Accept, Respect, Love the Body you Have

Fabulous Reminder!!!
I am making the commitment beginning right now...  Accepting and loving the body I have  :)
Accept, Respect, Love the Body You Have

Small Updates

A few things I have been doing lately.....

Finishing invitations for my cousins baby shower that I am throwing for her!

I made some wonderful scones!  I got the recipe HERE!  They are from one of my friends blog.  I used whole wheat flour and dark chocolate chips.  They turned out great!
To make them last longer, I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer.  In the mornings, I would take one out and put it in the microwave to warm in up.  That worked perfectly!

Before they go into the oven

All done and delicious!

I picked some beautiful roses from the garden!

I also noticed that my cat found a new bed in our flower pot!

Other than these things, I have just been working a lot and spending time with family and friends.  I am planning on doing some more baking this week so look for that!
Currently reading:  Spoken from the Heart(still, because it is so long) and Charlotte's Web
New fave website:  pinterest.com

Today's List

Things completed today so far:
- Work from 5am-1030am
- Met my sister at the gym.  Walked on treadmill for 30 minutes and then did an hour pilates class.
- came home and made lunch.  A veggie burger and a nectarine.  I also made a coffee drink to keep me awake!
- Hung out with my sister and chatted.  Much needed!
Things I want to do today:
- Read a couple hours
- Finish making baby shower invites(I am throwing a baby shower for my cousin)
- Clean my room

I love to do lists!!!  :)
Happy Tuesday

Needed Changes

Since starting my job, I have failed to continue with some other important things this summer.  This includes reading, keeping my room and things organized, journaling and spending time with God.  Because I have been really tired when I come home from work, all I am motivated to do it sit on the couch and watch TV.  Friday was a little different.  I was rushed when I came home from work because I had a skype date with a friend from Seattle.  Then I went to the gym for just a little bit.  After that I came home and watched TV because I was very exhausted.
I have noticed a lot thought that the more I watch TV, the more exhausted I am.  I want to try and go to bed early(around 10pm), wake up around 6am and be productive with my days.  I really need to get back into reading and baking and doing other important things rather than wasting time watching TV.  Exercise is a whole other story.  I get unmotivated to exercise the more I am out of shape.  Now that I am pretty out of shape, I need to make my self go to the gym and run because the more I go and do it, the more I enjoy it.  I am really enjoying working at the coffee house!  Because that gives me a little structure in my days, I need to focus on creating structure for the rest of my time.
I am still in the beginnings of reading 2 books, Spoken From the Heart and Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God.  After I finish with these two books, I want to begin reading youth novels and kid's books to prepare for teaching.  I want to begin building my library for when I teach in the next few years!
Lots of things to reshape in my life but they will all improve me as a person which I want!
God Bless and Thank You for Reading!!!

It's A Grind Coffee House

I have been working at It's A Grind for 4 days now and LOVE it!!!  It is a coffee shop, where I belong  :)

I will post more about my first few days later.  I have been so busy!

Substitutions in Baking

Last night I made Mini Pies and they turned out great and wanted to share the recipe and pictures.  Summer has been so much fun and I am learning the more I bake the more I love it!
It was a bit of an adventure regarding ingredients.  I began with the crust which calls for 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 3/4 cup sliced butter, and 4 tablespoons of water.  Depending on what I am making, I try and do half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.  So I proceeded to do that with the pie crust.  Although after measuring out the flours I realized that it was not whole wheat flour that I measured but rather wheat bran.  I called my mother and she said to just use what I measured and it would turn out fine.  So that is what I did.  I proceeded to make the crust and then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
While the crust was in the fridge, I made the pie filling.  My original plan was to make apple pie.  But then I saw that we only had one apple so that would not work.  I had a recipe for filling which included raspberries and blueberries which I had but it called for cornstarch which I did not have.  I looked up on the internet and saw that I could use flour instead if I use double the amount.  So for the filling I used 3/4 a bag or frozen raspberries, 1/2 bag of frozen blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 8 tablespoons of flour.  I mixed it all together.
I used mini pie dishes that we had but you could also used cupcake pans.  I rolled the crust out and cut them into the correct size circles.  Then I filled with pie filling and covered them with another circle with a slit in the top.  Right before I put them in the oven, I brushed egg on the tops of them.  I cooked them for 25 minutes on 375 degrees.
They turned out VERY good!  I like using whole wheat flour because it gives a lot more flavor to the baked goods and the wheat bran did the same.  If I made these again I will use the wheat bran again just because they turned out with a lot of added flavor(and fiber!).  We had them with Trader Joe's vanilla ice cream and whip cream.  They were great!
Here are some pictures!!

Cutting out the pie crust

Mini pie pans filled with crust

Pie Filling!

Before the go into the oven

All done and ready to eat!

Experiencing Summer Goodness

So I know it has been a while but I have been enjoying summer so much!  I have been catching up with old friends as well as making new friends.  I have also been applying for lots of jobs, reading lots of books, and doing a lot of thinking about what my future has for me.  I have been thinking a lot about transferring schools.  SPU is getting very expensive and I am just such a California girl I am pretty sure I don't want to go back to Washington.  I have also been contemplating on changing my major.  I may switch from Psychology to Elementary Ed.  I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember.  Then, when I took a psychology class senior year of high school, I loved it and decided to do that!  Now, I am questioning if that is what I want to do with my life.  I would still keep a minor in Psych but be a teacher.  It sounds so great to me!  We shall see.  I hopefully will be taking fall semester off due to transferring so then I will be able to spend some time in a classroom and really be able to observe.  Lots of things going on!

This morning I went to the bike trail and rode my mountain bike 20 miles!  It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect.  I also got a new book to read!  I finished The Case for Christ.  This book was very good.  It gives you a lot of information and the proof of Jesus' existence on earth.  I just got Spoken from the Heart which is the Biography of Laura Bush. I started it last night and just the first chapter had me hooked.  I love reading about people lives and the things they have accomplished as well as their struggles.  I am very excited to continue.  I just love summer and California so much.  It is hard to imagine returning to Washington for any long period of time.  

I also wanted to share with you a recipe I made last night for dinner.  It is from Runners World Magazine and it turned out very delicious.

Pasta Bean Toss

1 pound whole-grain penne

2 medium red onions, thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves

1 teaspoon olive oil

5 carrots, cut into slices

2 cups raw broccoli

12 ripe plum tomatoes, diced

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 can red kidney beans

1 can white kidney beans

1/2 grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package.  While pasta is cooking, saute in a large frying pan onions and garlic in oil until tender.  Add remaining vegetables, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and basil.  Simmer for 4 minutes.  Add beans and simmer for another 2 minutes.  Add pasta and cheese and toss.  

Finally Baking!

It's summer time and I am HOME!
I am still unpacking but it is slowly coming along really well.  I have sooo many clothes!!  Today I got to bake some cupcakes.  I tried one recipe and they turned out awful.  I had to throw all of them away.  I then tried a different recipe and they turned out better then I hoped.  They are lemon cupcakes.  Here is the recipe! 

Cake Batter...  Yumm!

First batch in the oven

Lemon Frosting

Lemon Rind for the top of the cupcakes

This mornings baking playlist!  Lots of country :)

All done!

I used a different recipe for the frosting.  I used a butter cream frosting(butter and powder sugar) and added lemon extract.  I used a ziplock bag to ice the cupcakes.  Just cut the corner off and it works almost as good as the real thing.
I also got an iphone yesterday which has been fun  :)

Beginning of Summer Treat

Since it is summer I thought I would post a summer smoothie recipe that you should try!  I am definitely going to try it once I am back in Cali in the nice warm weather.

Mango Smoothie
Ingrediets:   1 1/2 cups peeled chopped mango(Frozen or fresh)
                     1 1/2 cups fat free milk
                     1/4 cup lime juice
                     1 tablespoon brown sugar
Directions:  Put all ingredients into a blender, process until smooth.  Serve over ice.
*  It is also good when you add other fruit as well.  Strawberries or raspberries are very good!

So I will update a little on my life.  I have finished spring quarter!  It is officially summer which is so strange.  I am packing up my room today and moving out of the dorms.  I will be picking my dad up from the airport at 745 tomorrow and then be driving all day back to Sacramento.  I am very excited!  This summer will be very good.

Summer reading update:  I have finished Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure.  I will do a book review soon
<3