Titan's Tasty Treat
Over the weekend I made some gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies for desert. Today after school Ty made another one of his food creations and came up with this super sweet treat. It’s his version of an ice cream cookie. It’s made with gf/v chocolate chip cookie, a scoop of vanilla custard, and a tablespoon of hazelnut chocolate spread. He says he out did himself. I on the other hand am simply waiting for the sugar to hit.
Crafty Christmas
This holiday season why not get a little crafty and make your own Christmas Cards. These special handmade cards will bring a smile to all your loved ones.
If you want a little help join me at Tinker Art Studio located in North Boulder. I will teach the class how to make four Christmas cards and 2 gift tags. We will be using a Cricut machine to cut out the embellishments and stickles glitter glue give them a bit of color, depth and shine.
Friday, December 6, 2013
6:30PM-8:30PM
My new Piper Lovey
This cute little lovey’s name is Piper. It’s 16x16 in size and has so much personality. It is the perfect lovey for your little ones who like to carry their lovey around town with them. It’s made of organic cotton and superwash wool so it’s soft to the touch and easy to keep clean. The star shape is fun and makes it easy for kids to hold and carry.
Finding the True Me, My New Ventures
Things have been a bit crazy for our family over the last year. Moving across country from Northern Virginia to Boulder, Colorado was an experience. Moving to a new place where we did not know a single person, a place far from home, family, and everything we knew took some time to adjust. I spent the last year getting the kids settled into new schedules, new schools, new activities, new home, and a new city and state. It was a big learning experience and we have grown so much as individuals and as a family.
The best thing is that it was all worth it. Everything, the good and the bad. Starting a new life took a lot out of us but we are so much better for it.
Now that things have settled and we have gone through multiple friends and family members from the east and west coast visiting us to support our move I am looking forward to 2014. Usually January is the time to evaluate and make resolutions or plans for change. For me that starts right around now. The weather is a bit colder and my birthday is just around the corner. I like to look back and learn from the things I experienced and I like to look forward to the up coming future ahead.
Recently I enrolled in a certification program for the Psychology of Eating. My interest in the program has been with me for several years and I am so lucky to be able to take part in this amazing program. I enrolled in this program as part of my self discovery and enrichment gift to celebrate turning 40. More on what else is included in my gift to myself this birthday.
As I go through my demanding studies I am making very large realizations about myself and making some ever lasting shifts in my thinking, behavior and actions. So very exciting and exactly what I needed going into my next decade.
My personal and family life is incredible and I am so blessed and grateful. But professionally it can be a struggle balancing my responsibilities as a wife, mother, home manager and my career. I was under the impression that as the kids grew I would have less issue with this struggle but I am finding that older kids are much more demanding of my attention and time. Funny how the role of a parent is never ending.
Going through my certification program and experiencing the other self discovery and enrichment gifts I am giving myself for my birthday this year I can feel the transformation and evolution. I am totally welcoming and embracing all the changes.
I am excited to announce that one of the changes I have been experiencing is the direction of my health coaching practice and my love of crafting. In the past I have taught craft classes and worked as a scrapbook designer. In recent years I switched my focus into the field of health coaching but have taken the last year off due to our big move. The thing is I love both and both give me such joy. Yet I was always struggling because I felt I had to choose one over the other. What I realize is that I don’t have to choose. That I simply need to find a peaceful balance that will give me a sense of fulfillment, accomplishment, satisfaction and joy.
I like to share with you my new exciting ventures into finding balance and the True Me.
First is my health coaching practice. Check out my new website where you can check out some of new exciting offerings. I am so excited to share my passion for health, nutrition, cooking, and food.
Second is a brand new blog. A place to share and showcase the lessons I am learning in life, my experiences, passions, and my creativity.
Third is my new Etsy shop. A place and an opportunity for me to take some of my crafty creations and designs to market. I have had a blast putting this shop together and loved making all the crafty goodies. This shop really showcases the joy I have designing and creating.
Chicken Green Chili
I was at my favorite local coffee shop a few weeks ago during the afternoon to get some work done. They happened to be serving Chicken Green Chili as their soup of the day. It was a particular chilly afternoon and it just sounded like the perfect thing to enjoy. I sat down to eat my soup and I was in love! I had never had Chicken Green Chili before. It was warm, full of favor, and had a bit of a kick.
I was happy to find a local Boulder company that makes green chili at Whole Foods. So of course I had to buy it and try to recreate the one I so enjoyed.
The recipe is simple and took less then 10 minutes to whip up.
Serves 2
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 boneless chicken thigh chopped
1/2 jar (1 cup) of Green Chili
2-3 cups of chicken broth
Simply saute chopped onion in a bit of olive oil. Add chicken and continue to saute until fully cooked. Add green chili and chicken stock. Simmer until all the flavors blend nicely together.
I served mine with a spoon full of sour cream cause it sounded good to me. Remember that using the best quality ingredients yields the best flavors.
This was truly a simple recipe. Simple ingredients, quick to make and so enjoyable to eat.
Ivysaur Pokémon Sweatshirt
For Halloween this year I made a Feraligatr Pokemon costume for Ty using some fleece and a sweatshirt. I guess it was a big hit with his friends because I got an order for an Ivysaur Pokemon sweatshirt from a friend of his who is also a big Pokemon fan. Here is Ty modeling the sweatshirt. It was fun to make and I think his friend will like it.
The Joy of Metalsmithing
Today I completed my first class in Introduction to Metalsmithing atthe Boulder School of Metals. I had a blast and learned so much from my very talented instructor, Karen Schulz. It was amazing to learn how to work with new materials like copper, silver and semi precious stones. It was a challenge learning use the basic tools of metalsmithing to saw, sand, mold and solder metals but the rewards were grand. I was very proud of the pieces I made and the accomplishment of learning something new. I can’t wait to do it all over again with my next course.