehhh.  I like them fresh and cold better.  I also loved steamed veggies.

Also, mix any veggies you have in the house with eggs for a great mix - this was onion, tomato, shredded carrot, and zucchini.

I will finish up with my first "dessert" food after my Whole 30 plan.  If you are ever in the Ferndale, MI, area, you HAVE to stop in at Treat Dreams.  I tried the blueberry riesling, and the strawberry cheesecake, before deciding on this decadent dark chocolate with cinnamon and chipotle.  So good, and my tongue was kind of on fire.  YUM!

All in all, I have heard so many times "You've really slimmed down", "Your skin is glowing", "You look great!" .... so that kind of makes it worth it.  And now I know what I'm in for if I ever decide to do it again - I know how to shop, and what to make.  If anyone else wants to piggy-back on my new knowledge, let me know!

WE CAN ALL DO THIS!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Whole 30 Complete

I did it!  It's complete!  I went 30 days without sugar, dairy, alcohol, gluten, bread, corn, beans, or anything processed.

I promised that I would be honest so here it is:  I don't feel hands-down awesome like I thought I would.  I thought I was going to have a ton of energy, a ton of weight loss, and a big smile on my face. Maybe I was expecting too much.  I am sleeping better, and I have lost a bit of weight.  Granted, I wasn't a die-hard participant, but I just couldn't beat myself up over the little things.  I did have commercial ketchup when necessary (and organic sugar-free at home), I did eat peanut butter through most of the month, and maybe that was part of sensitivity and I screwed it up (I've decided that after adding all foods back in one at a time, I will do a stint of 30 days without ALL legumes, to see if they are an issue for me).  I also used bottled salad dressing, which is sugar and processed.




I will be honest that I accidentally cheated a few days ago - I bought "coconut bliss" dairy-free ice cream, because I was having one hell of a sweets craving (men-block your eyes .... Women-I was on my period, and I know all of you know what I'm talking about!). So I scanned the ingredients.  Coconut milk, cocoa powder, very few others.  Cool! I ate about a quarter of the pint and it was gooooood.  There was a little something missing in the aftertaste, and I think it's because the coconut milk doesn't coat your tongue like dairy does.  So as I'm putting it away, I glance at the ingredients again - agave.  Damn!  I wasn't supposed to have any sugar, sucrolose, honey, agave, stevia- nothing.  And I did feel crappy the next couple of days, but I think it may be a coincidence.  Could that little amount really set me off like that?

My super trying nails are also now weak again and breaking - could also be a time of month thing.

And to finish off the 30 days, I had a celebratory meal with my friends Katy & Jason, and my brother Seabrook:  King crab legs with melted clarified butter, and a big green salad with kale and parsley out of my garden.  Holy cow - what a way to graduate!  And wouldn't you know it - I was so excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture!

It was hard, but I did it!  Here are a few tips:

- Always be prepared - make lunches the night before - always make enough for leftovers - sometimes you just don't feel like cooking
- You won't always be hungry like you think you will.  These foods keep you way more full.

- Soda water with fresh lime makes a pretty good cocktail

- Tell people about what you're doing - they will be less likely to say "just one bite?"
- When you're sick of a type of food (for me it was eggs), try to change it up.  Add some new herbs or spices (towards the end I added curry powder to my eggs and cooked with red pepper and apples)
- Be strong - each craving will pass!  Sweets craving?  Eat some pineapple or watermelon.  Chocolate craving?  Have a banana smoothie with coconut milk and cocoa powder (make sure you get it from a health-type grocery store and that it doesn't have any added sugar)
- Don't beat yourself up if you found out you ate something off of your list (like in condiments).  You can only do your best!
- There are snacks you can have on hand.  Make sweet potato chips or see the pics below: cinnamon apple chips or freeze dried veggie chips.  You can also have dried fruit and veggies.
- Coconut aminos are a good substitute for soy sauce (buy at health food store).
- Don't try to fool your body and have simulations of the foods you can't eat.
- There is way more that you can eat than you think you can (see bottom of page).

Oysters in Pittsburgh with my brother, Seabrook,  & my sister's boyfriend, Josh

Tuna salad w/ extra veggies - celery, radish, & zucchini

Thai grilled chicken with thai cuc & radish salad + watermelon

Snacks you CAN have!  Cinnamon apple chips or freeze dried veggie chips

For your Whole 30, REMEMBER, You can make:
grilled chicken, poached chicken, chicken soup (no noodles), steak on the grill, grilled shrimp, shrimp scampi, pulled pork, beef roast with onions, carrots, and cabbage, grilled fish, sautéed fish, baked fish, steak, chicken, or shrimp stir fry, meatloaf (no oats or breadcrumbs), guacamole, almond butter on celery, freeze dried fruit, fruit smoothies (no milk), hard boiled eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs, veggie egg scramble, sweet potato hash, local sausage & bacon, fruit, tuna salad w/ homemade olive oil mayo, eggs salad w/ oo mayo, chili (no beans), lettuce tacos, burgers (no bun), chicken sate, zucchini "pasta" with marinara or pesto, salad / grilled chicken, strawberries & pecans, ham or turkey sub on lettuce wrap ... And much more!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Summer Yard Sales

Spring and summer are definitely the time for yard sales (garage, tag, rummage).  I wish I had the time and motivation to have one myself!  Its a great feeling to not only make a few bucks, but to also know that someone else can make use of something that has been sitting lonely and useless on your shelf.

My sister is an avid "saler" the Washington DC area and shared some sites with me (for all states):

GSALR

Yard Sale Search

Here are some of her recent finds.  Send me pictures of what you find!  I encourage everyone to recycle by shopping yard sales!  Its the incredible deals that will keep you coming back for more!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Whole 30 - Day 24

This is it!  Im in the home stretch!  Including today, 7 days to go!  Whew.  Im home.  Back to my own fridge, stove, preparation, home-cooked meals.  Don't get me wrong - I had a BLAST in DC, but its hard to not be able to be prepared for each meal.  And plus, all that really good tempting food are not in my house, so that makes it easier as well.  So traveling on the Whole 30 Plan - Possible!  (Im proof) - but not recommended.  I'll be honest.  I had several weak moments that I thought "just a taste - why can't I have that anyway?"  But in the end, I stuck to my plan, and I have no guilty feelings.

I did go out to dinner, and it seems that a beautiful steak with grilled onions is my go-to restaurant meal.  I haven't been disappointed yet.

And this week is "get back to business week" - the last week should be a good one, so I'm going to check into my Pinterest board aptly named "Whole 30" (you can look here), and try to make more of the recipes from my list.

Im also running the Mud Factor run next Saturday with my friend Katy, so yeah, I should probably ATTEMPT to run every day (I am still in the walk 2, run 1 phase).  Wish me luck and encouragement on the training forefront.

Hey guess what.  No cupcakes in this girl's tummy!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

I'm sure you're getting sick of seeing my veggie egg scrambles with fruit ...

Taco salad - taco meat with grilled onions & peppers - fresh cold, crisp veggies on top.  -----------------------Here is the blended frozen bananas with pistachios & blueberries - holy YUM!

Fancy graduation dinner.  Lots of tempting choices.  I had chicken satay as an appetizer, and a perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned filet mignon with roasted asparagus & steamed broccoli (instead of garlic mashed potatoes).        -------------------------- Mini desserts of all flavors were served at the end - I had this lovely fresh fruit in a shot glass.

Whole 30 - Day 22

Ok everyone, I'm feeling great!  I am not waking up in the middle of the night, I am being told I look slim, that my skin is glowing, and that my eyes are brighter.  I would like to say I have more energy, but frankly I haven't been getting my 8 hours of sleep, so I only have myself to blame.  I also have not been exercising at all (ok summer hockey is in season, but I don't count that).  I wish I would have been better about that because I feel like I would have seen some huge changes.

What do you think?  Can I still add that in and have a bikini-ready body by pool party time?

I am now in Washington DC for my little brother, Khyler's, high school graduation.  I wasn't prepared for breakfast before my flight, so I had three bananas in the car and airport to hold me over.  Surprisingly, it worked!  Because there was nooooothing for me to eat at the airport except for overpriced whole fruit.

Now that I'm here, I'm sticking to the plan.  My sister Sony, her boyfriend Josh, and I, went kayaking on the Potomac - super fun!  

We had BBQ yesterday, which was really good.  I also made stovetop popcorn for everyone.  Then it was pointed out to me that it's corn, which is not on the approved list.  So is it off plan?  My thinking is that I can't have corn because of the starch, but the kernel itself does not hold the same properties, so I think it's perfectly fine.  It better be, because I already realized my mistake on peanut butter and had to cut that out!

Today was the grad party, and probably the hardest day yet.  They had it catered by Baja fresh, which all looks amazing.  And besides the tortillas, chips, and cheese, there is a lot for me to eat!  I grabbed a piece of lettuce and made a huge burrito.

BUT I have felt like I'm missing something today.  It could be the amazing spread of chips and salsa,

Or it could be the incredible cupcakes ... As I said before, I don't have much of a sweet tooth normally, but these are killing me!

I can do this!  Resist the cupcakes!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Frozen Banana "ice cream"

Nanners

I previously posted that my new favorite thing was frozen bananas blended into non-dairy "ice cream". I now have to clarify.  Use fresh or slightly speckled bananas - put in freezer whole, or cut into slices, put on baking sheet and freeze.  When frozen, store in ziplock freezer bags.

I found out last night that the bananas that I let get really brown and put in the freezer for banana bread (makes it really sweet and yummy) do NOT work for banana ice cream.  It had a really off taste.

I have also been told that you can add peanut butter, honey, cocoa powder, cinnamon, pumpkin (or pumpkin pie mix), or curry!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Whole 30 - Day 16

Whole 30 Plan - Day 16 - WOO HOO!

I had every intention on writing on day 15, but we had a 2 big shows at Bloomfield Gymnastics yesterday (which went splendidly), and I just didn't have the energy to write the second blog last night.

So I am over the hump 

50% completed  

Moving towards the finish line

And I have to say - I feel great!  Yes, it's still a struggle to find things to eat.  I'm back to eating eggs - scrambled with various veggies and sausage each morning.  Also, last night I went out to dinner to the Moose Preserve, which hasn't happened many times during this program.  I only found a few options, and had to pick one.  I chose "naked & fit chicken" - charbroiled chicken breast with grilled onions a double side of veggies.  (see pic) The veggies were really good.  I also have a new appreciation for soda water with fresh lime.  The spinach artichoke dip looked yummy, but I resisted.  I'm getting a lot of people saying "just one bite" or "just one sip of beer" ... but other than unavoidable sugars (ketchup at a restaurant), I'm sticking to the plan!

On a great note, I am really starting to feel the difference.  My pants are fitting better.  Part of the program is to not weigh yourself, but I don't anyway, so I would have no starting point.  I'm sleeping a lot better (other than the crazy itchy bug bite - see previous post).  I am not having my 4am protein cravings that usually got my out of bed for a Babybel cheese and 4 Triscuits.

I had noticed my fingernails had gotten really weak.  They were easily bendable, and they split easily.  I am now noticing longer nails, and they are very strong.

Mood:  While my friend Donna, and the other coaches at Bloomfield Gymnastics may not agree with this statement, I really have been in a better mood the last couple of days.  The show yesterday was very stressful, so that may have come through, and Thursday I was crabby because I was trying to pull everything together, and it was also the last remnants of my healing crisis.  So yes, I think I do have improved mood.  Whether it is the food, or the weather, or what part of my cycle I'm in.  Who knows!

Are you thinking about trying the Whole 30 plan yet?

IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.