Day 9 of Pinterest

Day 9...Day 8 was 7 days ago. Maybe more. But the rules have changed. You can read more about that on my homepage...Today I worked hard all day at my job. As hard as I could feeling as miserable as I did. My allergies that I haven't had since I've lived in New Mexico have come back and I am not happy about it! The timing is awful. The kiddos wanted something sweet. I've been wanting to make no bake cookies like my mom used to make for a while now and that's what I started out to make...Then I realized the kids had drank the last of the milk. I had my butter melted already and I thought about the recipe for marshmallow popcorn I had seen on Pinterest. I looked it up and sure enough it took 1/2 C butter just like no bake cookies and I also had everything else I needed. So I proceeded to melt butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows.
The recipe on Pinterest I have pinned says that you can use 2T of corn syrup OR honey. I used honey because guess what? We are out of corn syrup. I'm always out of one thing or another or several things. Once we are in the new house though, my main goal is to stock up on all of my baking and cooking essentials since we will finally have a pantry to fill! Next I poured the gooey mixture over a bag of microwaved popcorn I had poured in a bowl and mixed it all together. I then poured that onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and let it cool.   Then I ate way too much of it. The End.


Not really.  Not really the end I mean.  I really did eat way too much especially for someone who is on a low-carb diet and has been on a nine day streak without eating any refined sugars.  Oh well a little won't hurt too much as long as I get right back on track, right?  I'm a little plumper than I'd like to be so I decided to go low carb for a while.  I get my real cheat day on June 11th which is my birthday.  I'm being as good as I possibly can (the popcorn is just a little oops) so I can eat strawberry cake!  Then it will be right back to eating clean again. 

Until then I will just have to trust my family to be the taste testers!

Day 8---I ❤ My Blender!

Hi!  Remember me? The girl who set out to do all kinds of fun and amazing and creative things found on Pinterest every single day of the year?  I know I've been MIA for a few days, but you would not believe the things going on around here!  The kids are out of school, we've been busy busy at work, Kraig and I are in the process of finding a new home plus planning our wedding, planning our July vacation to New Mexico, and so much more!  I'm not giving up though!  And as I said in my last little post, I'm still at it.  I've found the time to stay with my Pinterest activities, it's just this blogging I can't seem to find time for!  I may have to schedule my blogging time for weekends only.  Just seems like the only way! For now, I wanted to see if I could catch up a little.  I thought I would fill you in on some of the things I have been doing with my beloved blender...

There she is!  Isn't she so awesomely vintage?  This chic is from the 70's and still running great! (Not me!  The blender!)  My Grandma King gave it to me probably 10 years ago.  I very seldom used it until recently.  No specific reason I didn't...I think I just kind of forgot about it.  As you can imagine though it is VERY special to me.  And the fact that I can use it still to make my kids yummy stuff is really cool!  I love telling my daughter stories about how my grandma taught me to cook as I am in turn teaching her. 

The last couple of weeks I've put my completely awesome blender to work and it's thanks to Pinterest!  Remember those frozen coffees I first wrote about?  Well, that's when I brought her out of retirement.  Since then shes been whipping up coffees, frostees, and shakes galore!  It's been perfect for this extremely hot hot weather we've had. 

I've pinned and used SOOOO many drink recipes.  But wouldn't you know...I didn't take pictures of my final product.  Around here edibles and drinkables don't hardly last long enough for a picture.  They're doomed from the start to be gulped down by my family of diehard foodies!  So, anyway for now I want to share a simple recipe I've used a ton the past couple of days:

2 C Ice cubes
3/4 C milk
1/4 C Hershey's syrup (We've been using the sugar free because I'm doing a low carb thing right now...)
1/4 C sugar (or 3 or 4 packets of Splenda~again the low carb thing.  I'll fill you in more on that later!)

I put my ice cubes into the blender first, followed by the syrup, then the milk, then the sugar.  I doubt that the order I put them in really makes a difference, but I like pouring the syrup over the ice...Don't ask!  Just another one of my weird quirks.  I've got plenty of those that's for sure.  So anyway, back to making this frosty drink.  Blend at the highest speed until all the ice cubes and milk and sugar and syrup have turned into a frosty, smooth, yummy drink!  We also tried it with caramel syrup.  Oh my goodness!  It was great.  Tasted like homemade vanilla ice cream.

Well, that's all I have time for tonight.  I'm still working out some kinks on all this blog stuff.  Hoping to compile a list of recipes soon with pictures along with other projects and things I've been working on.  I love love love sharing all of this.  Hopefully someone else will enjoy it too if I eventually get the hang of things! 

BRB!

Whoa!  Isn't today supposed to be like Day 10 or 11 or something???  I'm behind on my blogging, but not to worry!  I've been super busy with Pinterest activities and am proud to say that I'm still meeting my challenge, and still LOVING Pinterest!  Hopefully I will be able to catch up on here soon and post pictures and recipes and all that good stuff.  I'm also going to be re-vamping my whole blog...I'm just a really busy mom, wife-to-be, full time xray tech, cook, maid, etc, etc, etc...You get the drift.  I'm busy!  Anyway, gimme a couple of days (I hope!) and I will be caught up again.  And BTW, I'm not sure who reads my posts, but there's quite a few of you, so I just wanna say thanks!  I first started this just for myself as an outlet for my creativeness...I went so long without that.  If a person isn't careful they can lose themselves.  I did for a while, but I'm back.  Anyway, THANKS!  :)  Makes me feel good.

Day 7

Did I tell you I'm planning a wedding?  Yup, I'm getting married.  Again, I have to stress, I am NOT engaged.  Still waiting for that ring.  And let me tell you, it gets bigger and prettier everyday...in my mind anyway!  Seriously though, I'd marry this guy if he got down on his knee and pulled out a ring pop!  Regardless if my ring ends up being edible or not, I'm not considering us being officially engaged until then.  That doesn't mean I haven't started planning.  Kraig and I both started talking over wedding ideas two weeks after meeting each other.  We just knew.

Wedding ideas are really the things that first got me using Pinterest so much.  It's full of stuff!  And for ANY type of wedding.  Our wedding is not going to be large.  It will be intimate with our kids, parents, and hopefully some siblings.  It will be outdoors.  Nonetheless it will not be lacking.  Other than the small number of guests we are going the whole nine yards with dress, cake, flowers, photographer, more flowers, and most important LOVE and FAMILY.  Probably a little stress too.  But I promise not to turn into a bridezilla!

When we first started talking about our wedding we had the idea of getting married at a cabin in one of the most gorgeous places in Kentucky, the Red River Gorge.  I came across some great ideas on Pinterest for that kind of wedding.  As I was showing Kraig what I found we also came across some ideas for a barn wedding.

The picture above is my favorite pin.  We will be getting married on October 27th, so if all goes as planned we will also be using similar colors.  The trees around here are magnificent in the fall!

As I was working on Thursday I was lucky enough to visit a patient that lives at the top of  a beautiful hill in Northern Kentucky.  On the way up the hill I spotted THE barn!  In my eyes it's perfect for a wedding.  Surrounded by trees that  are sure to be brilliant colors of orange, gold, and red come October.  The thing about this barn that stood out to me is that it's white.  In Kentucky the barns are usually black or weathered gray.  I feel that white is so fitting for a wedding.  I took pictures and showed them to Kraig when I got home.  He agreed with me.

So, there it is.  I found it.  Now I'm leaving it up to Kraig to check into things and speak with the owners to see if it's a possibility.  I have a good feeling he can convince the owners to let us use it.  If  they will we will then decide if we want to do it there or go with the cabin idea.  I'm so excited!

I will continue to post updates as we go along.  Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can post an engagement announcement.  ;)

Days 6,7,& 8

Ok, ok, ok.  I know that putting 3 days in one is slacking and it's kind of like cheating, but come on...It's hot, and I'm tired, and...it's hot!  Besides that my entire apartment complex had no electricity today from 6 am.  until 7pm.  I don't know why???  I'm still confused at how that can happen at such a large complex in Cincinnati.  People, this is not the hills!  And it's over 90 degrees outside!  Ugh!  So, you just need to give me a break!  And I really haven't been slacking.  I've been going nonstop for the past couple of days.  AND how can it be cheating if there are no rules?  Remember when I said that?  So, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!

Sorry.  Did you think that was directed at you?  Nope, it wasn't.  That was me arguing with my biggest critic: ME.  Yes, I not only talk to myself, but I also argue and then type it in a blog.  Have I gone mad?  I'm afraid so.  I'm entirely bonkers.  But I'll tell you a secret.  All the best people are!  Know what movie that's from?  I'll give you three guesses...
Oh, you are good!  Yes, it's Alice In Wonderland.  Just watched it on blue ray for the first time last night.  Awesome!  I love all Tim Burton and of course Johnny Depp movies! 

Guess what else I got to see?  Men in Black III.  It was also AWESOME.  Kraig and I got to see it at a private screening at midnight on Thursday.  Or would that be Friday?  Do you know that I've never even seen I or II?  I've led a pretty sheltered movie life.  As you can imagine seeing a movie at midnight makes for a very long night with little sleep.  In fact Kraig and I got about an hour.  That's because after the movie we decided to go grocery shopping. 

Are you wondering how any of this can possibly have anything to do with Pinterest?  Well it does.  Thursday was day 6 and for my challenge...Drumroll please!  I made a grocery list!  Why do I imagine crickets chirping?  Where's the applause?  Sorry to disappoint, but let me explain.  I never ever use a grocery list.  I make them.  But I leave them at home.  I'm a little forgetful.  You know, I am recently self diagnosed with ADHD.  It just makes sense to me.  Because blondes can't just be this way because of their hair color, right?  It sounded good to me.  Better than being bipolar.  That was my self-diagnosis for last month.  Next month I promise you, I will diagnose myself with something else.  Hopefully it won't be terminal!  Ok, so those of us who suffer with self diagnosed ADHD have very little organization skills.   I decided I needed some organization in my life!   I looked up grocery list on Pinterest.  To my satisfaction I found several good lists made by some amazing people who have much more patience (and time!) than I do.  Here is the one I used:

Sorry the image is difficult to read without a magnifying glass.  But here's the link:
Grocery Shopping List

This website is really good!  Lots of neat stuff!  I'm going to continue to pin and blog more from this site.  Back to my grocery shopping.  This list was very thorough and organized.  So easy to use.  I love the space on the side for price matching and the list of meals.  I have only price matched a few times, but it was always a hassle.  This is a great way to do it.  I'm trying to be a little more thrifty, frugal even.  It's not only just the smart thing to do, but it can be so much fun and it feels good too! 

So that's day 6.  Now on to day 7.  Nevermind.  I changed my mind.  Day 7 and 8 are going to be separate posts.  I have to apologize.  See that's another typical symptom of self diagnosed ADHD.  We find it hard to make decisions and when we do make a decision we rarely stick with it.  On to the next post!

Day 5

Awesome!  We are on Day 5 and I'm still here!  Today's post is short and sweet, but I haven't felt the best and well, lets just face it...there will be days like this.  When I say sweet, I mean it.  I made a pineapple sheet cake.  Of course I found the recipe on Pinterest and of course I didn't follow it.  I am out of white sugar.  Do you know how horrible it is to be without sugar???  Oh yeah, besides Pinterest I am also addicted to sugar (and all carbs!)  So anyway, I'm out of white sugar but did have brown sugar.  Did you know that you can pretty much substitute brown sugar for white in all baking?  It obviously makes your baked item a little darker and also has a slightly different taste.  But heck, when you are down and out it'll do!  So I proceeded to make a pineapple sheet cake with brown sugar.  I also didn't have enough of ALL the ingredients for the icing.  I had enough to make about half a batch.  It's soooo time to go to the grocery store!  So, what I did was made it a little thinner but with all the same ingredients and poured it over the cake while the cake was still hot.  It soaked in a little and made it fantabulous!  It was rich and gooey and warm and just pure yumminess. 

So here it is...That indention there is the big ol' bite mark I put in it before I realized that maybe I should take a picture now since this was my third piece and I wouldn't (shouldn't!) be having any more for the rest of the night (unless I wake up at 3am thinking about it!!!)  So so good!  I'll be putting this along with all the other recipes I've found on Pinterest and also a few of my own that I plan to have available for pinning on my Tracy Lynn Cooks page eventually.  As for now, I'm being summoned by someone who loves me lots and has been feeling a little neglected since I've started all this blogging stuff.

Day 4 of 365 Days of Pinterest!

See this guy?

I really love him...A LOT.  That's Kraig, my boyfriend....Well, fiance, but I can't call him that yet because he hasn't "officially" asked me...because he's taking his sweet little time getting me a big pretty ring since I am spoiled and he thinks that's what I need...but we have a date set!  So yeah, he's the guy I'm going to marry here pretty soon.  Today while searching on pinterest I came across an amazing pin that got the wheels turning in my head and has caused my heart to swell and gives me a lump in my throat.  This means so much to me.  Let me explain.
First a little history...In 2008 way before Kraig and I met he was diagnosed with throat cancer.  It started as a sore throat that kept being diagnosed and treated as strep throat.  Finally he went to an ent who immediately diagnosed Kraig with throat cancer.  He was only 36 years old.  Kraig has never been a smoker or a drinker.  He took very good care of himself.  He had even been a personal trainer for 9 years.  It just goes to show that cancer is not picky.  It can be random and spontaneous and no one is immune to it!  He was started on a series of radiaton and chemotherapy back to back that lasted a total of 12 weeks.  12 weeks that as he has described to me as being an awful experience yet life-changing.  Somewhere around his 5th week of treatment he lost 100lbs in an unbelievable 7 days!  He told me that he was so weak and miserable that at one point he felt so bad and just felt like he couldn't make it through another treatment.  Thank God his doctor's assistant called him and she convinced him to keep going.  I so badly want to meet this woman and thank her someday!   A few weeks after the end of the treatments his CT showed that the cancer was gone!  I can't explain to any of you how often I think about what Kraig went through and how it makes me feel.  I am so thankful that he is here with me today healthy and in my eyes so very perfect!  I have always been a worrier, full of stress and anxiety and I'm known to let the smallest things turn my world upside down.  Since Kraig has come along, when I am about to have one of those moments he reminds me how precious life is and that the things I tend to put so much negative emphasis on are in reality so small and unimportant.  What's really important is that we are alive and healthy and we have love in our lives that some people are never lucky enough to find.
As I was browsing and pinning today I came across this:

I was amazed to see that all the cancers have their own ribbon.  Of course we are all so familiar with the pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness because of the number of peoples lives it affects is so great.  I was really excited to see that head and neck cancer had a ribbon.  As I said before, once I saw this the wheels in my head started turning.  I googled "throat cancer ribbon" to see what I could find.  Here are a couple of images I found and liked for my idea...

And just what is my plan?  Well in less than a month I will be turning 34.  At that time exactly 16 years ago I got my first and only tattoo.  I've got a butterfly on my left ankle.  Over the past 16 years I've wanted more but it's just never happened.  Well this year it's going to happen.  I will be getting my second tatt and it will have the burgandy and ivory throat cancer ribbon incorporated into it in some way.  I plan on having someone (Hopefully Miss Kayla!) custom draw a design for me.  As of now I am undecided on if I will get it on my chest (left side because he is my heart!) or on the back of my neck. 
I love this man.  I'm going to marry this man.  He has brought so much meaning to my life.  So much love that I never realized truly existed.  I have no doubt in my mind that just as sure as I am that I will spend my life with him that I want this tattoo. 
What will Pinterest bring me next?!?!