The Best Christmas Gifts...

...are those that are practical and/or thoughtful (in my opinion).

I received some great Christmas gifts this year and wanted to share my two favorites.

Water Pitcher

I had been wanting one of these for a while, because you can make fruit water, the natural way! We have already tried lemon water, and now I have orange slices in there. It's yummy and very healthy for you, not to mention easy to fill a glass anytime you want something to drink. I saw a combination online for raspberries and limes that I would like to try next. My mom had a hard time finding one that was big enough, but also had enough room underneath the spout for you to fit a glass. Many of them are designed to hang off the edge of a counter, but who wants that on the edge of their counter? If you are interested in purchasing one, this one is from Bed Bath and Beyond.

Click here for flavored water recipes and click here for the benefits of drinking lemon water.


Blanket
My husband, Mark, made this blanket for me as one of my gifts. No, he didn't make the actual "Love" part or the fabric, but rather took two pieces of fabric, cut strips all along the outer edge and tied every strip to make one of those no-sew blankets. Not only is it very practical (since I always want a blanket when I lay on the couch), but it was so thoughtful! I have to admit, I cried when I saw it (hence the reason I look weird in the photo - it was post cry!). He picked out the Love pattern and just the fact that he spent the time doing something like that really meant a lot to me.  He was very proud of himself and said "I didn't even have to ask your mom for help."

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year?

--T

Insanity Update

Feel free to read my previous post on my Insanity Adventure! I just finished the recovery week (Week 5), and start Month 2 on Monday. Month 2 is even more intense than Month 1. I can't wait (NOT!). There is not as drastic a change between the photos in Day 21 and Day 35, but I do notice a slight reduction of love handles on the left side (plus when compared to Day 1, the photo for Day 35 looks much better!) It's really weird, because I'm still not losing pounds (only 3 so far), but as long as I look better, then I don't mind :) It's hard work, and daily dedication, but I do recommend the program so far, because it is working!

--T

My Insanity Adventure

Insanity is...well....insane! One day, out of the blue, I decided to do the Insanity workout program. When I say out of the blue, I mean I literally thought to myself "I wonder how that Insanity program is?" and about 5 minutes later was in front of my television doing Day 1.

Day 1 was the fit test (where they have you record how many reps of certain exercises you do. You will do the fit test every 2 weeks to see if you have improved and can do more reps). After the fit test I thought "I am screwed." I was DYING after doing it, and it wasn't even a real workout yet!

The first couple of days I was soooo sore! I kept asking people "Do you think it's okay to keep going if I'm this sore?" Secretly, I think I was hoping someone would say no so I could have an excuse not to keep going, but unfortunately everyone said yes. On to day 2...and 3...and 4....and 10...and 15....and 21.

And here I am. I just finished Week 3 today. The Insanity program is 8 weeks with a recovery week, so I'm not even halfway done (ugh!). I have been slightly discouraged, because the numbers on the scale really aren't changing all that much. I am busting my butt, 6 days a week, 40 minutes a day, and not losing pounds?! Talk about a downer.

I decided to take a picture today, on Day 21, and compare it to the picture I took on Day 1. Now, this is quite embarrassing (I mean, does any woman really want to show her flaws to the public? Probably not.) But I am doing this to show you that exercise does work, and sticking to a schedule does help, and that it's not always the pounds that matter.

I have friends who are constantly saying "I want to be at _____ lbs by this date" or "I need to lose 5 lbs" and I feel like that's how people get discouraged and quit what they are doing (because they are not seeing the weight come off). You can lose inches without losing pounds.

My problem area has always been my love handles. I. Hate. Them. You will see in these pictures that they are my area that needs improvement. Up until this point, it seemed like nothing I did helped decrease them, so I am very happy with the results so far and feel it's just what I needed to push through the next 6 weeks.

In the picture from day 1 you can see my love handles start not too far below my sports bra line. In day 21 it the love handles start much lower and much closer to my belly button. That's where I have noticed the most improvement.

I will post an update in a couple more weeks.

--T

Need a New Book to Read?

Have you heard of Goodreads.com? It's similar to facebook, but it's for readers. You can find people you know who also have Goodreads accounts, and "follow" their page. You update what books you want to read, what books you are currently reading, and what books you have already read. It's a great way to get ideas for something new to read. I have found many books on Goodreads that I have read and loved!

Recently they published their "Best Books of 2012" list. Here were the winners:

Fiction
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - It would be neat to see what her writing style would be like outside of the Harry Potter series.

Mystery
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Read it and loved it! Recommended it to others who also enjoyed it.

Historical Fiction
The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Stedman - I'm usually not a big fan of historical fiction, but this one sounds pretty good!

Fantasy
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King - I've never read a Stephen King book I didn't like, so I'm sure this one is good, too!

Science Fiction
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett - This one doesn't seem like my type of book, but if you enjoy science fiction, it may be worth reading.

Romance
Fifty Shades Free by E.L. James - Has anyone NOT read these books? I liked the series, but I'm not sure I would give it a "Best" of anything.

Horror
The Twelve by Justin Cronin - Looks like this is part of a trilogy, so you'd have to read the first book first.

Memoir and Autobiography
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast by Cheryl Strayed - Another book I'm not particularly interested in reading, but seems like it could be an empowering story.

Non-Fiction
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop by Susan Cain - Sounds boring to me.

Humor
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson - This sounds like a funny book, and could possibly be a quick read.

Graphic Novels and Comics
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman - Since I LOVE the t.v. show, I wouldn't mind reading the comic books. It would be interesting to see how the story lines compare.

Young Adult Fiction
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Maybe this could be a book I recommend to my students? Sounds like an interesting story.

Happy reading! :)

--T

Quick & Easy Christmas Dessert

I think this is a great Christmas dessert, because it's not too heavy (after eating lots of other yummy food on Christmas) and has a reddish tint to it which is perfect for the holidays. I made it for a dessert exchange party, and it came in 3rd place out of 11.

Here is a picture of how I presented the dessert (in martini glasses with a candy cane)

 

I found the recipe on Pinterest (obviously!), and it's simple. For the dessert party I actually tripled it, because I needed enough for everyone to have a martini glass AND enough for everyone to take some home. Even after distributing the dessert to everyone, I still had enough to bring home and fill a medium sized bowl. The recipe listed here is the original recipe - feel free to double or triple depending on how many you are feeding.

1 can of cherry pie filling (I buy the biggest can they have)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

1 can crushed pineapple (8 oz)

2/3 bag of mini marshmallows

16-24 oz. Cool Whip (I use Cool Whip Lite)

Completely drain the pineapples (I squeezed the water out with my hands). Combine all the ingredients except the cherry pie filling and cool whip. Mix well. Then, fold in the cherry pie filling and fold in the cool whip. Cover and refrigerate - tastes better if you let it refrigerate overnight. 

The original link for the recipe can be found here.

--T

 

Need A Pillow?

Mark's cousin, Jami, has started a business making really cute pillows of all different sizes. The focus is on toddler pillows, tooth pillows, pillow cases, name pillows, and so on. These would make great Christmas gifts, and it's nice buying homemade rather than from a big name store.

Here are some pictures of some of the options. If you "like" the facebook page (Pillowsewcute), you can see fabric options, more pictures, pricing, and discounts.

iPic Theater - Bolingbrook, IL

Mark and I have been going to a movie theater in the Bolingbrook Promenade called iPic. At first I was against going here, because it was very expensive, but now that we have gone a few times, I really like it!

The Movie Watching Experience
You can reserve your seats online, and much like when you buy concert tickets or tickets to a play, you can look at a seating chart and select where you want to sit. The nice thing about this is you no longer have to arrive 20 minutes early (or more, depending on if it is a new release or not) to get a decent spot. Mark and I usually show up about 5 minutes before showtime and our seat is waiting for us.

Another thing I really like is that there are never any teenagers or children here. As far as I know there is no age limit, but because the tickets are more expensive than your average theater, I have found that teenagers and families with children go to a cheaper theater in the area. This was especially nice when we went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2 only a week after it came out and there were no screaming or annoying teenagers. Everyone in the theater was an adult and it was a very positive experience.

Ticket Prices
There are several ticket options. I highly recommend becoming a member online (it's free!) because the ticket prices are $4.50 cheaper for members (did I mention that it's free??).

Premium Seating is usually in the first five rows or so, but the theater is set up in a way so that even if you are in those rows, you can comfortably watch the movie without craning your neck. In my opinion, there really isn't a bad seat in the theater. These tickets for a member are $13.00 each (only $3.00 more than a regular theater?) and for a non-member are $17.50 each.

Premium Plus Seating is further back from the screen and the seats are recliners. They will also provide you with a blanket and pillow and the people in the premium plus seats have a waiter to bring you what you want to eat or drink. The prices are $18.50 for a member and $25.00 for a non-member. I personally don't think this is worth it or necessary, but it might be nice for a treat or a special date night.

Food
Just like the Hollywood Boulevard and Hollywood Palms theaters, the iPic serves food as well. There is a nice bar and restaurant area that is very chic looking, with modern decorations and low lighting. They have pool tables, couches, and cocktail tables. You can get your traditional movie food items such as popcorn, candy, and pop, but they also have a menu you can choose from. Unlike the Hollywood chains, a purchase is NOT necessary. However, if you are interested in the menu, you can click here. 

We did choose to eat there the last time we went and were unimpressed with the service, the food, and the price. I ordered the bite size nachos which were actually quite delicious; however, were not worth the $13.00 (since there were only 6 nachos on the plate). Mark ordered the grilled cheese panini and tomato bisque and really liked the sandwich but said the tomato bisque tasted like spaghetti sauce from a jar (which it very well could have been!). At $13.00 we could have made it at home a lot cheaper and probably a lot tastier.

The theater also sells cocktails, draft beers, and buckets of beer.

The service wasn't the best, because we were there at a popular time when several movies were starting within the hour. It seemed like the kitchen was backed up and it took a while to get our food. The waitress was pleasant though.

There are pictures on their website if you'd like to see what the theater looks like. You will definitely feel more classy going here than you would an average AMC or Cinemark movie theater.

--T

A Kitchen Tip

I learned this at a cooking class at the library that I took recently - not sure if it's old news or not:

If you need to squeeze the juice out of a lemon and don't have a small juicer (like me - I only have one of those heavy duty ones that would be pointless to lug out for one little lemon), use a pair of tongs (salad tongs, bbq tongs, whatever).

Put the lemon in like so:













and squeeze the handles of the tongs until you get all the juice out. It's really quite effortless!

--T

Homemade Dog Treats

It's no secret - my dog, Lucky, is somewhat spoiled. We love him so much! He's such a good dog (he loves everybody, loves to cuddle, he is a good watch dog, and he is great with children). So once in a while, he deserves something special! I have a dog treats cookbook that I have used for homemade dog treats in the past, but that was over a year ago. I took it out again tonight and made Lucky some "Fall Bites." They have pumpkin in them, which is good for digestion, and other healthy ingredients. Because the treats are homemade, you know there are no chemicals, preservatives, or anything nasty that shouldn't be in food.

They turned out well - although I probably made some of them way too big, so will have to break them in half. The recipe said to flatten them into round circles, but that was boring so I used a fire hydrant and a bone cookie cutter that my mom's friend (thanks Debbie M!) gave to me.

They don't look the prettiest, but the important thing is that Lucky loves them!

Fall Bites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is okay)
4 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together the pumpkin, molasses, water, and vegetable oil.  Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda to form a soft dough. Roll the dough into balls, put on a baking sheet, flatten them, and prick with a fork. Bake for 25 minutes, or until hard and crisp.

Fall Bites will keep up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Recipe from: The Healthy Dog Cookbook by: Joanne Anne with Mary Straus

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

I love pie and would take pie any day over any other dessert. While I prefer fruit pies, fall does not seem complete without some pumpkin pie. At a recent get together, my good friend, Katie, brought a crustless pumpkin pie that happens to be a weight watcher recipe. Each piece of pie is only one weight watcher point! Wow!

Here is the recipe:

1 can evaporated skim milk (the recipe calls for a 15 oz. can, but I could only find a 12 oz. can at Meijer. It worked just fine).
1 15oz can pumpkin (NOT pie filling, just pumpkin puree)
3/4 cup of egg substitutes OR 3 egg whites (I used egg whites)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cups Splenda (or sugar) or add to taste

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into 9" sprayed pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes then bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife is inserted in the center and comes out clean.

You could top the pie with fat free cool whip.

Enjoy!

--T

**Recipe courtesy of Katie Neumann**

Detox Adventure

For a while I had been wanting to do a detox - nothing major, just a "reboot" of my system to clean out any toxins.

I found one on a website I visit frequently called SkinnyMs.com, and it was a three day cleanse.

Here is the link to the detox diet: http://skinnyms.com/three-day-cleanse-detox/

The menu is pretty much the same for the three days:

Upon waking up: drink a room temperature glass of water with lemon and ginger root in it.

Breakfast: your choice of one of four different smoothies/juices.

Mid-morning snack: various vegetables and almonds.

Lunch: salad with homemade dressing.

Mid-afternoon snack: consisted of various vegetables and almonds.

Dinner: homemade vegetable soup.

Before bed: a cup of chamomile tea. 

So how did it go for me?

Day 1 was a breeze. I followed the menu exactly and was surprised at how FULL I felt all day long. I did not feel like I was depriving myself of anything, nor did I feel hungry. The only problem with Day 1 was I chose a detox smoothie as my breakfast and it was disgusting! I was literally drinking/eating a full glass of vegetable pulp. It took me my whole ride to work to down it. Ick.

Day 2 was okay as well. It was a little harder on day 2 to eat the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, because I was starting to get tired of vegetables, but I stuck to it. Since I did not enjoy the breakfast smoothie on Day 1, I chose a different one that was coconut milk, spinach, and a banana, which was SO much better! I really liked it.

Day 3 was difficult. I woke up that morning and felt weak and nauseous. I decided to skip the morning smoothie and the mid-morning veggie snack and instead ate some grapes. I really didn't have much of a desire to eat. I did eat my salad at lunch, but when I came home, I skipped the veggies and had grapes again. I also had a small bowl of my mom's homemade chili. So I guess I cheated, but I was listening to my body and my body needed more than just vegetables on Day 3.

I noticed that I was peeing a lot more while doing this, so I do feel like a lot of water and toxins left my body. My stomach is flatter and not so bloated. I lost 5 pounds total, which could very well come back if it was just water weight. But I do feel good and intend to continue to make healthy eating choices. Today I am off the detox. This morning I had 2 kiwis for breakfast, I'm having more of the soup for lunch with some carrots and hummus, and for dinner I'll have my mom's chili again. I'm sure some leftover Halloween candy will make its way into my stomach sometime today too. Nobody's perfect, right? ;)

--T

Le Chocolat Du Bouchard

My girlfriends, Andrea, Katie, Nicole, Stephanie, my sister Kristin, and I went out for a girl's night last week to a chocolate cafe in Naperville called Le Chocolat Du Bouchard. Most of us had not been there before, and I'm pretty sure we will all be returning!

It's a cute little cafe that sells specialty chocolates, teas, hot chocolates, gifts, and bakery items. They also have a menu so you can sit down and eat (or drink!) some chocolate.

I ordered a chocolate mousse cake, Stephanie ordered a chocolate torte, Nicole wanted to try their carrot cake, Kristin, Andrea, and Katie all had a brownie sundae. Many of us also got hot chocolate. I chose a Mexicocoa which was a Mexican Hot Chocolate. It was delicious!!

The cakes were so rich that maybe next time a few of us will share some of the menu items. I couldn't finish the whole piece of cake myself.

To check out their menu click here.

Here is a picture of my Mexicocoa - perfect for a chilly fall night!

And here is a picture of my chocolate mousse cake!  Look at how rich that is! Yum!

We found out that they are expanding their store into the building next door. Construction begins in November. Once they finish construction they will have a candy bar - where you can go and rent out the bar with your girlfriends for a flat fee and try all their different chocolates. If the price is reasonable, we will definitely be checking it out!

If you are looking for a good girl's night, stop by Le Chocolat Du Bouchard. It's a nice change of pace from the typical dinner or lunch dates.

Vegan Cafe Groupon

For those of you who read my previous blog post about the Vegan Cafe in Lockport, Groupon has a deal right now: $12 for $25 worth of food. Click here to be taken to the Groupon.

If you never got around to reading my Vegan Cafe post, click here to be taken to it. They serve only raw, natural foods, but everything is so delicious that you would never know what you are eating is healthy!

Free Fun!

Looking for something fun to do, but don't want to spend much money....or any money for that matter? Have you checked out your local public library?

Living in Bolingbrook, we belong to Fountaindale Public Library and they have events going on all the time.

Last week Mark and I went to a Mexican cooking night, where a chef cooked Mexican food right in front of us, explained each recipe and the process, and gave us recipes to take home. Then, when he was done cooking, we each got a plate of food to try his creations. It was informative, fun, and delicious! Check out the plate of food we each got below. Not bad for being free!

Some other FREE activities our library has:

Jewelry making class - make your own jewelry using provided supplies
Craft nights - on the first Thursday of the month you can bring your scrapbooking or card making projects and mingle and craft with others
Halloween Spooky Treats - Learn how to make treats such as witches fingers, a twinkie graveyard, and spooky popcorn. Sample in class and take the recipes home.
Zumba - If you pre-register you can take zumba classes at the library.
Yoga - If you pre-register you can take yoga classes at the library.
Drawing from A to Z - Free drawing classes
City of Ghosts - An interactive ghost theater of spine-tingling stories and local history.

These are just the events our library has, but if you look into the public library for your town, I'm sure you will find something of interest. There are also many children's events and activities as well as events for teens. Having fun does not have to mean going broke! :)

--T

Style Tips From Old Navy

I went to Old Navy today, because I felt the need to jump on the colored skinny jeans bandwagon (I got a purple pair). They had free style tip papers you could take, and I especially liked the color pairings one. It tells you which colors look good together (perfect for picking out tops for the colored jeans). There is also one on how to tie scarves and belts (neither of which I have added to my wardrobe yet).

P.S. Sorry for the crumpled picture of the belts - my dog, Lucky, felt the need to walk all over it while I was trying to take the picture. 

--T

Simply Homemade

I'm always on the look out for places to go with my girlfriends, and I've always held places like Simply Homemade in the back of my mind. This is one of those prep kitchens where you go and make several freezer meals to save for a day when you don't want to have to plan a meal. I've always known about Dinner by Design which had a location in Tinley Park and one in Downers Grove. The Tinley Park one closed down and the Downers one only offers pick up options (they assemble it for you and you just pick it up - boring!!). I wanted something we could turn into a girl's night so I found Simply Homemade in Naperville.

This. Place. Was. Awesome.

When you register online for your date and time you also pick your menu items. Every month there are 22 different menu options and most of them include a side item. The items I picked for September were:

Fish tacos
Classic Pork Roast with Apples
Tuscan Tomato Bisque with a Bread Loaf
Penne Pasta al Forno with a Side of Green Beans
Beef Tips Italiano with a Side of Broccoli

I tried to pick things I don't regularly make. I make a lot of casseroles and a lot of recipes using beef, so I thought the pork and fish tacos would be a nice change of pace, as well as the tomato soup.

There are several meal packages you can pick from. You can choose 5, 8, or 12 meals which each serve about 4-6 (plenty for Mark and I plus leftovers), or you can pick 12 mini meals which serve 3 (good for people who live alone).

The menus you pick the meals from also include nutrition information (including weight watchers points) and many of the meals are really healthy. Four out of five of my meals were less than 400 calories per serving - the soup was only 153 per serving. Sweeeet! 

When you go to Simply Homemade, they have their kitchen set up in stations and each station has a recipe on it for you to follow. All the ingredients you need to assemble your dish are at the station - you hardly have to leave your spot to find something. The directions are simple such as: Take a quart sized bag. In the bag put 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, etc. etc. Close bag. Take a gallon bag and add meat from the refrigerator. Close bag. Take a quart sized bag and fill with broccoli. And so on and so forth. It is so SIMPLE (hence, Simply Homemade, right?) Then you put everything in one bag and put a label on it that has cooking instructions.

Here is what the label looks like on my fish tacos:

Cooking Instructions are literally to cook the fish in a pan, sprinkle on the seasonings it came with, add the bag of salsa, squeeze a lime over it, shred with a fork and make your tacos. Voila!

At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About 10 minutes








and the Pasta:

Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, uncover and bake for 10-12 more minutes. All done!

At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About an hour








I made 7 meals (because two of the meals were rather large, so I split them into two containers for two separate dinners) for $105.00 and it only took me an hour to prepare them all at Simply Homemade's kitchen. I stayed longer to help a friend who was making the 12 mini meals. I consider that a great deal considering I did not have to grocery shop for 7 meals, did not have to do all the prep work OR the clean up, and it takes the guess work out of "what are we having for dinner." I am trying to save these meals for a day or week when I am too busy to think about cooking. Also, these are things Mark could easily throw into the oven and prepare.

If anyone is interested in doing this, let me know. I will definitely be returning!

Tonight I am making the fish tacos and will report back on how they tasted.

--T

Need a Hotel in Cali?

Recently, Mark and I took a trip to California. We had a great time, and we were pleasantly surprised by our choice of hotel. Most of what we wanted to do while we were in California was near the Los Angeles/Hollywood areas, but we didn't want to actually stay in LA. Someone had told Mark about Sherman Oaks, California which was about 20-25 minutes from both LA and Hollywood. We decided on a Best Western on Sepulveda Boulevard and it was great! It was designed more like a motel, with the doors to all the rooms leading to the outside, and it was only two levels. Check-in was fast (as was check-out, we were able to just call the front desk and tell them we were leaving!). One night, Mark went to the front desk, which was in a separate building, to ask for more towels, and as he was walking out of the front desk building, there was already a maid walking up to our door with the towels. There was a refrigerator in the room (some hotels you have to pay extra for this), and they kept our room stocked with bottles of water. There was a Denny's next door and you could walk the few feet to go eat or you could order room service from Denny's. The room was extremely clean, and I felt very comfortable in it.

If you plan on taking a trip to California (which I recommend you do - there is so much to do there!), remember the Best Western on Sepulveda Blvd in Sherman Oaks :)

--T

My Secret Go To Store....

is Dress Barn! Often times when I get complimented on something I am wearing and tell the person "Thanks, it's from Dress Barn!" they are shocked. For some reason Dress Barn has this "it's for old ladies" stigma. Granted, some of the clothing IS for older women, in my opinion, but about 80 percent of the dresses in my closet are from Dress Barn! I also have several tops, pants, and even shoes - and I like to think that I don't dress like an old lady. ;)

My latest find is their Roz & Ali skinny jeans/jeggings. They are the BEST skinny jeans I have ever tried on. Ever. So awesome in fact that I went back the next day with my sister so she could try them on - and she bought them as well! They are not denim - they are a very "satiny" smooth material and come in blue and black. I bought both! They are also reasonably priced at $29.50.

If you would like to see them on the website, click here.

If you have never shopped at Dress Barn, give it a chance. I never walk out of there empty-handed :)

--T

Update: Erin Condren Life Planner

I am sooooo excited to have finally received my Erin Condren Planner in the mail today! (See previous post for more detailed information on this awesome website).

I cannot WAIT to fill it in and start using it (I'm a dork, I know). I just love organization, especially in terms of calendars, to do lists, etc, and I love that I can keep virtually everything I need to know or remember in this planner which very conveniently will fit in most of my purses :)

The planner has pages for birthdays/anniversaries for every month, a folder, a ruler, stickers that say things like "birthday, pay day, bridal shower" etc. so you can put them on your calendar. Each month has a monthly calendar and also a calendar for each day that is separated by morning, afternoon, and evening. There are blank pages, lined pages, gift labels (different from the ones pictured), address pages, and an important phone numbers page. Every single page has a cute design, font, and colors. It's not your average planner that's for sure!

She also sent me the gift labels you see pictured. There were 11 of them which would normally cost about $10.00 so that was a nice freebie! I also received a coupon for $10 off my next purchase.  So when you take all of that into consideration, the $50.00 planner really cost around $30.00. At least that's the way I look at it. :)

About three days ago I went back to her website and ordered Christmas and birthday gift labels, because she is running a Labor Day sale - 40% off! Use the code LABORDAY at checkout (only good on gift labels). 

--T

A Simple Yummy Recipe

If you want a really good recipe you can prepare in about 15 minutes, then this recipe is for you. I have our family friend, Laura, to thank for this one. It's so easy that even a not so savvy cook could make it. :)

1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp salt
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz. frozen tater tots (I usually just buy a big bag, use what I need and save the rest for the next recipe)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown beef in a skillet with salt. Spoon into a lightly greased 2.5 quart casserole dish. Layer frozen vegetables, soup, and cheese on top of ground beef. Top with tater tots and bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until tater tots are done.

Photo courtesy of delicious-cooks.com

--T

Impressive!

I love my job, and I like the school I work at, but I am always keeping an eye out for any job opportunities that seem interesting. Recently I saw a Groupon for a resumé writing company that will revamp your current resumé and cover letter. I bought it, knowing full well that my current resumé was pretty crappy. I've been at the same school for six years and haven't really needed to update or improve the way my resume looked. I bought the Groupon for $85.00. The service is normally $260. This seems like a lot of money, but I just received my resumé and cover letter back, and I cannot express how amazing they both are! I am actually embarrassed at what I turned in to them as my original resumé! :)

In addition to attaching my current resumé and cover letter, I also had to fill out a questionnaire. It took the company only a couple of days to get back to me with the finished product. They really highlighted my strengths as an educator and my professional accomplishments and qualifications.

If your resumé needs a face lift I would highly recommend JC Resumes. Honestly, I am so happy with their service, I do think that the $260 fee is worth it, and felt the Groupon deal was a steal at $85, especially if someone is actively job hunting and wants their resumé to stand out.

To show you the difference in my "before and after" resumés, I have attached a picture of both. I did black out my personal information (address, phone number, etc.) so obviously the actual documents don't have the big black rectangles on them. :) The company website for JC Resumes is found here. 

Before

After

The Ultimate Planner

One of my friends (Thanks Andrea Meyer!) posted this website on facebook: ErinCondren.com and within 10 minutes of looking at it I had already placed an order!

She sells everything from iphone and ipad cases, to recipe cards, to lesson plan books for teachers, to life planners.

I decided to buy one of the life planners. I love organization when it comes to calendars/schedules/etc. You get to choose your cover design and personalize it how you want. You can also upload a picture and make that your cover. You can choose a 12 month or 16 month planner. Each life planner includes the following:

--A birthday and anniversary calendar
--A weekly scheduler with two month spreads
--Goals and to-do lists
--Laminated monthly tabs
--Laminated bookmark/ruler
--Lined pages
--Blank pages
--Important numbers page
--Addresses page
--Colorful stickers for highlighting important events
--Sturdy aluminum coil
--A plastic pouch
--A "Keep it together" folder
--Inspiration quotes throughout

The life planners are $50.00 and the other items on her website range in price. Anything on her website would make a great gift, especially because you can personalize it with the person's or family's name.

This is the design I chose and my first and last name will be on the bottom of the cover. If you order one, let me know what design you decided on!

--T

Some Spring Cleaning...in August??

So a few days ago I got on this cleaning kick. Mark and I are fortunate enough to have a cleaning lady who comes once a month, so I have to admit, I hardly ever have to do your typical cleaning chores - vacuuming, dusting, etc. However, recently I was thinking about those things in your house that don't typically get cleaned - like the dishwasher, the washing machine, and so on and I decided to do a little spring cleaning, only in August.

My first job was to clean the dishwasher. I read online about a simple way to clean the dishwasher. Take the bottom rack out of the dishwasher and make sure there is no gunk, crumbs, etc. blocking anything. You fill a dishwasher safe cup with white vinegar and put it on the top rack. Run it through the hottest cycle you can with nothing in the dishwasher except the cup of vinegar. After the cycle is complete, take the vinegar out and sprinkle the bottom of the dishwasher with baking soda. Run it through another complete, hot cycle with nothing in the dishwasher. Once that cycle is complete, wipe away any residue. To show you that this did work, here is a before and after picture of our dishwasher. Look closely at the before picture (especially on the left side of the dishwasher) and you can see it was actually quite dirty!

                            Before                                                                             After

  

I also decided to clean my washing machine. I took out the top of the middle piece in the washing machine and was horrified by all the gunk build up in there. I did not take a picture, but I wish I had so you could see it. I rinsed the parts I could get out of the washing machine in hot water and cleared away as much buildup as I could. Then I followed the directions on this website. First, you fill the washer with hot water and pour in two cups of white vinegar. Let it sit for an hour, then run it through a cycle. Then, fill the machine up again with hot water and pour in 1-2 cups of bleach. Let it sit for an hour, then run it through a cycle. At no point do you add any soap or detergent. When my 2 cycles were complete the washer did look very shiny and the inside of it looked like new. Success!

Next, it was time to clean our towels. This website gives a way to get the mildew, musty smell out of towels. All you do is wash your towels in hot water with a cup of white vinegar, and then run them through another cycle with half a cup of baking soda. Really easy and my towels did seem to be fresher after I did this. 

Finally, I decided to organize all my makeup. I had a lot of makeup that I don't use and the makeup I do use was just thrown in a cosmetic bag. Since I use this stuff every day, I wanted something more organized and more accessible. I went to The Container Store and bought this perfect makeup organizer. I also got rid of anything I don't use on a daily basis. 

As I was putting everything in its proper place, it occurred to me that I never (and unfortunately, I mean NEVER) clean my makeup brushes. I found this easy and natural way to do it: Mix equal parts olive oil and dish soap on a plate, swirl the brush in the mixture and wipe off on a paper towel. Keep doing this until you aren't getting any makeup on the paper towel anymore, and then run it under warm water and let dry. It's important not to get water in the silver part of the brush, so you don't want to submerge your brushes, just rinse the bristles under warm water. 

Now, this is really gross, and actually quite embarrassing, but just to show you how badly my brushes needed to be cleaned, here is a picture of the paper towel I used to wipe my brushes. The towel on the left is from my blush brush and the one on the right (not as bad) is my eyeshadow brush. 

So, there you have it. I felt pretty accomplished, because these are things that I know never get done (at least not in our house!)

--T

Discounted Chicago Parking

Parking in Chicago = one of the most frustrating things ever! There are a few reasons for this: a) It's expensive and b) sometimes you have to walk really far because the only garage or spot available was not anywhere near your final destination.

Mark and I recently went downtown for about 3.5 hours and it cost us $35 to park. Isn't that ridiculous! Sure, you can try to find street parking, rather than parking in a garage, but usually everyone has the same idea, so you end up circling and circling the streets with no luck.

I have a website that might help you. It's called Spothero.com. Mark heard about this website on the news, and we used it yesterday for the first time. It worked great!

Here's how it works:
You go to spothero.com or you download their free app for your cell phone. We did it via the website. All you do is type in the address of where you are going (we were going to lunch at Pizano's so we typed in their address) and it will give you a list of garages and the price. We found a garage that was 1.3 blocks away for only $9.00 - and we parked there for 3 hours! Can you believe it?? What a great deal! The nice thing about it is your spot is reserved so not only are you getting discounted parking, but you don't have to worry about finding a garage or a spot. The garage we chose was next to a hotel so the garage actually said it was "Full," but our instructions told us if the garage says "Full" then to push the call button upon entering and tell the attendant you are a SpotHero customer and they will let you in. We followed those instructions and were let in without a problem.

Just make sure you either print out your confirmation email or you are able to pull it up on your phone, because they will need to see this to give you the special rate.

This website is something you can use at the last minute as well - we didn't think of it until we were about 20 minutes from our destination. Everything was processed within a matter of minutes and we were good to go!

I'm glad we tried this and intend to use this website whenever we need to go to the city!

--T

Operation Get Healthy!

I've been trying to lose weight recently. Well, I take that back...up until this past June I was trying to lose weight. Once summer came, and I went on summer break from teaching, I kind of fell off the wagon. Originally, I had lost 10 pounds! Yay! From June - August I have put back on 5. Boo! The fact that I went on 3 vacations did not help, nor did the fact that I stopped exercising. It's funny, I thought once I was done with work for the summer I would work out MORE, but in fact, not having a schedule and routine made me work out far less. As of this week I started getting serious about getting fit and healthy again.

Here are the first steps on my weight loss adventure. My goal is to lose 20 pounds total, which means I have 15 more to go. For anyone who is trying to lose weight, I invite you to try some of these and post on your progress. We can do it together! :)

1) I started juicing. We have a nice juicer that has not been put to good use until now. I found a recipe online here for a juice that supposedly boosts weight loss. The recipe is 3 nectarines, a bunch (about 5 stalks) of kale, 1 lemon, 1 apple, and 2 cucumbers. Cucumbers and Kale are vegetables I would not eat regularly, so already I know I am getting more nutrients than I would if I wasn't juicing. I doubled this recipe and filled a pitcher so I have it for a few days. For breakfast I have been drinking one glass and eating some fruit. Another drink I've been sipping on is this recipe. It's not really a "recipe" per say - you slice up half an apple really thin, put this in a pitcher of water with a cinnamon stick and let it refrigerate so the flavors mix together. It tastes like those "spa waters" they give you when you go to a spa - just a hint of flavor. When the water is half gone, fill it up again. You can refill 5 times, then replace the apples and cinnamon stick. It's supposed to boost metabolism.

2) I started taking a daily multi-vitamin for women.

3) I started working out again. I purchased a $5.99 program from this website called "Total Body Transformation Program." I just completed day 4 and in addition to this I have been going to the gym for 35 minutes 4-5x week.

and finally....the hardest part....

4) I started eating healthy again. Ok people - I love food. Seriously, I do. And I love food that is bad for you - french fries, chocolate, candy, etc. I'm surprised I don't weigh more than I do. But I've realized...and I realized this in the past which is what helped me lose 10 pounds to begin with...but food is more important than exercise. Online resources say that weight loss is 30% exercise and 70% what you eat. So...I need to start eating healthy again. The juicing was step one. I also started using our dehydrator and I made homemade fruit roll ups in it the other night. The only ingredients were strawberries and cinnamon so it makes for a great snack! I have also decided I need to stop snacking between meals (or if I do snack I'm trying to stick with fruits, veggies, or anything else that might be considered healthy or less than 150 calories).

Now...here's the kicker....in 4 days I've lost 2 pounds!! Now, I'm sure that's just excess water, bloat, whatever, and I KNOW that I will not drop 15 pounds in 2 weeks, but it's a start and it's encouraging.

In honor of my new weight loss adventure I wanted to post some more healthy recipes. I made a Weight Watchers Broccoli and Cheese Quiche and Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes" for dinner tonight. They were both very good. The Mashed Cauliflower does not pass for potatoes in my opinion, but it was delicious in its own way. The links to the recipes are below the picture.

Weight Watcher Broccoli and Cheese Quiche - (I'm not doing weight watchers, but for those of you who are, it is 6 points per slice).

Mashed Cauliflower

--T

Chicago Pizza Tours

If you are looking for something unique and fun to do in the city of Chicago, I would highly recommend Chicago Pizza Tours. My friend, Rachel, and I did our first pizza tour last summer thanks to a youswoop discount we had. We thought it would be something different to do - and we loved it!

A man named Jon started this business a few years ago, and it is a bus tour of 4 different pizzerias in the city. Every tour starts at Pizano's and from there the locations change depending on the tour (so chances are, if you do the tour more than once, you will visit different locations). At each stop Jon talks about the pizzeria, how they cook their pizzas, and you get to try their most popular pizzas at each location. Actually, "try" is not really the best word - have a meal is more like it. You can expect to eat about 7 pieces of pizza on a tour, and some of them are deep dish! You definitely need to go when you are hungry!

The tour Rachel and I did included stops to Pizano's, Coalfire, Red Flame, and Gino's East.

Because I enjoyed the tour so much, and I knew Mark would love it as well, I decided to take Mark on one this summer. A few weeks ago we did our Chicago Pizza Tour, and it was just as much fun as when I did it the first time. This time our pizzerias included Pizano's, Spacca Napoli (they get all their ingredients from Italy), Coalfire, and Pequod's.

This is another great gift idea for those people in your life who are difficult to buy for. I also think it would be a great activity to do if you have people coming in from out of state or out of the country, who might want something different to do. Out of towners always hear about Chicago's great pizza and what better way to give them a sampling of what our city has to offer than on a Chicago Pizza Tour?

The great thing about Jon, the tour guide, is that while you are on the bus going from location to location, he talks about the history of Chicago and points out famous landmarks and monuments. It's like two tours in one.

Recently Jon hired a few workers to help him with his tours, so if you decide to book one, I would call or email before picking your date and find out when John will be giving tours. I'm sure the other guys are good tour guides as well, but I've had a great time on the tours led by Jon. After all - he is the founder and creator of Chicago Pizza Tours!

The Original Pizza Tour option is $60/person. He also has a tour that is Pizza and Cocktails for $80.00/person, but he said this tour is less of him talking and more just people drinking and eating pizza. If you want to learn about the history of Chicago, pizza, and the pizzerias, I would suggest the Original Pizza Tour.

If anyone decides to do this, let me know how you like it! To view the website and buy tickets you can click here.

--T

A Great Gift Idea

As mentioned in my previous post, my husband is difficult to buy gifts for. He never expresses that he wants anything, or if he does he tends to buy it himself. I always have to be somewhat creative when it comes to getting him gifts. For his 30th birthday, part of his birthday gift was an Amazing Clubs subscription. If you have never heard of Amazing Clubs, they are...well...pretty amazing!

Basically you are signing up to have gift baskets sent to the recipient. You can choose what kind of gift baskets (things like cheesecake, flowers, beer, beef jerky, fruit, peanut butter, the list goes on and on and on) and you also choose how often you want them to arrive. You can do a one month subscription (which would be like sending a gift basket in the mail) or you can go all the way up to a full year subscription and the person would receive a basket every month. Now, if you don't want to send the same type of item every month, you can mix it up. To give you a better example, let me tell you how I set it up for Mark.

I decided to do six months, sent every other month, and because I wanted him to have variety I chose a different gift basket for every month. So I picked the items based on things I know he likes.

March - Beer
May - Salsa
July - Fruit
September - Beef Jerky
November - Cheese
January - Fruit (different season, different fruit)

He has already received the beer, salsa, and first fruit shipments. For the beer they sent a six pack of all different specialty beers. The Salsa was two different kinds of salsa, and the fruit was a box of two different types of plums.

Here is a picture of what a shipment tends to look like. This was July's fruit basket. The plums were perfect and delicious! Better than what we buy in the store.

This is not the most budget friendly gift, but if there is a special occasion and you want to do something different, this is a great idea! It's good for birthdays, but especially for men, who tend to be harder to shop for. Also, this would make a nice wedding gift or bridal shower gift. Ideas for a wedding subscription could be the wine club, dinner and a movie club, dinner club, breakfast club, or any of the other options that newlyweds would appreciate and would both benefit from. A monthly club subscription might also be nice for a new mom - something she could receive every month (or every other month) just for herself now that most of her time will be spent on the new baby (maybe the candle club, chocolate club, or ice cream club).

To view their website, click here.

--T

Our First Geocaching Adventure

A while back I had heard about geocaching and always kept it in the back of my mind. For our first anniversary, instead of buying Mark gifts (he is literally the hardest person to buy for. He either wants nothing or if he does want something, he buys it for himself before I can get to it!) I decided to plan a few dates for us. The first was a Chicago Pizza Tour (I will post about this at a later date), and the second, the one we did today, was to go geocaching and out for lunch. When I told Mark this morning "We are going geocaching!!" he looked at me with a "I have no idea what that is" type of look. I actually didn't know what it was either when I first heard about it. I had to look it up on the internet. Here it is in a nutshell.

Geocaching is basically a world-wide scavenger hunt that anyone can take part in. It's nothing that is organized or costs money or anything like that. If you have some time to kill or are bored one day you can say "let's go geocaching" and just go out on your own terms. Basically people all over the world hide what they call "caches." These are usually small containers hidden in trees, forests, in logs, pipes, etc. They sometimes contain trinkets and you can take one if you leave something in its place, or they will just contain a log which you date and sign to prove you found the cache.

There is a website called geocaching.com where you sign up for free and get information on where caches in your town or near you are located. I typed in our zip code and there were pages of listings for caches in Bolingbrook alone. When you click on one, it gives you the latitude and longitude coordinates for where that person hid it. You then put it into a GPS and go find the cache (hopefully!)

We had 6 caches on our list and I am sad to say we only found two of them! It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. The first cache we found was hanging from a tree in a park near our house. Here is a picture of Mark grabbing the cache so we can sign the log. It was a medicine bottle with camouflage duct tape around it. It was very tricky to find.

The second one we found was actually quite simple. On the geocaching.com website the person who listed this cache explained pretty much exactly where it was - under a lamppost in front of his house (the coordinates led us to the guy's block). Did you know those bottom "skirts" on lampposts lift up? Here's a picture of me finding our second cache. This one was also a medicine bottle camouflaged, but given the location, was much easier to see :)

Part of the problem was many of the coordinates I had written down led us to trees near someone's yard or in a very public parking lot - and since there are many people out there who don't know what geocaching is, we didn't think they would understand why we were snooping around near their property. There was on cache hidden at the entrance of our subdivision and I am POSITIVE we had practically the exact location and were somewhere right near it but we just couldn't find it! Mark even crawled INTO huge bushes to see if it was hidden there - still couldn't find it! Eventually we gave up.

It was fun when we found them, and frustrating when we didn't. Haha. If you like a challenge and like the outdoors, this is an activity for you. There are even apps for geocaching you can add to your phone. I would like to give this another go, maybe when it's fall or early winter and there aren't so many leaves on the trees. I feel like then it might be easier to see some of the smaller caches. If anyone decides to try this, or if you have done this before, let me know if you were successful and if you have any tips!

P.S. Remember the Vegan cafe I posted about in the past? I finally went to eat a real meal there and took Mark there after our geocaching adventure. It was so delicious and I think the fact that it was healthy made it even tastier! :) I ordered "taco" bagels. It wasn't really taco meat - I'm pretty sure it was ground up vegetables and nuts, and maybe beans, with taco like spices added to it. That was put onto a bagel and topped with guacamole and "sour cream." It came with two side salads. The apple one was amazing - I think I gobbled it down in record time. Mark ordered lettuce wraps. He got to pick 4 veggies to put in them and there was also pumpkin seed cheese in the wrap.We also split a piece of apple pie. The food isn't the cheapest (it was $41 for our lunch), but 100% of the proceeds go to charity (see previous post on the Vegan Cafe).

--T

My New Favorite Product

I've recently gotten hooked on the TV shows "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." This year's Bachelorette is Emily Maynard who was actually chosen and proposed to on "The Bachelor" two seasons ago by Brad Womack. She said yes, however, their engagement and relationship did not work out after the show ended (not really a surprise). Emily is probably one of the sweetest, most genuine people I have seen on all of these Bachelor/Bachelorette shows combined, AND she has a great sense of fashion! She always looks put together, wears really cute clothes, and always does her makeup. I became a fan of her facebook page recently and while going through her pictures stumbled across one of a lip gloss called O-Plump by Smashbox. Her caption mentioned that it goes on clear, but turns the perfect shade of pink for you. I was immediately intrigued, especially because I LOVE lip gloss. The only problem is, I can never find a lip gloss that is perfect enough to be my permanent brand/color. Until now!

So I decided to try it. I bought it online and when I searched Smashbox O-Plump I realized they had another type of lip gloss that does the same thing only it's called O-Gloss. The only difference is, the O-Plump makes your lips fuller, where the O-Gloss does not. I don't need fuller lips, so I bought the O-Gloss. When I first tried it, I had that "Whoa - that's bright" reaction when I first looked in the mirror after putting it on.But then, the more I looked at myself in the mirror, the more I realized I loved the color and it looked great on me! No more guessing at what color lip gloss to buy and no more trying different brands. I love it! I would recommend it to those of you who like to wear lip gloss.

--T

My Vegan Adventure

Now, I am by no means vegan or on a raw foods diet, but I have been trying to eat healthier and be more conscious about the meals I make at home.

A while back, my mom, her friend, Debbie, and I bought a Groupon for a raw, vegan cooking class at the Thanks Jordan Vegan Cafe in Lockport, IL. The founder of this cafe is Laurie Sloan, whom my family knows very well. Many of you know that my brother had cancer when he was four years old (he is cured and healthy now), and one of the good things that came out of our journey with him to recovery was that we met so many amazing people.

Laurie Sloan was one of them. Laurie herself has been battling cancer on and off for several years, but she also founded the Thanks Jordan Foundation which was started when Laurie met a young girl who was battling cancer named Jordan. Jordan was diagnosed when she was 18 months old and now, 12 years later, lives in remission and has been an inspiration to Laurie. Her Foundation provides many thing for families battling cancer, and recently Laurie and the Thanks Jordan Foundation opened a Raw Vegan Cafe in Lockport. This cafe is 100% VOLUNTEER run, which is amazing.

I, myself, have never gone in there to eat an actual meal, but my first visit to the cafe was this past Wednesday for our cooking class. Wow, was I impressed! There were two foods we made that night - a veggie wrap and a chocolate cream pie. All of the ingredients are natural, raw foods. Many people probably think that eating healthy, eating raw, eating vegan, whatever the case may be takes so much more time than eating "normal" foods. However, the veggie wrap was whipped up in a matter of minutes (not counting the dehydrating time) and the chocolate pie took about 15 minutes from start to finish. Very quick and very easy...oh and very delicious too!!

Here are the recipes:

Veggie Wrap - note: dehydrator needed
2 tomatoes
1/2 large red pepper
1 small zucchini
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons parsley
1-2 cups flax seed, grounded

Place all ingredients, except flax seed, in food processor and mix until blended and smooth. Pour in a separate bowl. Grind flax seed (or you can buy pre-ground flax seed) and pour into mixture. Mix well and make sure there are no lumps. Spread in large circles on a reusable dehydrator sheet (or a Texflex sheet) and dehydrate for about 5-6 hours. Peel off and you have your "tortillas." Then, you can put vegetables, some cheese, whatever you want on it and wrap it up and eat it like a wrap.

Chocolate Cream Pie
Crust
3 cups pecans
8 pitted dates
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling
3 medium avacados
1/2-1 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup cacao powder
3/4 cup water

Process all crust ingredients in blender. Press into a pie plate. Process all filling ingredients in blender and pour into crust. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Even though this used avocados as a base, it tasted so much like chocolate I couldn't believe it!! It was actually almost TOO rich. 


I was pleasantly surprised by my experience there and can't wait to go in and try foods from their regular menu. If anyone wants to meet there for lunch or dinner one day, let me know!

The website for the cafe menu is: http://www.rawvegancafe.org/Raw-Vegan-Menu.html

The chef mentioned that they will be putting out groupons for the cooking classes about every three months. If you ever see one I encourage you to buy it! (The Groupon is $25 for a $50 class).

Healthy Recipes

My aunt asked for some healthy recipes. Just this week I made one of my favorites! It's a Zucchini Pizza Casserole and the recipe I use is from Taste of  Home. I would post a picture of mine, but it's half eaten and wouldn't make for a pretty picture :) I'm actually not a big fan of zucchini by itself, as a vegetable, as a side item, etc, but in this recipe it really just tastes like a crust and I don't even realize I'm eating it. Each serving is 1 cup and 311 calories, which, for something that tastes like pizza and pasta, is great in my opinion!

Zucchini Pizza Casserole                                               
Ingredients
4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
2 cups of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz) Italian tomato sauce)
1 medium green pepper, chopped

Directions
Place zucchini in a strainer, sprinkle with salt, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Squeeze out as much moisture from the zucchini as possible.
Combine zucchini with eggs, Parmesan, and half the cheeses. Press into a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. While you are waiting, cook the meat and onions over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain the meat.
Add the tomato sauce to the meat and onions and spoon mixture into the baked zucchini crust. Sprinkle remaining cheeses and green pepper on top. Bake for 20 more minutes or until cooked through.

For those of you who like fish, I found this recipe on Pinterest a while back and think it's really tasty. It's originally from Rachael Ray and is super simple to make. I don't have an exact calorie count on this, but a fillet of tilapia is less than 100 calories and the other ingredients are just spices and some cheese, so this is a very low calorie dinner, especially if paired with some vegetables as a side item.

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia 

Ingredients
4 tilapia fillets
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Olive oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese, paprika, and parsley. You can season with salt and pepper (I didn't do this). Drizzle the fish with olive oil and put it in the cheese picture, making sure to get the mixture on both sides of the fish. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake about 10-12 minutes. Serve the fish with lemon wedges.

A great website that someone recommended to me is Skinnytaste.com. I encourage those of you trying to be healthier to visit this website. She organizes her recipes by category (at the top click on Recipes) and almost all of the recipes have a calorie count and weight watcher point values. This is one of my go-to websites for when I need a dessert or dinner idea and want to eat healthy.

As I find new healthy recipes I like, I will post them on this blog. I have several on my to do list already!

--T

Secrets Resort and Spa

I  love to travel! In the past year Mark and I travelled to Maroma Beach in the Riviera Cancun part of Mexico and also Montego Bay Jamaica. We stayed at a Secrets Resort & Spa in both locations. I really like the Secrets Resorts (and their other chain called Dreams) because it is All Inclusive, through Apple Vacations (which means everything is safe and hassle free), and because it is considered a luxury resort. Every time I stay at one of their resorts I feel pampered and totally relaxed.

However, there are differences between the different resorts even though it's the same chain. If you are thinking about taking a vacation anytime soon, consider one of these two places, but also consider the differences between them.

Maroma Beach, Mexico
Pros
The flight is only a couple hours
Voted best beach in the world several years in a row (huge, beautiful beach!)
Service was slightly better than Jamaica
Even though the restaurants are the same at all Secrets resorts, I felt this one had better options on their menu.
The entertainment staff was friendly and liked making sure everyone was having a good time.
One of the excursions (which we did) was to Chichen Itza, a Mayan pyramid that is one of the new seven wonders of the world!

Cons
Sometimes there is a language barrier. The servers in the restaurants and bars speak English, but the maids and some other hotel workers speak Spanish.
The property was very big, our room was in a separate building than the lobby and we felt like we were always walking far to get to dinner, the pools, etc.

Montego Bay, Jamaica
Pros
The official language of Jamaica is English.
The property was MUCH smaller - we did far less walking and could get to all the restaurants on the resort quickly and easily.
The excursion to Mayfield Falls (natural waterfalls and jacuzzis) was amazing!
The city of Montego Bay seemed safer for tourists than other places I have been.
The scenery was amazing - mountains, beaches, forests - I felt like we saw it all in this one location.

Cons
There wasn't much variety with the nightly shows - mostly singers or house bands. They need a magician, some comedy acts, just more variety. Also, the daily activities around the pool and beach didn't vary much either. They had the typical yoga, aqua aerobics, volleyball, blackjack, etc. but there wasn't as much to do as Maroma Beach
The beach was MUCH smaller and almost all of the chairs at the beach were in the shade - not ideal for catching some rays!
I felt the wait staff was not as friendly or personable as in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. They did their job but didn't seem to care about us personally - didn't ask where we were from, what we did for a living, etc.

Here are comparison pictures of the beaches in both Maroma Beach and Montego Bay. If you are a beach person I'd say definitely go to Mexico. If you are more of a pool person then Montego Bay would be great! 

Maroma Beach, Mexico

Montego Bay, Jamaica

--T