Fall Fashion-my take

With the season changing so does our closet-putting the summer tanks, t-shirts (well, not all of 'em), sleeveless numbers and the like all going into some kind of rubber tote and out comes the long sleeve gear-sweaters, button ups, knit tops.  My favorite is getting my tall boots back out again-truth be told I really love being barefoot but there's just something about my tall boots that gets me all fired up.  I have a lot of carry-overs from last season that I still really like and will totally wear but it's always fun to get something fresh and new.  So, I've taken a look at the top trends I've been noticing and what I will and won't be wearing.
First, let me say that going to the mall is a unique experience, it's like the 80's got together with a few grunge kids and put some stuff together.  I see things that I was wearing in Jr. High and some I rocked in college so it's kinda weird.  I will say that if parachute pants come back in style I'm totally moving to a remote island!

1.  Western prints-I'm really digging the long or high-low sweaters that come in all colors of western print.  I can't say I'm for the blanket sweater look (I don't live in the SW so it looks a little strange up here in the north woods) but give me a cute sweater to wear with skinny jeans, leggings or a skirt and my tall boots-I'm all in!!

 

2.  Menswear-as far as I'm concerned this has NEVER gone out of style!!  I love vests, ties, wide leg trousers and wing tip shoes.  I've owned a high heel pair for years!!  Boyfriend jeans with a baggy sweater or oxford shirt-I'm there.

3.  Gauchos-NO, NO, NO!!  They don't even look good on the skinny models and mannequins in the store so pretty sure they won't look good on a shorter, curvy girl.  'Nuf said.........

4.  Plaid-again, I don't think this ever really goes out of style but plaid shirts with jeans and of course BOOTS are totally right up my ally!!

5.  Boots/booties with boot socks-new thing that started last year and is really taking off in the mainstream this year (I know this because I bought a pair of boot socks at Maurices in small town USA).  I think the added detail on the top of the socks adds a little somthin' somthin' to just about any outfit.  And booties with cuffed jeans/pants are waaaay too cute!

6.  Romantic detailing-I'm typically not a huge fan of the romantic style-it's just not me.  BUT I do like that you can get a little touch of romance without looking like something out of a Victorian theme movie.  A little goes a long way for this girl-so feast your eyes on this little number!!

So there you have it my take on fall 2014 fashions for what it's worth.  I'm going to be wise about my shopping trips because a closet full of stuff you don't wear just isn't attractive.  In fact, I follow the rule that if I buy new stuff I have to donate things I haven't worn in over a year so that helps me and someone else!!  Happy Shopping kids!!!


MIA but I'm BACK!!!

Whoa-were did the past couple of weeks go?  I mean seriously, time just flew right past me and I got caught up in life.  Did you miss me???  For all I know nobody reads this goofy thing but for those of you who do, I'm sorry-I'm back!!  Schools back in session and the kids are out of the house so that means things are a little more quiet right now.  Doesn't mean there's a lack of things to do that's for sure-getting caught back up, cleaning and getting ready for the cooler weather sure can take up those precious hours during the day.  Speaking of cooler weather, who else is getting their fall cloths and shoes out?  I've been going through closets and donating items and putting warm weather stuff away.  I know it's sad but I'm kinda looking forward to my tall boots and jeans again!!  I've also been cleaning house physically-I had a lot of fun and now I'm getting myself back on track with my eating and my workouts.  I never quit working out but now I'm really pushing myself to do more and on week two of The 21 Day Fix-super easy to follow and eating is a snap with the color coded containers and meal guide so really NO excuse not to do it.  Here's a great fried rice recipe at the end of this as well-very healthy and probably the BEST fried rice I've ever made. 
Healthy Chicken Pineapple Fried Rice!
What you will need: (Serving Size - 6) - 1 cup chicken breasts,boneless, skinless, cooked - 3 Cups of Brown Rice - 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 white onion (to cheat, buy the stir fry frozen pepper and onions that come pre-cut) - 1/2 cup snap pees - 1 cup of frozen pees and carrots (they have bags in the frozen veggie section at the grocery store with them mixed which is what I used) - 1 cup of pineapple chucks - 2 Eggs - 1/2 cup of low sodium Soy sauce - 2 tbps Cinnamon (I didn't use this myself) - 2 tbps minced garlic - 3 tbsp of sesame oil (optional) - 1/4 cup of chicken broth
What to do: - Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 3 cups cooked rice. - Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, peppers, minced garlic, peas, carrots, and snap peas. - Stir fry until tender. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables. - Add your cooked rice and chopped up cooked chicken. - Stir in Low Sodium Soy Sauce and chicken broth and sprinkle your cinnamon generously on top.
- Lastly, mix in your cut up pineapple and remove from heat.

Everyone in the family dug it-even the kids!!  It's great warmed up for leftovers too so enjoy!  So, I promise that I won't stay away so long again-if you're out there, let me know who you are and where you're from.  I love new friends so give me a shout out.  Happy September everyone-stay tuned for my take on fall fashion-hint, I do NOT care for Gauchos!!!

Transformation Tuesday-a day late!

I get it-yeah, yeah, yeah lady we know you exercise and all that jazz.  I know I've read a hundred different stories and seen testimonials from all kinds of programs and different diets.  All I know is this-if it's out there, I've pretty much tried it!  I've gone on crazy only eat certain food diets, sprinkled crap on my food to fool my taste buds, counted points, calories-EVERYTHING.  And honestly until I stopped and just told myself I was going to stop putting all the stuff I shouldn't in my mouth all the time and start focusing on the right kind of exercise then I was literally just spinning my wheels.  I wasn't going anywhere-fast!  I started with Insanity in March 2012 after a very eye-opening doctor's appointment.  I knew I had to do something to take charge of my life and my health.  So after doing that program I moved on to Les Mills Combat in January 2013 and lost another 25 pounds for a total of 50+ in less than a year!!  But more importantly, I got healthy!  My doctor was amazed at what I'd accomplished and the real success here is that I've maintained and IMPROVED my heath and results over 2 years.  There's NOTHING special about me what-so-ever, I'm a regular mom, wife and person who just decided to do what was necessary and I DID IT!!  And the really cool thing about it is YOU CAN TOO!!  This isn't rocket science, seriously, it's very simple and anybody on any schedule with any income can do this.  I've found a passion for helping people just like me and if this sounds like anything that will resonate with you-well, I'm your girl!  You can comment here or message me on FB-Jenniffer Jarvis Groski-at any time.  So, if you're ready, I'm ready!!

Change the road you're on!

I hear people complain all the time about all the "what if's" and "if only's" in their lives.  Well you know what, that's a bunch of crap if you ask me!  Of course, we all think about things we wanted to work out and didn't so we ask ourselves what if they had-well, what if they had?  Do you think that it would always have been this spectacular shining moment in your life?  What if it was the exact opposite and that's WHY it didn't work out the way you wanted it to?  I think what a scary place my life could have been if all the things I once wanted sooooo badly had worked out!  I could be doing, living, living with, working for, a place that is the exact opposite of what's really best for my life.  And as far as "if only" goes well if you're waiting for those things to come to fruition then get off your bum and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!    If only you'd lose those 10 pounds/get in shape/spent more time with your spouse or kids/spoke up more for yourself-WHATEVER it is, YOU have the power to do something to make it happen so stop winching and DO IT!!  You have the absolute power to change your life-no matter what your circumstances may be.  If you want to get healthier and you're on a very limited budget you still have the power to take the stairs instead of the elevator, choose an apple over a bag of chips, drink more FREE water.  If you want to spend more time with your spouse/SO/kids, then you need to take an honest look at your life and see what you can eliminate-like useless TV-and use that time to play a game or just sit and talk with them.  The road you're on in this life is not a straight line, predestined and static in it's result-YOU have the power to take a detour, change direction or just stop and reroute yourself.  Wake up every day and set your mind to the intention you choose for your life!  Don't sit back and let things happen to you, get up and make things happen for you!  Even if it's one small thing every day, guess what, YOU made that change and YOU took control and did what you wanted to do!  Stop thinking about "What If" and "If Only" because all it does is keep you stuck in that spot your soooooo damn unhappy with now.  And if there's anything that you get from this today please remember that Gaucho Pants don't look good on everyone kids-they just don't!!!!! 

August Beachbody Specials

Since YES I am a Beachbody Coach I will from time to time post on my Blog what the current promotions and specials are because it's my Blog and I get to do what I want right??  There's some pretty cool stuff on sale right now and if anyone here is like me, well, the summer has been a lot of fun but my body is paying the price a bit so I need to buckle down, get focused and hit the ground running again.  FIRST, here's the Challenge Pack Specials for August:

Here's what you get in a Challenge Pack-the program, a 30 day supply of Shakeology, which is a highly dense form of super food nutrition with no artificial flavors, colors, GMO's or ANYTHING nasty for your body, a work out calendar, menu guide/nutrition plan, a free one-month Beachbody Club membership which entitles you to full access to all the tools on the BB site plus a 10% discount on anything you order, a bonus DVD AND free support from ME as your coach.
There's also two programs that are on deep discount right now-

Body Beast base kit is now $39.90 also!!  That's a whole lotta workout for a little bit of moola folks!!!  The real beauty of what Beachbody offers is that you can own these fantastic programs so you do them at YOUR pace, on your SCHEDULE and you buy them once so you OWN THEM forever!!  We've all started all gung-ho on a program or a gym membership right?  Then after the frosting is off that cupcake and we're sore, tired, let our life get in the way, whatever, then we stop going......think of all the money you've wasted on not going to the gym!  I know I've tossed a lot of my own hard-earned cash out the window when I paid for a gym membership or classes that I didn't attend.  Well, when you buy your BB program guess what-you can stop and start as many times as you need to and you don't have to pay another dime!  That's the real value of what you're getting-that, and you have yours truly as a Coach to help guide you and be your cheerleader the whole way.  SO, if any of this sounds like something you'd like more info about or want to explore further, then here's the link to my website:  www.teambeachbody.com/hockeymom42  You can check out all the programs and specials available any time.  You can contact me directly through this site as well or hey, just comment on this post and I'll be glad to chat with you about any questions you have!!!  Any way you look at it, this is a pretty sweet deal.

Holy whirlwind Batman! It's been a busy 10 days!!!!

It has been a CRAZY past 10 days!!  We've had over 40 people come and go from the house and we're not quite done yet.  It's messy, busy, noisy and a lot of FUN but I'm ready for some peace and quiet right now.  Having the blessing of friends and family is the greatest gift in anyone's life.  Despite any challenges that come up, I truly believe that there's nothing a person can benefit more from is close relationships with other people.  It's what feeds our soul and gives us many wonderful memories.  I have a lot of cleaning to do and laundry that will haunt me for days but you know what-WHO CARES!!!  It's all worth every single minute to have the love and laughter of people fill the house.  And then there's the internal cleaning that has to go on after all these wonderful people share their food with you!  I'll be doing the 3-Day Reset again next week-brace yourself family!  Getting back on track after all the food and fun is really important to me because I look at old pictures of how I used to look and I don't want to go back there SO I have to put in the work to get rid of the post-party fluff and get back at it.  Off to do some PiYo strength intervals then make pancakes with blueberries I picked with my own little hands to send the last of my company home with happy, full tummies and warm hugs from me!!!!

It's Reunion Time!!!!

This weekend is our annual Misbe Family Reunion and 35 + people will be in attendance this year.  The house is filling up now with kids waking up (okay they've been up for hours now but we try and keep them in their beds), aunts, uncles, cousins coming in for coffee and to chat.  Every year we have a theme-which makes us way cooler than most families IMHO-

2012 was the 60's and as you can see we take our costumes very seriously!!!  2013 was International and each family picked a country and had to dress as that country and bring a dish to pass on Saturday night-

This year the theme is Red Carpet-so the party on Saturday night we'll be dressing as our favorite celebrity or TV/Movie character.  I'm SO excited to see what everyone comes up with this year. 

Fail is NOT an "F" word!!!

Since when did the word "FAIL" become a dirty word????  People say fail and you'd think that another "F" word came straight out of their mouths!!  I think it's high time that we started a new movement-changing how people think about the word fail!  Take a minute and recall a failure you've had-for me, that would be many, many times to choose from.  Yeah, failing is painful, it's not fun and at the time it makes you feel pretty bad BUT on the other side, what did you learn?  I mean, really think back and when the hurt, embarrassment or pain was over, didn't you learn something?  First and foremost I know I learned what NOT to do the next time!  But there's the lessons we learn of what we can change for the next try, who we should and shouldn't associate ourselves with, how to adjust our thinking so that we can make different choices.  There are no big Eureka! moments in this world-those are the final results of many, many failures!  No great invention that's come about in the last thousand years was just some spontaneous occurrence, someone had to try and fail, try and fail sometimes hundreds of times before they got the final result which was SUCCESS!!!!  Mozart, Edison, Picasso, Ford, Carnegie, The Beatles, I could go on and on and on but they were all huge failures!!  Think of the hundreds, sometimes thousands of times they tried and failed before they failed enough times to learn what to do to succeed.  What if they would've just said, "Oh screw it, this isn't working, I'm no good"????  I don't know about you but I would be a very sad girl if I didn't have songs like "Yesterday" and "Yellow Submarine" to sing along to in my car or a light bulb to turn on when it gets dark in the room!!!  So many times in my life when I've failed I got hurt, sometimes even humiliated but guess what I LEARNED!!!!!  If I didn't fail, I wouldn't have known what to do the next time, or the next time so that I could see success.  SO again, I say it's about time we all stop seeing "FAILURE" or "FAIL" as a dirty word-let's all celebrate the epic fails and keep going for SUCCESS!!!!

TGIF!!!

I LOVE this quote!!  I often think about what being "Normal" really means......is it the way that we talk, act, dress, what makes a person normal?  And who was it that decided what normal looks like?  I get it that we have to have certain societal norms as a guideline because hey, I don't want to see some things walking around that other people think are acceptable-that's why I don't live in a nudist colony!  But why do we accept some things as normal when IMHO they clearly aren't-I don't think that it's normal to wear your pants so low that we can see your underwear-I don't do your laundry so I really don't care to see your boxers dude.  I would also really like Yoga pants to go out of style as regular cloths-that can stop any time now too.  I have teenage boys here people and they've seen enough!!  Maybe I'm way off base but like I said, it's just my humble opinion. 
I do love that people can express themselves more now than ever!!  I love that old ladies are getting tattoos.  I love that there's outlets like social media where people have an outlet for sharing information, even if I don't agree with it, because that's their right!  I guess normal really isn't a defined term anymore.....it's all a state of mind.

Awesome find for well, just about anyone!!

Right now I LIVE in my workout cloths for most of the day-it's just easier since I get up, work out and then get on with things until we can hopefully go down to the lake!  I discovered that Kate Hudson has started her own fitness wear company-Fabletics.  I ordered my first 3-piece outfit for only $25.00!!!  That's a steal!  Typically even at a lower-priced store I'd spend an average of $50.00 for three pieces so I'm a little bit excited about this!!
And it's not boring, generic styles either-you can see from this sample picture that there's a lot of nice cut outs and cool strap designs.  And I figured if Kate Hudson is putting her name on this stuff then it has to be good-she's not out there selling just anything!!  A few of my friends that have ordered and gotten their stuff already are giving it rave reviews!!
If you're interested in giving it a try here's a link for my personal invitation for the same awesome deal I got!  http://www.fabletics.com/invite/52293107/  I love a good deal but sharing it always makes it that much sweeter!!  Happy Wednesday all!!!

It's Jambalaya Night!!

It's not a big secret-I LOVE TO EAT!  There, I said it!  I do, I love food-the smell, the taste, the different flavor combinations-sour, sweet, salty, spicy.  It's all good-except for Split Pea Soup, for some reason no matter how hard I try I just can't eat that stuff.  The challenge is finding a way to eat healthy food that you actually WANT to eat, not just have to eat.  I'm still trying to figure out how Kale works into that picture but I'll get there.  Tonight I'm making one of my favorite clean eating recipes.  Clean eating-what the heck is that??  Clean eating is eliminating processed foods of all kind-only whole ingredients, cutting out food dyes, chemicals, artificial flavors and colors.  I try to do my best but it's hard to resist things like Chicken in a Biscuit crackers-seriously, those things are like crack so the name fits!  I have some web sites that I use to get recipes that are both clean and delish at the same time.  This one is from The Gracious Pantry-there's a great collection of recipes ranging from appetizers, main dishes, drinks, you name it, you can find it on there.  This Jambalaya is probably one of my go-to recipes for any time of year, any day of the week.  I use venison sausage, chicken breasts and shrimp (I add the shrimp close to when the rice is done cooking so it doesn't shrink up to nothing) as the protein for mine-here's the scoop on how to make it
!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds clean sausage, sliced (you can sub with shrimp or extra chicken if you can’t find clean sausage)
• 2 pounds raw chicken breast, cut into small pieces (about 1/2 inch cubes)
• 2 large red onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 4 large stalks celery, sliced thin
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, no sugar added
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 3 cups brown rice, dry
• 3 cups chicken broth, low sodium is best (keep some extra on reserve just in case you need extra during cooking.)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, sauté the onions, bell peppers and celery in the olive oil.
2. Add the chicken and sausage to the pot and cook for about 3-5 minutes, just to give it a head start.
3. Add everything else, and cook over medium heat until the rice is cooked through (about an hour, give or take). Watch the post as time goes on. You may need to add some extra broth if things get too dry. Stir often to avoid burning on the bottom of the pot.

Sunday-Funday!!!

Sunday is always my day to recharge and regroup for the upcoming week.  For me that usually includes Church......we go to church in the woods and our Pastor wears jeans or shorts so hey, how much more casual can you get?  I love it because it's not about what you're wearing or what you look like, we have people in camo for cryin' out loud!!!  And you know what?  I've never felt anything but loved and accepted so that's the kind of church for me!  Another thing I love about Sunday's now is that I DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE THE LAKE!!  I used to hate Sunday's because we'd have to pack up and head back to town-don't get me wrong, I liked where we lived and our life in Rochester but I LOVE living at the lake.  There's just a more relaxed vibe and pace here that suits me much better.  Now, I miss having Target and Trader Joe's down the street but I'll take the trade of getting to hop on the pontoon at 5:00 p.m. for a cruise around the lake.  I enjoy drifting off to sleep with the loons call in the background or smelling the last remnants of the neighbors campfire burning.  Last night we were treated to professional fireworks over the lake by the neighbors!  I mean, you just don't get that living in the city.  Taking the dog for a walk and not having to dodge cars and crabby neighbors-priceless.  My morning coffee is shared with a multitude of colorful birds eating at the feeders or taking a quick dip in the birdbath.  Yeah, I share it with mosquitos and biting flys sometimes too but again, I'll take it....nooooo problem.  There's nothing like living a more relaxed, unplugged life.  I'm grateful every, single day for the blessing of this life I have and I wouldn't trade it for anything......EVER!!! 

Friday-TGIF!!!

TGIF!!  I love these meme's-they make me laugh every time.  The sun really is shining here and it's going to be a beautiful day so that always makes for a good morning.  Another thing that's great about Fridays is of course it's the gateway to the weekend and there's so much to do around the Northwoods on the weekends.  I'm pretty pumped up to check out a local Farmers Market.  For those of us who can't get a garden to grow for one reason or another and love supporting local farmers, these are one of the best parts of summer.  I've gotten tried and true fruits and veggies and been introduced to some new stuff I've never heard of before-like Garlic whip...I never knew this even existed in the whole wide world of veggies until now!!  So if you didn't either, let me enlighten you-it's like a cross between garlic and green onions.  It has a garlic flavor but you use it like onions-I've cut it up and put 'em in eggs, stir fry, lots of different recipes and it doesn't disappoint.  VERY yummy!!  Another thing we get is root veggies-not talking potatoes here-stuff like turnips.  What the heck do I do with those things????  I found an awesome source for finding the un-findable-PINTEREST!!!  It's not just for crafting and stuff you'll never do around your house-there's some awesome recipes on there and if you've never used it, well, you better get started because you're missing out!  People like me in colder climates know this time of the year is like gold and we better not waste it so get out there, buy something you've never tried before, get a recipe and GET EATING!!!!!!

Summer TV

Let's talk summer TV-or lack of it.  I typically don't watch a lot of TV in the summer because hey, I'd rather be outside doing something while it's not snowing or -30 degrees!!  BUT I have to say that Netflix comes out with two great reasons for me to break from summer and find some time to watch their online series.  Just finished the second season of "Orange is the New Black"  FABULOUS!!!  I can't wait to read the book (it's on my wish list but I still have quite a few in front of it-there's rules you know!!).  I love that show for lots of reasons-it's funny, the actors are pretty much perfect for their roles and the story itself is pretty engaging because really, it could happen to anyone-except me probably because I've led a pretty mundane existence and don't have anything haunting my past that would send me to prison. 

Second series that I just started is "Hemlock Grove"  TOTALLY different kind of show.  I thought at first, this is going to be hokey and boring (which I should've learned my lesson from "The Walking Dead" because that's how I thought about that show and MAN, was I wrong!) but after episode one of last season I was hooked!!!    The level of weird this show puts out is pretty amazing.  You've got the werewolf dude and his Gypsy mama, the spoiled rich kid who turns out to be some kind of vampire and his creepy, MILF-ish vamp mama who makes the chick in Hamlet look like Susie Home-Maker!  The twists and turns keep you guessing and geeks like me messaging other geeks about the back story behind these freaky peeps.  The beauty of these shows is that you can watch them on your own time and the episodes are all put out at once so you can marathon it or just pace yourself.  You do need to have Netflix streaming but it's totally cheap so don't get all twisted about paying for it if you do want to watch these shows.  Other than that, summer TV pretty much is a waste of time IMHO UNLESS you have HBO and then it's the last season of "True Blood" but I have to wait for it to come out on Netflix DVD-boo.  I just can't stand paying for that channel just to watch one show once a year. 
So, there you have it.  It's cool outside and the mosquitos are raging like crazy so I think I'll take my own advice and tune in to Episode Three-Good Night All!!!

Les Mills Combat/Pump Hybrid program results!

Just finished a hybrid of two programs-Les Mills Pump-high repetition weight training, and Les Mills Combat-intense cardio mixed martial arts.  I LOVE the Les Mills programs!!  The music, the trainers, everything made me want to get up and press "Play" every single day.  And the fact that I got to do a LIVE Combat workout during Summit made it all the more awesome.  Here's the "Before" pictures in April: 

 

 

 

And now, here's the "After" pictures taken on July 11th: 

 

 

 

 

I'm really happy with the muscle tone and how my back looks!  The beauty of this is that I did it all in my home-no trip to the gym or crowded classes....on my time, my schedule.  Moving on to a new program now but I will be going back to this schedule again for sure!!!

Weekend recap and it's BLUEBERRY TIME!!!

What a weekend!!  Had a house full of kids and a lot of fun!  The weather wasn't your typical hot and sunny July but that didn't stop us.  We made our fun doing whatever we wanted and seeing the kids laughing and smiling is worth every dirty floor, spilled cup, meltdown and marker fight.  We did manage to get in a lot of lake time to kayak, pontoon and pull the kids on the floaters behind the boat so how can you call it anything BUT a success! 


One of the highlights-BLUEBERRY SEASON IS BACK!  That's right-the bushes are getting full and it's time to brave the deer flies, mosquitos and creepy crawly things hiding in the brush to pick those beautiful, juicy little morsels of goodness we bake with, can with and make pancakes with.  For those of you who don't live in these here parts, blueberry patches are like fishing spots-closely guarded secrets!  You don't just go telling everyone about where you're pickin' your berries-no way!  Lucky for me I'm friends with a the human berry hound and she takes us to the prime spots.  I think my first bucket will be dedicated to some scones-I love blueberry scones!  Here's a great recipe from the Love Nerds blog!!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour1/4 cup sugar1 tbsp. baking powder½ tsp salt6 tbsp butter½ cup milk (I use skim)¼ cup fresh lemon juice2 tbsp lemon zestDash of Vanilla1 cup fresh blueberries
GLAZE:
½ cup powder sugar1 tbsp lemon juicePinch of lemon zest
 DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°
In your stand mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and put on top of the dry ingredients.
Using your paddle attachment, mix the butter and dry ingredients together. Work your way to medium speed. You want the butter to bread up into small little pieces. BE PATIENT! It might take a little time but the butter will break down into the mix. If needed, you can stop part way through, use your spoon to mix things around and break things apart, and mix again using the paddle attachment.
Stir in milk, lemon juice and lemon zest until moistened.
To add in the blueberries, I patted the dough out on a lightly floured counter and folded the blueberries into the dough. Be careful not to squish to avoid the blueberries bleeding too much.

Then, by hand, form the dough into a rectangle. You want it to be about an inch thick. Cut down the middle, dividing the dough into two rough squares. Then, cut diagonally for a criss cross with both of those squares. This will give you 8 pieces. 
Place one-two inches apart onto a cookie sheet. I liked to place them on parchment paper.
Bake for about 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and drizzle with glaze.

TO MAKE THE GLAZE: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Add a little more (or less) lemon juice in order to get the consistency you need.

My coffee is just crying for a fresh scone to go with it and it's a cool, cloudy day here in the WI north woods so this girl will be a baking machine!  HAPPY MONDAY!!!

3-Day Refresh DONE (thank goodness!!!)

Enjoying a cup of coffee-why is this significant you ask?  Well, I just completed a 3-day program called the 3-Day Refresh and NO COFFEE allowed on that baby.  I can honestly tell you that about killed me......yep, total coffee addict here and not ashamed to say so.  For three days no grains, no dairy, no meat-just fruit, veggies along with a few healthy fats and specifically formulated shakes.  It was HARD-I won't lie about that but I lost 3.1 pounds, 2 inches off my waist and 1 inch off my hips.  OF COURSE you'll lose weight when you're on a restricted diet for 3 days-let's just be real about that one but the whole point is that I needed to flush the crap out of my body (which I'm sure caused the two nasty headaches the nights of day one and two) and refocus my eating.  I'll be doing this again next month because hey, I need to accountability for sure.  I might have to move to a cave so I don't hurt anyone because yeah, I got pretty cranky and all those veggies, yeah I was just a little bit gassy.  WHO WOULDN'T when you can't eat anything???  Just kidding, you could eat but the list was pretty small so it feels like you can't eat anything.  The veggie stir-fry nights one and three was tasty.  So, I'm happily drinking my coffee and looking forward to some meat today because that's being real. 
It's going to be a FUN weekend!!  We have family visiting so my little guy with have more little guys to play with and we have a 50th Anniversary party on Saturday and I'll get to see some people I haven't seen in a long time.  The clouds look like they're breaking up and the sun should come out so we can haul this bunch down to the lake and enjoy the water (because a house full of 5 kids when it's raining out is a big bunch of no fun)  Love it that we have the opportunity to have people enjoy this beautiful lake and peaceful country with us-very, very blessed.  The super moon is this weekend so hoping to be able to take a moonlight pontoon ride to get the full view.  I'm off to finish my coffee and have some CARBS!!! 

Hey All!!!

Okay peeps!!  It's about time this big mouth girl stopped talking and started typing!  I've created this blog to talk about all things fit and fab-exercise, recipes, good days, bad days, kids, fashion (or lack thereof), ANYTHING that trips my trigger or someone I know throughout the week.  I've been inspired to start sharing all the stuff that I've been lucky (or sometimes unlucky) enough to see, hear, taste, smell, do, wear, WHATEVER!  There's a lot of cool things that are shared with me and sometimes good old FB just doesn't do it justice so BAM!  Here we are!  Most of you who know me probably are wondering what took me so long to do this but you know, it is what it is.  SO I'm ready for us to eat together, work out together, go shopping together, see what's new with the fam and just hang out.  I'm pretty excited to see what kind of journey this takes me on so strap yourselves down and HANG ON cuz we're in it now kids!! 

Thanks for being here and let's go!
Jenniffer