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