Random Recaps and Chocolate PB Brownies!

Hey everyone, so I haven't posted in a couple of days. I last posted Monday after my surprise snow day! It was a good day, a little slow. I made soup and snowshoed and then had a open gym to go to. That night, I made a nice glass of tea, and ended up spilling it on myself and getting really bad blistered burns. I have an open blister on my thigh and blisters in and around my belly button:( It was not a fun experience. In fact, it was probably the most painful thing I have every felt.

Moving on to a happier note, today we had yet another snow day! (It was highly needed after that one tough day at school.) I had open gym again this morning, so I at least got some running and exercise in. When I got home, I caught up on laundry, helped haul in some wood, took a shower, cleaned my room and made Protein Brownies!! They came out surprisingly good.

I agree, they do not look the greatest, but they were a great brownie substitution for people wanting to eat a little healthier and cleaner. 

Protein Brownies

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed very well 

2 tsp vanilla

4 packets of Truvia

1/3 cup honey (maple syrup may be sub.)

1/2 cup quick cook oats

dash of salt

2 TBLSP. of cocoa powder

splash of unsweetened almond milk

1/2 to 2/3 Cup chocolate chips

Blend all the ingredients in a blender/food processor (except chocolate chips, mix by hand after), blend very very well, pour into a greased 8x8in pan, and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until top starts cracking. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into them. 

I served mine with some frozen cool whip lite, peanut butter, and a few crushed pretzels for crunch! It was a delicious, yet pretty healthy dessert!

SURPRISE!! Snowdays, cold winds and pretty trees. 

So, some greater force decided that all the children deserve one more day of no school! Because of our wonderful UP weather, we get a snowday (technically it's a "cold" day). We had wind chill of -40!! But hey, one more day off.. no ones arguing here.

What does on do on such a precious and cherished day you may ask? Well, everything and nothing. I did a 40 minute yoga session this morning, (Yoga With Adriene on Youtube, look her up, she's awesome!) took a bubble bath and did a honey mask, made soup (recipe below) ,cleaned and then ventured out into the freeze to go snowshoeing! Luckily, the temp had warmed up to at least 10 degrees for me, so I wasn't a Popsicle. Some of the trees were completely coated in snow, it was almost surreal up there. Sadly, I didn't take a camera, so I had to go back for one.

I just love winter up here. Sure, it may get long, cold, and boring, but nothing beats the beauty of it.

EASY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2 Chicken Breasts cubed

2 potatoes cubed

3-4 large carrots chopped

3-4 celery stalks chopped

1 large onion diced very small

garlic powder

parsley flakes

pepper

6-8 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade) 

Opitonal: Whole wheat spiral, elbow, or any noodles. (Add about 1 hour before serving as to not over cook)

Cut up chicken and veggies, add to a crock pot. Add enough broth to cover by about 1/2 inch. Sprinkle in garlic, parsley and pepper to taste. Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 5 hours.

I plan on serving mine with some leftover honey wheat rolls from Christmas that we had frozen.

Last Day of Break.....

Today was, sadly, the end of a very fun Christmas Break. Tomorrow, I have to head back to stuffy classrooms, annoying classmates, and basketball EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. I'm not ready:( I'm used to sleeping until 8, having a calm morning and good morning workout, and then heading off to do something fun. But all great things must come to an end. At least I have things to look forward to, like Down State trip, homecoming, and the Porkies trip.


I bought a $200 dress for homecoming, which is very expensive. It's so pretty though, with a high neck and plain bottom. It's burgundy, which I'm a little unsure about, but I think all will go well. Now all I need is a hairstyle! Any ideas, please leave a link in the comments.

ANYWAYS..... My last day (sniffle) was pretty good. I had church in the morning, which I don't understand why I still go. I'm not a worshiping type, more of a just believe somethings there and let it be. I thinks there's a god and everything, maybe even a heaven. But, I don't believe that you should have to worship every week, or that same sex marriage is bad. Maybe I'm a little to picky...

Back to my day, after church I did a good interval workout, which I'll post below. Also, I cleaned through my closet and my brother and I made a good will run. When I got home, I watched the Hobbit #2 with my family and had a good spaghetti dinner! It was delicious!! I made broccoli and cheesy garlic bread to go with it. And of course I had to have dessert! Oranges dip in melted dark chocolate is seriously the best combination in the world... try it!

 

Now, I'm sitting here typing, and waiting for the sauna to warm up. I think I'm going to do an egg white mask and hair mask tonight. Maybe I'll paint my toenails too!!

Sorry for the lack of adventures today, it was cold and snowy..


                               ~E

Fun Friday! Snowshoeing, shopping, and Rummy!

With only 3 days left of break, I decided to make the most of them. Today I started the day with a good snowshoe for my workout. Then my brother and I went up town shopping/ getting my skis waxed. I went to Dunham's in hopes of a new hoodie, only to find out that the cheapest was like $50!!!

When I got home, my parents, brothers and I all headed out to our camp at Rabbit Bay to go snowshoeing along the lake. It was very grey and dull, but extremely beautiful all the same.

The waves left really beautiful and unique patterns. The rocks and sand froze in the sand was really neat.  

There were a bunch of old docks frozen too!

I found this little cave under the ice where you could see the sand, and a little river ran right through.

 This is the cutest, most unique building on our property. We call it the "fish house" because when my ancestors used to fish this is where all the equipment and dead fish would be kept and cleaned. It has  a ton of character, and now was an upstairs with beds for sleeping! I have so many great memories playing cards and sitting around watching storms over the lake when I was younger, and look forward to many more.

On the way home there was a ton of deer! They are so neat to watch, and the way they look at you makes you wonder if they are curious too.. (that sounded dumb, but oh well). Well, I'm off to play michigan rummy (my favorite card game)!!

Tell me about your cool camps and things you've done there in the comments!!

                                                           ~ E

                                               Snow Shoeing!! ( My Favorite Thing!) 

That's my dog, Her name is Dakota. It was a beautiful morning the other day so I decided to get a good snowshoe in. We have gorgeous trails right behind my house, so I can pretty much go whenever. 

That crazy looking thing is my other dog, Reggie. He's a little Tasmanian Devil!! He gets so balled up though, so I can only take him for short laps to let him run.  

There's also little rivers that run through the woods, and they look so pretty in the winter. I remember having forts when I was little built around the rivers with my brother. Sometimes I wish I could still build them! 

Anyways, just thought I'd share my snowshoeing outing! What do you like to do in the winter for fun/exercise?? 

Hello Blogging World!!

Hello all you blog readers and internet suffers! I'm E the Artist - health freak, adventure taker, and art creater! This is my first blog, and I'm very new at this, so if you have any great advice for me on how to get going please let me know in the comments! My goal is to share my life with you, with all the twists and turns that it holds. Along the way I'll share recipes and health tips, great hiking places, and ideas to get those creative juices of yours flowing!

                                                    ~E