Can’t sleep…

what to do when it’s past your bedtime, and you know you won’t be getting your zzz’s  cause you had an extra ( no no!) cup of café con leche in the afternoon?!..

first, give your pet ( in my case, Cobi) a belly rub, then turn your laptop on for some blogging!

I’ve been trying to keep active… Key word = trying… you know how I am with working out. I get boreddddd very easily! I lose focus, but I’ve been changing stuff up~

  At the golf range, and who knew you could break out into a sweat! I was super sore after that day! Need to go back!

Started to do yoga. I tried so many different kinds and now I think I’ve found it! Power yoga, baby! Let’s see how long I can do this for! This was from the p90x yoga x workout. Super duper hard, well for me that is! I had to take several breaks…

After my yoga sessions, I Love me some greek yogurt!! Definitely a fan of the 2%!~

I went to Boston during the Memorial day weekend. It was my first time going, so I was super excited!

We went with the Lee-Lee’s and we all had a blast! The weather could have been better though…

After asking one of my blogging buddies Tiffany at SnackSnarkBark for some recommendations, I knew my trip would be even better!

Here are some of my pictures from Boston. I have so much more pics, but for some odd reason they don’t want to upload…

The famous Cheers bar, from the TV show:

Took the train to Harvard, and got to explore the area a bit.

One place to go when around there is CREMA, and get the ginger lemonade, if they have it! So YUM!

So this was a pastry shop, that had lines of people every day, rain or shine! Hubby decided to get on line, while the others waited on line at the Daily Catch restaurant. Even though the line was long, he was out of there with the goodies in 20 mins! Now, I am still wondering why I didn’t take a picture of the goodies inside… dammit! anyway, the lobster roll cannoli is the BOMB!!

On the last day, I spotted this red door while walking around… I need a red door. One day, I will have a red door….

 

ok… I am getting a little sleepy now.

ttyl?..

 

xoxo,

JUJU

Multigrain bread recipe + weekend update

This time getting sick was no joke!source
I mean, I used to lose lbs by getting sick because I didn't want to eat, but this time, the lbs were creeping up, and I just ate like nobody's business! 
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So now that I’ve been feeling a bit better, I'm trying to incorporate more healthy foods for hubby and I. I've also been using my spark people account for some extra support for helping me stay focused. The healthy lifestyle that I have been following is to eat cleaner, non processed, wholesome foods, eat every 3 hours, eat low fat, and stay within my calorie range. Knowing that 80% is nutrition and 20% is exercise, I'm keeping an eye on my food intake. So that is that... Now to the fun stuff!
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Hubby and I went to walmart on Friday night, it's 24 hours and brand new, so we figured hey why not!oh boy, it was a bit of a disaster since they were packing out there goods, and the employees there were all not the friendliest bunch, (except for the cashier!), so people with carts were getting trapped by the workers throwing boxes around to each other, then, you had each aisle split into two with loads of boxes, so it was sorta like you were stuck in traffic during rush hour, in a walmart... All in all, I came home with all the goodies, and hubby was just thrilled that he picked up a bluray DVD player that had Internet access, for a great price! We were both filled with smiles, but I've gotta admit, I wasn't too impressed because they weren't stocked with too many unprocessed foods, so for my veggies and things, trader joes will be my go to!

Today's recipe came about because I wanted to have good, homemade bread where I knew exactly what went into making it. This recipe is made without a bread machine, so your tools will be your hands! Yay!! With little changes from the original recipe, here is a bread that is wholesome and delicious! I put stars in front of the ingredients that I put in. Go ahead, and try it out for yourself =]

Multigrain Breadadapted from here  Recipe is for 1 loafIngredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons quinoa **
3 tablespoons 1 tbsp each of wheat bran, ground flax seed, and 2 tbsp of oat bran **
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 cup water, plus 1/4 cup for the grain and seeds mixture**
1 tablespoons honey**
1 egg, ** egg white and yolk separated.
Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt. In another bowl, mix the seeds with the oats.

2.In a saucepan, combine the water and molasses and warm the mixture over low heat until a thermometer reads 120 to 130 degrees F (50 to 55 degrees C) .

3.Add the liquid to the flour mixture with the egg white. Mix together until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes; then shape into a ball. Lightly oil a large stainless steel bowl. Add the dough and turn to cover the dough with the oil. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours until doubled in size.
4.When the dough has risen, punch the dough down with your fists and add all but 2 Tablespoons of the seed mixture working it into the dough. Reserve the 2 Tablespoons of seed mixture for the topping. Shape the dough into a loaf by rolling it into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle and then roll up by its shortest end. Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath. Place in a non-stick 9x5 inch loaf pan with the seam underneath. Cover the loaf pan with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.

5.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush the top of the loaf with egg yolk and sprinkle on the reserved seed mixture. Bake the bread for 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely.
The final verdict: A keeper! But I must add, that my loaf of bread didn’t rise up all the way, and it sorta reminds me of a biscotti… Hmmm… but! The flavor and nutrients are all there, so what I did was:*** After the loaf has cool down, I cut it into 10 pieces, and put them into a freezer ziploc bag ( I used a gallon size) and froze them up. Whenever I want to snack on something, I will take one out, give it a quick toast on my pan and spread a tsp of natural skippy peanut butter! It really tastes so good, and is good for you too! =]
Are you a eater when you’re sick, or are you someone who cannot stand the sight of food??!  I used to be a “lay in bed and starve sick person” but like I said before, I’m an eater, and I like it!~
Be well to all who are in the cold, and remember, if you are ever going through something that you just don’t know what to do, then, let it be… It will work itself out. As for my situation, I’m just letting it be. I had a relapse on my cold, and didn’t go back to work. Will be back before the week is over to face the music!….

Change is Good!..

So I did it guys! I cut my hair, and now feel like a FREE person! I was super nervous to get my hair cut. I felt like my my long hair that I straightened or curled was my identity. I was also nervous about cutting my hair because my husband has never seen me with short hair! I know, such a weird thing to be afraid of but, it really got me nervous.
I went for it, even with my fears… As many of you know, I’ve been having horrible issues with my hair! I would do treatment after treatment and it never failed, my hair would become super knotty, building a little birds nest in the back… It came to the point where I just felt like my hair needed a break. I was feeling sorry for it, and just wanted to cut the time of brushing out the knots!
The process of the cut was just so much fun! I have anxiety issues, and this day was no different. The night before I regretted making my hair appointment and started cussing at myself for doing so. But, once I woke up, I knew what had to be done…
I walked into the salon and was greeted by my stylist. He made me feel relaxed and understood what I wanted to do. He lightened up my mood, and I was not worried at all. The funniest part that he did for me was put my chopped hair into a huge envelope and told me to mail it to an ex!  He had seen a friend of his do this and one day someone came over her house for dinner. They saw a full envelope and thought it was packed full of cash! They said to her, “ Hey, you’re rich! You have an envelope full of money!” And she said: “ Yeah, go check it out!” That friend opened it, and saw all that crazy hair!

My 31st birthday was amazing! The Mister set up a full day at the spa. It was at the Plaza Hotel! It was amazing… wait, I said that already! Ok, Ok. So my day was spent at the spa. I got there at 12pm and left at 5:30pm. My treatments included: facial, massage, soak, scrub, manicure.
With my mother’s passing and just feeling overwhelmed, my husband felt it would be great for me to go relax and to not think. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful, strong husband! I love him so much!! I felt so refreshed after leaving the spa. The staff was so knowledgeable and friendly. I would recommend it to anyone visiting NYC.
Source and Info on The Plaza Hotel NYC
Another amazing gift from my sister! YOGA SOCKS! I also got Yoga gloves as well, but not pictured! I’ve been getting into yoga, and these socks are great when you need that extra grip. I cannot tell you enough how great these socks are! Go and get a pair!

The Mister and I have been having an awesome time with our friends MR+MRS LEE-LEE! Not only was it filled with lots of laughs, but as the pictures can prove, lots of alcohol! The first picture on the left is a HUGE pot of fresh seafood in spicy Korean broth! OMG! We were starving that day, and thought we could take this thing down. Well, let me tell you! This basically kicked our ass, and we couldn’t finish it.
The picture next to it was from Burger &Barrel, and it was the award winning Bloody Mary with bits of BACON and jalapeno! This is a damn meal in itself. I’m not a huge fan of crushed up food in my drink, but I just needed to try it. It was interesting, but I wouldn’t get it again.
The two last pictures, do I need to explain?! Good old beer!~ I need to take a break from it though. Drinking all weekend is going to get the best of me! Haven't had the time to workout, and its mostly due to myself not waking up early in the morning!~

Stay focused on moving forward and stop over thinking. I was brought up in a sheltered life. Whenever I had a problem I would run and ask my mother for an answer. She always gave me advice and answered my problems. Losing her, I’ve been feeling lost. Like a sheep who has lost his shepherd… I sometimes hide from the world by just brushing it aside and thinking that life will solve my problems. It won’t.
Don’t regret and go for it! That is, if you really want it…
I put this picture on my phone to keep me motivated and to stay focused.
xoxo,
JUJU