Are You A Donor?

Its been five years since I have renewed my license. I have until May to do it but I decided to get it out of the way and made the dreaded appointment to the license bureau . I could have easily just went online and renewed it to save me the trouble but I wanted a new photo. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

I had an apppointment for 8:30 am. When I pulled into the parking lot I noticed there was no line.
I parked and went inside. I walked down the hall and to the left. The waiting room was empty. I was the only one in there. I had a look of confusion on my face as I looked inside the testing room.
"Can I help you?" ask officer Drab. "Yes, I have an appointment for a renewal" I replied. "Step on in here and we can go ahead and get started" he said.

All I had to do was varify may information. Then I had to step over to the camera. They gave me three seconds to make another five year photo impression. I got one chance! "Smile".
Next I had to read the top line of the eye chart. Because of the way the eye rest was tilted, I read the bottom line by accident. "You read the wrong line. Now read the top line this time" said officer Smartypants".
Now, think a minute. Wouldn't you think the bottom line which is smaller would have been acceptable?

Then the question..."Are you still a donor?" She asked. "Yes Maam, I am", I said with no hesitation.
I was all done and back to work in no time. It took all of 10 minutes to get my license renewed. Thats a first!!! I also think that was quicker than If I had done it online.

My new licnese came in the mail with in a week. As my husband examined them, we get into this little argument over being a donor. "So, your still a donor?!?!" He asked. As he saw the little red heart next to my photo. I replied, " Yes! I have always been a donor and im proud of it".

This is something we disagree on. He does not like the idea of being a donor and chooses never to be one. He has this idea that if im in serious condition in the hospital and the person down the hall needs my heart, the doctors will let me die if the money is right. I have often thought about this but I would think my family would fight to the end to make sure the doctors do all they can to save me first.

I love the idea that the death of me might save another. That way I can live on. My soul will be in heaven but my body parts will be free game to the ones that need it. How selfish it would be to put it all in the ground and not share life.

Being a donor is something Im sure of. Something im proud of. If my husband is right, so be it. I would probably even sign off on it.

Are you a donor? Do you feel like my husband does about this issue? Just curious. It will not change my mind though.

3-2-1 Cake

No you don't have Déjà vu. I actually have blogged about this about 50 lbs ago. Its so good, I'm sharing it again. So grab your tongue and hang on to your sweet tooth, this might hurt.

Years ago, my friend Anne told me about this cake recipe she makes up for her kids. She should have never done that! I could not contain myself and I got hooked on this stuff! It was just too easy!!!!

When ever you feel the urge to eat something sweet but do not want to make a whole cake or wipe out a bakery, you can just make on single serve cake in the microwave for one minute.

Yep, "just a minute".

All you need is a box of Angel food cake mix and a box of regular cake mix of your choice. One cake mix has to be Angel food cake mix because it has the egg whites you need already in it.
Pour them both in an air tight container or Ziploc bag and mix the two together. No need to refrigerate, just keep on a shelf and when you are ready for a piece of cake, grab a small dessert bowl or coffee mug and follow this simple recipe.

321 Cake

Mix

3 Tablespoons of cake mix.

2 Tablespoons of water.

cook 1 Minute in the microwave

Top with whip topping, fruit, ice cream, frosting, etc.

I squeezed a little chocolate frosting on mine around the edges while it was still warm and let it melt into the cake and it was delicious!!!!

This would be perfect for your college student. Also It would make a great gift for a neighbor or friend. Just put some mix in a cute little container with the directions printed on it.

If your allergic to egg whites. Do not eat this.

Approx 160 calories per serving.

For the record: Though the calories are not bad, I stay clear of this recipe now that Im a weightloss winner because I could easily eat this every day. 

Flourless Pancakes

Breakfast is my favorite meal. I'm a true believer that its the most important meal of the day. I never let my daughter leave the house in the mornings without a complete breakfast in all of her living at home life. Even when shes home, I'm up with the sunshine and in the kitchen preparing something for breakfast. It may be just muffins or it could be biscuits and gravy.  I love cooking breakfast.
(for the record, its been over a year since I had good ole biscuits and gravy).

If you know me, then you know I have been trying to keep my meals healthy. After two years I have finally given up the Nutrisystem breakfasts and doing my own thing. I still eat Nutrisystem for lunch and dinner but I throw in a lot of my own meals now. Ive learned how to control my calorie and carb intakes though I will probably always have Nutrisystem meals in my reach.

Back to breakfast.

This morning I noticed a very ripe banana sitting on the counter and instead of throwing it away, I decided to make some flourless pancakes with it. These look more like crepes actually.

 

You may have seen this healthy alternative to pancakes all over the internet. These are pretty good but they are no comparison to the delicious Aunt Jemima Pancakes that I love, But, hey, I didn't want the banana to go to waste.

Flourless Pancakes

1- Ripe Banana
1- Teaspoon baking powder
2- Eggs (I used egg beaters)
Pinch of cinnamon
Drop of vanilla

Mix together and pour batter into pan.
Flip when you see the tops begin to bubble.

I topped mine with spray butter (zero calories) and sugar free syrup.

Makes three.
Approx 160 calories.
(OK the Aunt Jamima Pancakes actually have less calories but this flourless option is probably more healthy).

 

Little facts to mention:

Pancakes:  Made from eggs, buttermilk and flour. Usually thin. topping on top.

Flapjacks: Made from sugar, butter and oats. Usually thicker and sweeter. toppings on top.

Crepes: Made from milk and eggs and wheat flour. Usually made very thin and rolled around toppings.


My Nutrisystem journey can be found here.

Camper Fever

I've been wanting a little retro vintage style camper of my own. I think about how fun it would be to have one in the back corner of my yard. A little "she shed".
It would have lights around the owning and a cute outdoor set up to sit under and relax during the summer evenings. It would be fun to camp out in it with my husband or take an afternoon nap.

 

Sadly, my neighbors would have a fit seeing a camper in the yard. Its not the style they want to see when they look out of the windows or when people visit the neighborhood. 

Maybe one day I will live in an area where I can have one to play with, who knows.

I think it would be fun to piddle and decorate one.   

While I like the vintage colors on the insides 

 

I also like the beach cottage feel with lots of rustic whites.

This is my inspiration.

 

It would be fun to take one around to camping shows too. But there are other things in life we could use instead. This will be put off for a long time.

The tiny houses???? I won't get started on that. I love those too!!!

Wake me up!!!

Meanwhile, I have a lot of scrap yarn and didnt know what to make with it. I was just about ready to throw it away when I got the idea to make some cute little camper key chains. Im gonna put them in my shop and see how it goes. They are fun to make and I smiled at each one I finish.

 

Are they not just the cutest thing ever? If you would like one of these little cuties, just swing on over to my Etsy shop and purchase one. I will have some more colors available soon. Spring is on its way so I will not be making many toboggans and blankets for a while.

Valentines Day

Its Valentines Day!!

This whole weekend has been full of love and sweets for Valentines Day.

I started off making this adorable little cotton crochet heart just for fun. 

Pattern HERE

Its the perfect mug rug for my coffee.

 

My daughter came home for the weekend. We all had appointments to get our taxes done Saturday so we made it a family outing which also included some shopping and Mexican food.

She came in carrying a surprise box of gourmet donuts. There is a little donut shop near her apartment called Duck Donuts. She was able to pick and created a mix of donuts any way she wanted too so they were not only rings of sweetness, they were actually her own creations.
Looks like she put a lot of thought in creating the perfect blend of sugar for Nick and I.

Website HERE

My favorite was the maple glaze with bacon sprinkles and caramel drizzle. Another favorite was the chocolate glazed with chocolate sprinkles and raspberry drizzle. We ate them all.

Of course I had her a Valentine basket waiting also

. 

 

 

It was a basket full of sweet treats, a mug, baking essentials, brownie mix, a gift card and more. 

She was tickled.

This morning I put out a special valentine treat for my sweetie. I wrote him a love note attached to a gift bag of healthy snacks and little gifts. He will be up soon and will see it when he gets his coffee.

Tonight we will end the evening with a nice dinner. Not sure whats up his sleeve, but I'm sure we will either go out or he will have something nice cooked when I get home from work. Either way, he's my Valentine every day of the year as we always show our love for each other. We don't make it a one day thing but this one day is always fun to celebrate. 

Speaking of sweet. My daughter and I also made some cherry bread which was a complete fail.

It was suppose to look like this....

Recipe HERE

 But this is what we ended up with. 

 

First, It fell apart, then we applied the glaze while it was still warm and it ran right off the bread onto the place, and well, it turned into the the ugliest mess.
However, we did eat it.......All! 

 

Don't let the looks fool ya,  It was delicious! 

Happy Valentines Day!