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What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?

Posted on July 3, 2016 by auburnchick

Are you singing the jingle in your head?

heehee

As a vegan who’s, conveniently, been lactose-intolerant for twenty two years, I miss out on a lot of treats.  Sure, my waistline is grateful; however, my taste buds are not.

One of the things I remember from my childhood is eating Klondike Bars during the summer…during the winter…whenever we had them, quite honestly.

Well, I haven’t had one of these in years and years.  I mysteriously became lactose-intolerant when I was twenty four years old and about seven months pregnant with Rooster.  Overnight, I found myself unable to eat ice cream.

It was with quite a bit of excitement when I came across a recipe for Healthy Klondike Bars on Instagram.  I follow a gal named Detoxinista.  She has a blog where she posts health-conscious recipes…many of which are vegan.

The list of ingredients was rather small; I had nearly everything I needed except for the raw cashews, which the Mr. picked up at Publix for me yesterday.

I soaked the cashews, as directed by the recipe, while the Mr. and I lounged at the pool.

Then, I got busy mixing the “ice cream” batter and placed it in a loaf pan.

The batter wouldn’t be ready until later in the night, so I waited until today to finish the bars.

I melted my coconut oil for the chocolate topping out in the sun.  I figured I might as well take advantage of the summer heat.

I had an oopsy when I poured cold maple syrup into the coconut oil/cocoa powder mixture.  The chocolate seized up on me.  Shame on me.  I’ve been watching Food Network like crazy and had seen home cooks make the same mistake.

Thank goodness I’m sort-of smart.

I took the bowl back outside, and it didn’t even take a full minute before the chocolate had warmed up and was silky smooth.

The Pioneer Woman better watch out!  Auburnchick is fast approaching her skill level.

heehee

Popping the loaf out of the pan wasn’t exactly as easy as I’d hoped, probably because I’d accidentally spilled some of the batter outside of the paper between it and the pan, and then it froze, sticking the paper to the pan.

Sheesh.  I can make anything difficult.

Then, it was time for the messy part.  I cut the loaf into eight parts and got ready to add the chocolate topping.

According to Detoxinista’s blog and the comments that followed (because I tend to overthink and over-research everything), a spoon was the best utensil to use to apply the chocolate.  It would otherwise seize up (ahem) and freeze when it touched the loaf.  There went my idea of dipping the blocks in it.

The spoon, though, was not easy.  Ugh.

Then, I had an idea.

I pulled out my little brush…the one I use to oil my cooking pans…and dipped it in the chocolate.  Then, I “painted” the chocolate onto my bars.

This worked okay.  I figured out that I really needed to dab the chocolate because the bristles of the brush were starting to freeze up with chunks of chocolate.

Go ahead and admire my French manicure.  I did it myself last night.

Booya!

Anyhoo, when I finished with the tops and sides of the blocks, I turned them over and covered the bottoms and filled in the spots I’d missed.

Then, I set everything on a plate lined with parchment, took a picture of my not-so-pretty and definitely not-so-even bars, and set them in the freezer.

The aftermath looked bad, but it was a snap to clean up because most of the chocolate was on the paper.

Biting into the “Klondike” Bar…oh my.

What would this lactose-intolerant vegan do for a Klondike Bar?

Why, she’d make a stomachache-free version of it herself!

Filed under: Vegan | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Summertime Hodgepodge

Posted on June 29, 2016 by auburnchick

It’s been a long time since I’ve hodgepodged with Joyce.  I’m happy to be back!  If you’re new to the game, what you do is answer the questions on your own blog, add your link on her Hodgepodge post, and then visit other bloggers to see how they answered.

Thanks for visiting!

1.  It’s officially summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway). Which summer month is best and why?

I really like the month of July the best.  For one thing, I’ve usually got the entire month off, minus a day or two for training.  I am always well-entrenched in my summer routine.  My brain cells have recovered, and my pace of life has slowed to the point where I can really relish each day without feeling rushed.

Second, and most importantly, the month starts off festively with the 4th of July.  Being a new Air Force mom, I’m looking at this holiday from a whole new perspective now.

Take a look at the patriotic bling a gal on Etsy made for me.  I wore the bracelet and earrings every day of my son’s graduation weekend.

2.  Can you swim? How did you learn? June 27th is National Sunglasses Day. How many pair do you own?

Yes, I can swim.  I don’t remember exactly how I learned except that it seems that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know how to swim.  I did take “formal” lessons at a lady’s backyard pool (she was a trained instructor), so I learned how to do each stroke properly and how to tread water.

I own one pair of sunglasses.  They are Costas.  I heart them much.

The Mr. and I went shopping for new ones before we took our trip to San Antonio to watch our boy graduate from Basic Training, but we didn’t buy any.  The Mr. wound up having to buy himself a new pair at the BX because he left his sunglasses in the food court and nobody turned them in.

I’ve picked out a new pair, but I’m waiting for the Mr. to surprise me with them.  Ha!  Seriously, though.  He can get them cheaper.  Let’s just say that they’ll be sparkly.

3.  What characteristic do you judge most harshly in yourself? How about in others?

I do not like when I make dumb mistakes.  Not being observant aggravates me.  I’m also harsh with my own physical appearance and see flaws every time I look in the mirror.  I guess that’s a main reason why I work out so hard.

In others, I cannot tolerate a poor work ethic.  This is especially challenging when I teach.  I’m careful to lay out expectations for every assignment; however, many of the kids I teach have not developed the work ethic to turn in assignments that show effort or attention to detail.

I really don’t like when I see adults who are lazy at work.  Seriously.  Do your job so others don’t have to do their jobs plus yours.

Strong feelings?  Yep.

4.  Robert Frost wrote the now well known poem entitled The Road Not Taken. What’s a road (literal or figurative) you’ve always wanted to travel, and where do you hope it takes you? 

I would love to work from home.  I am an independent kind of gal and know that I’d do just fine.  I’d like the flexibility of scheduling my own hours and working in my pajamas…or workout clothes.  One day I will find the perfect stay-at-home job.  Until then, God has me on a different path…and I’m not complaining (of course, it is the middle of the summer, and I am home on break).  🙂

5.  Popsicles-yay or nay? If you answered yay, what’s your favorite flavor? 

They are okay.  The problem I have with them is once you get down to the bottom and the thing breaks in half.  The part that’s on the bottom falls on the ground, and you’re cheated.  They are messy too.  My flavor of preference is definitely cherry.  Yum!

6.  Brexit-on a scale of 1-10 how knowledgeable are you on what’s involved here? (1=very knowledgeable and 10=what’s Brexit) Is this news you’ll follow or is it something you think won’t impact your life in any way shape or form?

So, I googled, and I sort-of understand a tiny bit what it’s about.  It’s interesting to see how much this would impact commerce across the world.  The trickle-down effect will get down to individual consumers…eventually.

7.  Share a favorite song on your summer play list.

One of my newest favorite songs on my playlist is Lukas Graham’s “7 Years.”

I used this song in the videos I created for each of my classes this year, and the kids were singing to it.  The message is so good!

I’m going to share one more song that I’m loving from this same album…”Mama Said.”  Oh my gosh.  The words are so powerful!  I didn’t hear this song until after I’d created my videos.  This song will be in next year’s videos.

8.  My Random Thought

I don’t know where these ingredients have been all my life…

I wanted to make a new salad dressing and happened upon Detoxinista’s Creamy Thai “Peanut” Dressing.  I really like Thai food and the peanut sauces on many of the dishes.  This dressing is actually nut free because of the sunflower seed butter.

It is really easy to make and is silky smooth.

If you’re looking for a more summery dressing, I highly recommend her Creamy Cucumber Tahini Salad Dressing.  It, too, was very easy to make and so light and refreshing in flavor.

Filed under: Vegan | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Empty Nesting – A Visual Storybook

Posted on June 28, 2016 by auburnchick

Now that I’m blogging again, I’m going through photos I’ve uploaded to Flickr to see what stuff I need to catch you up on.

I decided that pretty much all of my pictures are ones that depict the early stages of an empty nester.

It’s not an easy transition…the house too quiet.  But I’m choosing not to wallow in my sadness…at least not too often…and embrace this new phase in my life.

The Mr. and I have had a lot of time to reconnect.  You can often find us out and about at local restaurants.  Some of our favorites are those that are on the water.

Eating dinner with the backdrop of the sun setting against the water is simply breathtaking.

These photos are unfiltered, y’all.

My days are spent loving on my fur babies.

Gambit is ours until Rooster takes him to his first duty station.

Being home means taking care of the house.  One of my sprinkler zones quit working, so I had to call in an expert.  This local husband and wife team did a great job diagnosing the problem and fixing what wound up being a broken valve for a minimal charge.

There is, of course, my daily workout time.  Sometimes, I run errands afterward (I think that’s my bathing suit peeking out underneath…maybe I went to the pool afterward?).

Empty nesting means cooking whatever I want without a whole lot of repercussions…except when a recipe fails in a major way…

Um…yeah.  Those were supposed to be vegan brownie muffins.  The batter tasted great.  Apparently either the baking soda or baking powder (whichever I used…can’t remember now) had an issue.

Ahem.

Now that I’m an empty nester, I get redo’s without anyone getting mad (I’d take the mad now any day just to have my babies home, though).

I can make such things as Red Lentil and Rice Loaf (and it actually tastes delicious)…something that nobody else will touch and that my children are probably pretty glad I waited to cook until they’d moved out…

There’s midday TV…War Eagle!

There’s homemade salad dressings with small tossed salads on the plastic plates that my boy left behind from his year at Auburn.

There’s uninterrupted reading…

And shopping trips to soothe my heart when I’m having a rough day and missing my children…

 

I can often be found staying up late at night watching Agents of Shield while knitting…

There are Saturday poolside dates with the hubby…

Or trips to the beach…

Where I engage in more uninterrupted reading (unless it’s to reminisce over years gone by when I see cute toddlers testing the water for the first time…sigh)…

And post-sun dinners out…

I am such a blessed gal.  By God’s grace, I’ve raised children who are self-sufficient citizens.  After pouring so much time and energy into making sure they arrived safely into adulthood (again by God’s grace) I’m at the point in my life where I can slow down a little…at least until school starts back up…recharge my batteries…and just be.

This empty nesting thing is bittersweet, indeed, but I take joy in my children’s accomplishments…in their independence…and I will continue to follow this latest turn in the road I call life.

Filed under: children, empty nest, Vegan | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Four Weeks Ago

Posted on June 22, 2016 by auburnchick

Four weeks ago, today, the Mr., Rooster’s girl, and I were preparing for a BIG trip.

You see, eight weeks prior, we had bid farewell to our favorite young man.

He had left to begin his career in the Air Force.

Step 1:  Attend Basic Training.

The goodbye had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done as a mama.  I’d taken the day off of work because I had known I wouldn’t be in any shape to return to school that day after hugging him for the last time.

Fortunately, I’d joined a support group on Facebook.  This group (website is here), which I’m still a part of, has become a second family to me and has been invaluable during this journey.

One of the things that helped was crossing each day off of a calendar.

As you can see, I marked the days we received letters and phone calls.

Oh word, but the letters.  I have saved every single one of them.  In this day and age of text messages and Snapchats, receiving old-fashioned, hand-written letters was priceless.

My favorite letter was the one Rooster wrote me for Mother’s Day.  Y’all.  The tears.  They were plentiful.

Packing was easy.  I’d been setting aside my clothes that entire week.  I made sure to include some new bling that a gal on Etsy had made especially for me.

And so it was that on May 25, we loaded up the car and headed to the airport.

I’m really fortunate in that I work for a wonderful principal who didn’t even bat an eye when I asked for several days off…right at the end of the school year when things get crazy.  Seriously, though.  Shout-out to my school’s administration and my fellow teachers.

Back to my story.

The airport.  Butt crack of dawn. We were on our way to see our boy, so it was worth it.

Rooster’s girl is getting used to selfies.  She was so sweet and took quite a few with me during the weekend.  This is us at the airport in Podunk, USA.

We flew Southwest.  They’re very accommodating if you need to change your flight date (which we had to consider when making our reservations because issues can arise during Basic Training and set trainees back sometimes).  One of the neat benefits of flying Southwest was access to live TV!  I had taken my iPad, so we were able to watch Chopped.

It was a beautiful day for flying!  We had to catch a connecting flight in Houston, which you can see below.

We were so excited when we landed in San Antonio!

Knowing that we were in the same city as Rooster was emotional (weird, but what can I say).

We stayed at a Residence Inn.  The room was spacious and gorgeous!

The staff was very kind; the cleaning staff needed better training.  Our rooms were not cleaned consistently…they had some major issues in this department.  Still, the hotel was close to the base.

By the time we got settled, we were ready to get dinner, so after a search on Google, I found a restaurant with a menu I could eat from (being vegan presents its challenges), and we headed out.

After an interesting drive through some not so great areas, we arrived at The Cove.

We were, at first, behind it.  Not good because it’s located adjacent to a laundromat.  Once we figured out the problem, we parked where we were supposed to and entered the restaurant.

It’s an inside/outside establishment with a cool courtyard that has a playground and an area for outside entertainment.

Y’all, this place was neat in so many ways!!!  This chalkboard was located below the menu.  Isn’t it cool?

Here’s the menu…

I spy more than one vegan option!!!

I wish we had this restaurant in my city.  I’d totally eat there every week.  For the time being, I selected the Vegan Bacon Cheeseburger.

On our way inside to order, I saw this sign…

How cool is that?

Inside, I saw these t-shirts.  No, I didn’t buy any, but I did consider it.

We placed our orders and sat down to wait.

The place had a long bar, long tables, and a stage for entertaining.

I snacked on hummus while I waited for the food to arrive.  When it did, oh boy.  Yum!

What a delicious “burger!!”  I was so full when I finished!

We headed back to the hotel to take it easy before the next day of events; however, after reading some things on my support group page, I decided that I needed one more thing before graduation ceremonies started the next day.

I knew that viewing my boy would be an issue.  They say that the Airmen all look the same in their uniforms, and because we’d be sitting in bleachers, I didn’t think I’d be able to get good pictures with my camera…

A new lens was needed.  I googled the location of the nearest Best Buy, which was about a quarter mile away, and begged the Mr. to take me.  He finally agreed, and I purchased this…

I can’t say that I know a lot about cameras, but the sales associate assured me that given the task I wanted to perform, this would do the trick.

Just wait until you see pictures in my next few posts.  They made the hefty price tag worth every single penny.

We turned off the lights fairly early because our alarms would be going off even earlier than the butt crack of dawn.

My heart was at peace as I drifted into Dream Land.  I was, for the first time in weeks, a few scant miles from my boy.  I was on a final countdown.

Filed under: This-n-That, Vegan | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Summer Fun

Posted on June 20, 2016 by auburnchick

Oy vey, but my blog stats really stink!  I am enjoying summer a little too much, if that’s possible.  I have so much to write about too.

One of these days I’ll get caught up.

For now, let’s begin with a brief post about some fun I’ve been having.

First of all, my brain is working again.  That’s probably because I’m actually sleeping more than eight hours each night.  My alarm clock is feeling neglected.

I’ve maintained my workout routine, albeit I’m not exercising at the butt crack of dawn.  I am completely in love with Beachbody.  For someone who was a skeptic for a couple of years and actually avoided conversations about it, I am hooked.  The structure has been good for me because I am a person who craves organization.  As a teacher, I’m burned out on keeping others organized, so the workout schedules that come with the programs remove the planning and thinking.  All I have to do is show up in front of my TV with a good attitude.

Something fun I’m doing right now is working out, virtually, with my friend, Rebecca.  She’s a way better blogger than I am…blogs real regularly and everything.  I really need to follow her example.

She and I decided to do Hammer and Chisel together.  I was ahead of her by a couple of days because she changed her rest day, but then I got behind her a few days when I went out of town for almost a week.  We post near-daily pictures on Instagram and even have a clever hashtag #chiseledknitters (because we are aiming to get chiseled, and we are both knitters).  Go ahead and marvel at our smartness.

We’ve decided to do a second round of Hammer and Chisel when we finish this one and then move into a new program together.  Today, I started Week 7.  There are eight weeks total.  I love, love, love this program because I’m lifting weights again.  The payoff has been amazing!!!

I bought a heart rate monitor to go with my Garmin Vivoactive fitness watch.  The strap goes around my chest and helps me monitor the number of calories I’m burning during non-running exercises (something I couldn’t do before).

Ignore the yard in the next collage. That’s a story for another day.

Another fun thing I got to do was eat lunch with my sweet friend, Jane.

I met her six years ago when I started teaching.  We were first-year teachers together at a small private school.  I’ve talked about her before.  She’s my friend and mama-figure all in one.  Our lunches stretch for hours…usually into dinner time…because we always have a lot to catch up on.  She retired at the end of the school year and moved to another part of the state for the summer.  I already miss her terribly.  Despite the age difference (only a year or two), we have so many things in common.

Of course, summer just wouldn’t be summer without cooking.  Now that I have time to look at recipes and grocery shop, I’m having fun trying new things.

Rooster’s girl’s father gave me three cookbooks.  This one has quickly become my favorite…

I’ve only had one recipe not turn out that great (taste-wise, it wasn’t my preference…not that it was bad or anything).  The recipes are extremely easy to make and only require a short list of ingredients.

This afternoon, I made the Creamy Mushroom Tomato Soup.  Oh my goodness…it was so easy!  It’s got a fresh flavor (I roasted the tomatoes myself), and each serving doesn’t have a lot of calories.

I’ve also been prowling for dessert recipes.  The Mr. likes having something sweet to munch on.  I hope he likes this Cracker Candy I quickly whipped up today after watching a video that’s been making the rounds on Facebook.

It is seriously the easiest recipe ever!  You wind up freezing it and then breaking it into pieces.  The center has something akin to caramel (it’s melted butter and brown sugar).  I veganized the recipe, of course.  I envision breaking up candy canes and sprinkling them over the top during the holidays.  Yum!

On Sunday, I made this No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Pie, from Detoxinista.  Surprisingly, it’s not overly sweet, but it is addictive once you have a slice…or two…or three.

So, that’s just a small glimpse into what I’ve been up to.  It certainly isn’t everything, but maybe, if I feel up to it, I’ll post more sooner rather than later.

I do want to share about the big trip to Texas that I made three weeks ago.  That will actually have to be a series of posts because the awesomeness of it is just too much for one reading.

Filed under: fitness, Teaching, Vegan | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Multi-Tasking

Posted on January 27, 2016 by auburnchick

Yesterday evening after dinner, I left the TV off…a very rare occurrence.

The reason?

I had cupcakes to bake for my 6th period class.  It’s small in number, and we had a number of behavior issues the first three months of school; however, with consistency and accountability, the kids have grown into a cohesive group.  They finally earned their 2,000 Class Dojo points and are having a celebratory party today.

While I prepared my vegan Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes, I was tuned into Twitter and the Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study party.  It’s the first online study I’ve done, and I am so excited!  I’m in a Facebook group that’s being led by a longtime online knitting/bloggy friend.

I must have been quite the sight…laptop on my counter, mixing bowl not too close but not too far away…Pandora belting out a mixture of Ingrid Michaelson songs and Christian tracks.

I’d overfilled the cupcake liners, so when I pulled them out, there was cupcake overflow around each cupcake…that dried into hard-to-remove cupcake overflow.

Sigh.

It took me quite a while to clean the pans.  One of them is an air bake tin, so it can’t be submerged in water.

Bigger sigh.

I used some of my newfound muscles and scrubbed for a longggggggggggggggg time.

I had also decided to prep for a crockpot dish that I wanted to turn on before leaving for work.  I know myself, and it’s hard to get much accomplished in the morning besides my daily workout, shower, and beauty regimen.

Oh my, but I had to saute the chicken first, thus making ANOTHER mess that I had to scrub up.

Oh wait.  There’s more though.

While all that was transpiring, I was washing a load of clothes…of which I had to hang up about half of my stuff because I am quite particular, you see.

I was multi-tasking to the highest level…because I tend to be an overachiever, as you already know.

My students and co-workers may find me bleary-eyed in the morning.  Thank heavens for the cancellation of a regular Wednesday morning meeting.  I won’t have to be on my game immediately after stepping onto campus.

Small miracles, people.  Small miracles.

Filed under: Christian, Teaching, Vegan | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Chocoholic’s Nightcap

Posted on January 25, 2016 by auburnchick

I’ve been on a mission.

Ok…I know.  I’m always on a mission, whether it’s related to teaching or exercise.

Whatever.

My latest search has been for the perfect hot chocolate recipe.

Store-bought mixes nearly always contain powdered milk or some other milk by-products.  The dairy-free mixes I’ve found haven’t been quite to my liking.

A few nights ago, I googled two things:  coconut rum and soy milk.

I saw a small blurb that explained how to substitute coconut rum for Bailey’s Irish Creme (which I can’t have because it’s got milk in it).  Then, there was a link to this recipe:  Chocoholic’s Nightcap.

I followed the instructions, substituting cacao powder for the cocoa and Tortuga Coconut Rum for the Bailey’s.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

This stuff was delicious!

Being a former chocoholic, the level of chocolate-ness in this drink was Ah-mazing.

It was creamy too.

The rum added a nice touch, although you could make this without any alcohol and be just fine.

I did try to make this drink using my hot chocolate maker, but the milk got too foamy and just wasn’t as good.  It diluted the chocolate taste, so the third time I made it, I went back to using a saucepan to warm up the milk.

Tres divine.

I imported this recipe into MyFitnessPal, the calorie app I use, and it registered, with my modifications at 319 calories…for one cup.

Drink up.  Enjoy.  With this crazy weather we’re all experiencing, we all need to put warm goodies into our bellies.

Filed under: Vegan | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Refreshed

Posted on January 3, 2016 by auburnchick

It’s Sunday night…the evening before I head back to school after a two-week Christmas vacation.

I spent the first week throwing off the remaining crud I’d been fighting since Thanksgiving.

The second week, once we’d returned home from visiting family, was, quite simply, divine.

When you’re a teacher, it takes a couple of weeks out of the classroom to begin feeling like a normal human being again…one who can put more than one thought together…one who can actually grocery shop, cook, and keep the house clean.

I feel refreshed.

Do I want to go back?

Not really.  I treasure my time at home in the company of my family.  I like being a stay-at-home mom and wife.  I’m pretty good at it too and do not ever find myself suffering from boredom.

With that said, I am going back because no, I did not win the lottery.

At the moment, I feel un-rushed…calm even.

I think part of the reason is a renewed sense of who I am in relation to my Creator.  I’ve been reading the book Wrestling with Wonder, by Marlo Schalesky.

I began this book on December 16…ordering it after I’d finished a devotion series that contained excerpts from the book.

This book is not really a feel-good kind of book.  It’s one that makes you rethink what the word “blessing” means.  Mary was blessed, but she endured the most unimaginable pain a woman can face despite God’s promises to her.

All of the things that God allows in our lives can be considered blessings because He is working His perfect purpose through those things.

News flash…blessings aren’t for us.  They exist to further His kingdom.

This book is partially told first person…from Mary’s perspective…as she might have thought about things as they happened…the angel appearing to her to tell her she was carrying the Savior of the world…her journey to her cousin Elizabeth’s house…her trip to Bethlehem…the birth of Jesus…and more.

The book’s purpose isn’t to glorify Mary.  It’s to reveal the wonders of some of the most confusing and life-altering moments in Mary’s life and then relate them to our own lives.

This book has reminded me that God allows the good and bad things into this world because He does have a grand plan, and it isn’t always to have me feel all happy-go-lucky.  That’s comforting given relationships I still struggle with…inner turmoil that eats away at me as I fight my own dark thoughts and feelings.

There’s been a release of sorts…a lifting of some of the weight that I had allowed to reside on my shoulders for awhile.

This morning, one of the songs we sang at church was “Redeemed,” by Big Daddy Weave.

The lyrics, as always, spoke to my heart…especially the following words:

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head”
I remember, oh God, You’re not done with me yet

So, despite feeling a little like this right now…

I’m actually feeling more like this…

I hope that my calm demeanor lasts and actually rubs off on my students…kiddos who will be returning for a week and a half of teaching before first semester exams.

If my calm doesn’t last, I may be indulging in the following…

And this…Chocolate Peanut Butter Tartlets (from the book Vegan Pie in the Sky or here)…

Filed under: Christian, Teaching | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

New Years 2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by auburnchick

So, it’s been almost a week since I caught you up on what was happening around here on Christmas.

Chicky left around 6:30am on Sunday for her long drive home.  We followed suit about an hour and a half later.  When we got home, the dogs were very happy to see us.  I worked really all day and managed to get completely unpacked.  I put everything away and cleaned the house.  My Roomba had stopped running after it ran over its charging cord, so there was dog hair everywhere.  I also wanted to wash and dry the new set of sheets I’d gotten as a Christmas gift.

It was evening when I finally sat down to relax.

I recently started watching Agents of Shield on Netflix, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it.  It took about three full episodes before I got enough of the characters’ backstories to understand the premise of the show.  Now, I’m hooked.

The next morning, the dogs were more than happy to stay in bed…until about 11, I think.

That’s how we do things around here when we don’t have to work.

I immediately got down to business and did my TurboFire workout.  Then, I decided I needed to get outside and walk.  Molly was the chosen one.  She absolutely loved it and was the perfect walking buddy.

I worked on my Oakwood Poncho after having to tink back 80 rows because I’d followed the wrong chart.  Yeah, I’m stupid like that, although to be fair to me, the charts are not in the same order as the written instructions.

I’m actually happy that I had to re-do the colorwork…for the third time…because my first two attempts weren’t very good.  I’ve finally figured out how to change colors though!

Right side complete!

On Tuesday, I did my workout and then walked Gambit.  You can see, from the look on his face, how much fun he had.

On Wednesday, which was technically my “rest” day from my TurboFire program, I decided to do the “Drench” Piyo video.  Oh my.  This one completely kicks my butt every time I do it.  It’s sooooo hard!

Afterward, I took Molly for a walk…

I don’t know if I’ve told you, but in September, I joined the Harry Potter Running Club on Facebook.  Here’s the IRL website.  This club hosts virtual races, and the entry fees are donated to charity.  There’s a big competition on Facebook among houses for the House Cup, and miles are tracked through the Charity Miles app.  What is so cool about the app is that you select a charity, and various companies donate money every time you log miles.  I always select the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation because the Mr. has had Crohn’s Disease for twenty-eight years (as long as I’ve known him).

In addition to the above activities, there’s been lots of college bowl game watching around here.  Every.  Day.

I am not complaining.  I love college football and am thankful that I have a job that gives me the holidays off so I can watch these games.

I did another DIY project.  We’d recently started finding puddles of water on my laundry room floor when drying clothes, and I decided to replace the flex connection between the dryer and vent.  This fixed the problem.  No more leaks!

On New Year’s Eve, I did the Low HIIT 20 minute workout.  What absolute fun!  This workout is my favorite so far.  It goes by so quickly that you hardly know you’re exercising!  I then went for another walk, on the treadmill at the gym this time because it raining outside.

I ran ALL of those miles on the treadmill, to my shock and delight.  I firmly believe that the workouts I’ve been doing, along with the careful monitoring of my diet, have increased my endurance and made me stronger.

After getting cleaned up, I changed into comfy night clothes, appropriately themed considering that I’d be cheering AGAINST that non-SEC team in Florida that I cannot stand (they lost, by the way, hallelujah!) and the other team in Alabama, which did not lose, so I can have another chance to root against them at the end of the bowl series.

I also spent the day baking two desserts from my Vegan Pie in the Sky cookbook…

One of the best things about vegan baking is that I can lick the spoons, whisks, and bowls…

That brownie crust mixture was heavenly!

Dessert #2

Both desserts had to chill in the fridge for a few hours, so we had to wait until today to try them.

This morning (New Year’s), I didn’t get up until after 10am after turning off my alarm when it went off at 7.  I almost decided to skip my workout.  I wasn’t enamored with the idea of sweating for 40+ minutes, but I pushed through the voices in my head and pulled on my exercise clothes.

It’s funny.  I think so much negativity leaves the body with every sweat droplet that is released.  I felt terrific afterward!  I especially loved seeing the number of calories I burned.  I’m all about those calories, desperate to maintain my smaller size after all of my hard work in recent months.

I wanted to go for a walk, but the rain and cold weather made it un-doable…until later in the day.  As soon as the sky cleared up, I grabbed Pele, who’d been dying for his turn, and did a shorter walk.  He’s older and heavier and just can’t go as far.  He petered out before two miles were up, but I coaxed him home the last quarter mile, earning more miles for Hufflepuff and more money for my charity.  Oh, and by the way, I’ve been turning on my Charity Miles app and putting my phone in my Flipbelt when I do my TurboFire workout…any way to get mileage is acceptable!

Later this evening, I whipped up dinner for the family, including Rooster’s girlfriend, and then we indulged in the dessert I’d prepared yesterday.

The Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Cheesecake doesn’t really taste like cheesecake, but the consistency is similar, and it is delicious!!!

That’s it from these here parts.  I hope you brought in the new year with family and friends and are fixing your eyes on Christ as you ring in 2016!  Much love to all of you!

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on May 5, 2015 by auburnchick

It’s been years since I’ve eaten a good chocolate chip cookie.  Becoming a vegan put quite the damper on my dessert eating (my waist line hasn’t been complaining though).

Still, I grew up eating chocolate chip cookies and used to make them for my family.

I’d found a recipe a couple of weeks ago but only got around to baking them on Sunday.

You can find the recipe here.

I was shocked at how few ingredients it called for, and prep was a snap.

I was eager as I put them in the oven…

They came out of the oven looking…gasp…normal…

The true test would be in the taste…

Warm cookie + dessert-deprived vegan = BLISS

The cookie…

Was like a small piece of heaven…

Descended upon this earth.

I called the Mr. in.

He was skeptical.  He loves my non-vegan version; however, he is severely lactose-intolerant and has been extra careful ever since I joined forces when I became a vegan.

He took one bite and tried to hide his reaction.

Cookie joy came shining through his eyes, though.

There was no hiding the sparkle that radiated there…

Nor the fact that he returned more than once for more cookies.

Ahem.

This recipe is a keeper!

Filed under: Vegan | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

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