The Type of Blogging I Like

I’ve tried. It might not look like it, but I have been trying to do better at blogging.

But right now it seems that I just cannot find the time to post in the same consistency as many of you do.

I go to work, I come home and take Lance out for a walk immediately (so that he doesn’t pee or poo inside) and then come back to make dinner. This takes me to about 6:30pm. Dinner will be done by7:30pm (usually) and then… then all I want to do is sit and eat and watch TV. Then I have to clean and wash and do laundry. Which never ends. (what will I do when it’s more than just my husband and me?).

Lately I’ve been catching up on Game of Thrones. My husband loves it and since when it started I didn’t have HBO I never watched it other than an episode here or there when I was over at his house (prior to getting married). So I’ve been binge watching for the past couple of weeks.

I guess that since I’m on the computer all day at work I really have no interested in being on the computer when I get home. Usually days go by without me even opening it up.

Sometime I do catch myself saying many times to the people around me, including my husband when he asks me to play a game with him, is that I have “no time”.  I’m always busy doing something. And what has started to happen is that I put blogging to the back burner. Then I feel guilty about it. Then I feel guilty about not commenting (I am reading!) on your posts.

I don’t want to feel guilty. I don’t want this to be a job that I feel forced to come to. I want it to be fun.

So I… am not going to say that I’m closing down shop. I’m just going to post when I want to post.  I’m going to post what I want to post and when I want to post it. I’ll continue with my link up on Sundays (1^st and 3^rd of the month) and continue trying to use it to inspire me to lose some pounds.

I’m going to take this blog to the days of when posts were more like journals – that’s what I always liked. Sort of like an escape. Not as personal as a written journal, but still talking about my life and what is going on with me.

I hope you’ll stick around. You’ll keep my on BlogLovin’. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to manage my time better and come back to regular posting.

In the meantime I am grateful for having been a part of something special and I shall continue to be grateful if I can stay in some way part of the “tribe”.

Blogger Men Tell All (Round 7)

I knew that Thomas would have some interesting things to say in response to these questions and I was not disappointed! 

• Do you like to cook? If yes, what's your favorite thing to make?

H: Yes. I like to make beef raviolis. 

M: How do you make them?

H: With love. 

• What is the last movie you saw in a theatre?

H: I can't remember. 

• Can you name five makeup brands?

H: Chance. Dejor, Chanel, TreeTop, Betty Boop

I have no idea where he got them from. Lol.

• What are your biggest pet peeves?

H: People who ask me questions. 

M: Anything else?

H: Yes. 

M: What else?

H: People who turn without putting on their signal. 

• What are your biggest goals in life right now?

H: To please my wife.

M: Now give me a real answer. 

H: That's my real answer, babe. To make you happy. 

Madlen's Delight - A Delightfully Unique Snack

I discovered Madlen’s Delight while browsing the Farmer’s Market at the             hospital where Thomas had his surgery a few weeks ago.

Their booth was attractive – very colorful and bright. The two women working it were friendly and open to me as I walked up to the booth. They had samples available of all their products (except for the Almond because they had sold out!). I asked to taste each one and they gladly obliged.

OMG. They were DELICIOUS!

As I tasted their product I was told by the mother-daughter team that their treats are made with organic brown rice syrup, organic coconut oil, and organic coconut sugar. They also mentioned something that was really the selling point for me:  low glycemic index.

Both my parents are diabetic and so this would be a great snack for them.

As I mentioned, the company consists of a mother and daughter who are currently making the product in their home kitchen. They have 4 different flavors:

Cashew Crunch

Sesame Crunch

Almond Crunch

Pepitas Crunch

My friend and I sat down to try the different flavors, I was curious to see each of our opinions on the products.

Cashew Crunch –

Kathy: The Cashew Crunch starts with a slightly sweet flavor of the coconut sugar glaze and then the cashew flavor comes through. At first I thought I would want more of the sweet flavor because the cashew flavor is strong, but after trying it again later on it felt like the perfect combination.

Dante:  This is her favorite nut so she knew this would be her favorite immediately. Unlike me, Dante tasted a lot of sweetness and less of the cashew flavor. She definitely gave this one a thumbs up!

I then shared the Cashew Crunch with another friend who told me beforehand that she did not like cashews. After trying all the flavors she said that the Cashew Crunch was her favorite!

Sesame Crunch –

Kathy: I’m not too familiar with eating sesame (other than on burger buns) so I was interested to try something new. It definitely has a unique taste. It is nice and light and I feel like it has a toasted flavor.

Dante:  She felt like the flavor was robust. She could taste the sweetness and the sesame pretty evenly. She said it was airy and light.

Almond Crunch –

Kathy: I’m not a huge almond lover but this was very tasty and has a good crunch. The coconut sugar made it sweet, however it doesn’t have a strong almond taste. This can either be good or bad, depending on your likes. I found it good, especially compared to how much the cashew crunch still tasted like cashews to me.

Dante: She found it slightly hard and crunchy, and least in comparison to the others. Unlike me, she tasted more of the almond and less sweetness. She felt like it had a bitter after taste.

Pepita Crunch –

Kathy: This is the flavor that I liked the best. It’s not a seed that I’ve had before but I am not definitely a fan of it. I like its uniqueness and the sweetness.

Dante: She found the Pepita Crunch smooth with a flaky type of feel and that it comes apart easily – but not in a bad way.

My friend and I rated the four kinds in the order we would chose them – we would buy any of them again, because they are ALL delicious.

You can purchase any of these flavors at: http://www.madlensdelight.com.

I also wanted to wish my husband a VERY happy birthday today! He is the big 3-0! He caught up to me in age - at least for the next 6 months! 

Sand Up Sunday - Week 9

You may have noticed that we didn't post last week. Rebekah decided that she needed to take a step back from the link up, but Britt and I wanted to keep going. We have a new button and just a different posting timeline. 

We will now be posting the first and third Sunday of the month. We figured it can be hard to post each week and sometimes there isn't a big difference from one week to another. We still hope you'll join us! The button is at the bottom of this post! 

   How many pounds did you gain or lose?

I’ve been seriously lacking in the weight loss goals lately. Something pushed me off track and it’s been hard to get back on. I’m still going between 158 (never 157.9, always 158) and 159.6. I definitely need to work on this. At least I need to hit 157! At work we had our mid-way weight loss check in and I had lost 5lbs.

How many inches did you gain or lose?

I still haven’t measured myself… so nothing to add here!

Your weekly exercise or step goal, and did you meet it?

I’m still LOVING my FitBit and except for a few days week before last in which I just did not get out to do long walks in the evenings. I did finally get back on track this week and I am above my 70k goal per week! In the last 7 days my FitBit says I've walked: 94,854 (as of Saturday night - and of that 21,049 are from Saturday).

What was your biggest challenge this week?

I was pretty good this week but I did got out to eat twice. Part of my problems the last couple of weeks have been home problems. We had a gas leak and so the gas was off for over a week. Then our garbage disposal broke so doing dishes was difficult since I couldn’t run the dishwasher (yea, I know, that’s princess-y of me to say/do).  We also had a lot of issues with our refinance and our TV/Internet. It’s all been resolved now (well, minus the refinance, that’s in the works) so things should be getting back to normal.

What is your favorite healthy snack or meal?

I started eating apples with Tajin (look it up if you haven’t heard of it!) and have been enjoying it. I’ve also been sticking with Yoplait Low-Fat (90 Calorie) yogurt cups (in Cherry mostly).

Do you have any advice or tips for the rest of us?

Get back on the wagon when you fall off. Eventually it will pay off!

<a href="http://my-sunshines-blog.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l574/Britt_Hanson/Step%20Up%20Sunday.png" alt="Step Up Sunday" style="border:none;" /></a></div> </span>

Happy Birthday Gabriela and Mika!

Yesterday was my mommy's birthday and today is both my sisters' and my nieces'. 

This is my sister as a little girl in my grandma/aunt's house in Argentina.

My sister would have been 43 today and my niece is 13! Finally a teenager! 

Sending them both so much love so that they have a wonderful day!