January 2012
24 posts
What I Am Craving...
I really want a greasy cheeseburger… and some crunchy chips with salsa or a terrible cheese dip for me. Eating soft foods for days is miserable! I need food people.
I’ve been drinking protein shakes, eating mashed sweet potatoes, and my mom’s carrot soup! YUM, thank you Mama! As soon as I’m in the clear, I’m taking Tyler to Char-Grill or Five Guys for a cheeseburger date… with tons of french fries. Surely he won’t mind!
Luckily enough, my wisdom teeth removal went very well. I’m healing quickly and the pain killers forced me to rest this weekend since they make me very nauseous, so I definitely didn’t get too much done on my “to-do” list. That’s ok, right? It’s already giving me anxiety! I thrive on productive weekends…
I did learn some new really cool recipes! I basically tortured myself watching FoodNetwork the past few days, while I really couldn’t eat or do anything really. Paula Deen (who has diabetes now… sigh), Giada de Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Chuck Hughes, and others made me salivate this whole weekend. I just frantically took notes as ALL of their appetizers, entrees, and desserts looked AMAZING.
Any good soup recipes out there? I need some ideas for the rest of this week. Protein shakes aren’t going to cut it!
Eat a cookie for me. Sleep tight!
xoxo
See Ya Wisdom Teeth! It's Been Real! →
1.bp.blogspot.com
AHH, I’m freaking right now, because when I wrote this blog I actually queued it to post AFTER my surgery. SO, technically I still have my four wisdom teeth right now….. BUT as you read this, I really don’t!
Get it? Surely, I don’t… I’m sure I’m super drugged right now.
I thought this artwork on teeth would be perfect for my events of the day! Click on the blog title… different, right? Who even knew there was an industry for art on teeth.
And, no… I won’t be keeping my wisdom teeth like Tyler did. YUCK! I don’t want to see those gnarly things!
I’ll be MIA for a few days, so have a great weekend! Love to you all. Be sure to eat cakes and cookies for me since I’ll be eating slimy baby food and boring yogurt for a few days. YUM!
xoxoxo
Update on New Year's Resolutions
1.) Curve saying “F”! I say “F” a lot. Help me. Please.
2.) Run a half marathon! I’m slowly but surely getting runs in. My poor ankle’s having a tough time with hills, which I honestly love to run, but at this point I’m just thankful for each mile I’m able to complete.
3.) Stay in shape! New Year’s was way worse than Christmas. I didn’t even have a glass of wine or beer, but I definitely made up for those calories in desserts and eating out. This week has been a recovery week with less sugar, more veges, lots of water, and good proteins.
4.) More art work! Working on some small projects, but nothing major yet. I need a non-event, solid weekend to get going. I’m scheduling in some hours for Saturday and Sunday.
5.) Read more! Yay, I’ve read every day this week… other blogs count too, right? :)
6.) Tyler! We need a date night for just us. Hopefully Sunday night!
Did you notice I had 6 goals? Not 5? I miss-typed the numbers on my blog post for New Years… oops! I guess I have a stretch goal this year.
How are you coming along? No excuses. Get moving!
xoxo
Hmmm - I do always need a clean dish towel - how about a bottle of champagne in a dish towel and some cookies wrapped in the matching dish wash cloth? Or is that asking too much? PS - love the blog - you are going to become my own personal Martha-inspired muse. Glenn
haha, thanks glenn! your blog rocks too! i wish i would have gotten into blogging sooner… i’m obsessed. hope you’re doing well and that the holidays treated you well. see you soon!!
“Whipped cream isn’t whipped cream at all if it hasnt been whipped with whips, just like poached eggs isn’t poached eggs unless it’s been stolen in the dead of the night.”
—
Roald Dahl - “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
I love Roald Dahl. Hands down one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century… and he definitely knew his whipped cream. You can’t whip whips into canned whipped cream or Cool Whip.
Nope, try it! You’ll take all the air out and make it soupy. I don’t lie!
There are so many reasons why I make my own whipped cream. I’ll never go back to Cool Whip or whipped cream from a can.
1.) Homemade whipped cream is amazing. I could easily eat a whole bowl of it for dessert, but I don’t because then I would have to run 6 miles with my gimpy ankle.
2.) There are SO many unnecessary CHEMICALS in the fake kinds of whipped cream: artificial colors and flavors, corn syrup, carrageenan, sucralose, polysorbate 60 (WHAT?), hydogenated vegetable oil, and water.
3.) Why put another can or plastic container into the planet? We all need a green footprint. I know, I like to squirt whipped cream into my mouth from the can too. The dogs even recognize the sound and side-by-side wait for their turn.
Did I just type that?
4.) MAKING YOUR OWN WHIPPED CREAM IS SUPER EASY, HEALTHIER, AND ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
Here’s a great go-to recipe that I’ve finally memorized! Unfortunately, I wasn’t blessed with the ability to remember recipes… sigh.
First - grab a medium sized bowl, your whisks (for your hand-held mixer), bottle of vanilla, and carton of ORGANIC whipping cream - and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want everything chilled to get the BEST whipped peaks!
Ingredients:
2 cups of Organic Whipping Cream (or heavy cream)
3 tsps of good vanilla extract (use 2 if you don’t want a very vanilla-y whipped cream)
4 tsps of powdered sugar (more or less depending on your dessert and preference!)
Directions:
Beat the cream and vanilla in a chilled glass bowl with an electric mixer just until they hold a loose peak. Not sure what a loose (or soft) peak is? Lift the beater whisk from the whipped cream and look at the end - if the peaks have soft curves - you have loose peaks! Slowly add your confectioner’s sugar, while beating the whipped cream, but be sure to NOT OVER-BEAT your whipped cream! Eventually, it looks curdy and stiff… not fluffy and delicious!
This recipe can be served immediately or covered and refrigerated for 3-4 hours. The recipe above makes about 5 cups of whipped cream, but of course you could half it if needed. My hubby likes a little pie with his whipped cream, so I always make extra.
Make homemade whipped cream for your guests! They’ll be so impressed with you. How amazing would it be with fresh berries for a light dessert?
Or dropped into hot cocoa?
YUM! xoxo
December 2011
29 posts
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man" ~ Benjamin Franklin
Best quote for 2012! It’s funny, I’m usually very private about my New Year’s resolutions… sometimes I think it’s because they won’t happen or maybe someone will think my resolution is selfish and no one wants to see that!
WELL, I’m posting my resolutions for all to see this year, so nah nah, don’t judge… and of course, I really would love your support and motivation in 2012… please! :)
1.) Curve saying “F”. I know! What’s wrong with me? Most of you know I have a sailor’s mouth and it needs to go. I’m working on one terrible word at a time. For me… it’s “F”. So many family members and friends are having babies and how classy is it for me to say something like this while holding a 9 month old?
Amanda: ”how was your day?”
Me (while holding Olivia): ”f-ing awful, how was yours?”
Nice, right? I actually don’t think this situation has ever happened, but I really don’t want a baby’s first word to be “F” because of ME!
2.) Run a half marathon! Many of you know that this was actually my 2011’s resolution. Unfortunately, I had a horrible and life-stopping little ankle injury, while playing softball in October and wasn’t able to run the OBX Half Marathon in November. I lost $100 and my 2 torn ligaments are still recovering from that fateful day. Here we go again! I’m up to 6 miles already, so maybe I’ll run 2 half marathons in 2012!
3.) Stay in shape! This basically goes hand in hand with running a half marathon, but I actually tend to eat a lot of food when I’m running long distances. I’m at a great weight now, basically what I was in high school, but am vowing to still watch my sugar intake and BREAD. I know… I know, how do you do this when you live at the Jesserer-Dean house? You have to SHARE with family and friends… (and I will no longer save the pretty looking cookies and cupcakes for myself).
4.) MORE ART WORK! Yes, I’ve been a busy bee baking, crafting, decorating, renovating, but I need acrylic, watercolor, and oil paints, pastels, pens, inks, and ceramics in my life. Why am I wasting this talent? 2012, here I come! A COMPLETED project every week!
4.) Read more! I’m in a book club and I still don’t read enough, so I’ve already decided to be in 2 book clubs this year… current book club members… stop laughing that’s not nice… I.will.read.my.books.this.year. It’s a New Year’s resolution! My dad also gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas, so game on! An hour a day for reading in 2012.
5.) Last, but not least - my husband - he needs more Emily time - my crazy lists and jammed packed days don’t always include JUST us. We want us… and only us moments in 2012. Date night - once a week, yay!
P.S. If you see Tyler, tell him to shave his beard.
So, I need help… and I promise to motivate and support you too! Last year, my friend Tracie and I emailed each other our lists. Right TTR? At least I remember doing this at some point in our lives and it was really awesome to just put it out there. I’m a self-motivator, but sometimes it’s nice to have loving family and friends cheering you on!
What are your resolutions for 2012? Learn how to bake? Paint? Drink more wine Learn about beer or wine? Read the news everyday? Make babies? I’m listening… and have my megaphone and cheerleading pom-poms ready. xoxo
“Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.”
—Author Unknown, but listmakers… don’t you LOVE this?
“Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.”
—Edgar Degas
