New blog!

I'm just getting it started but for the 1.7 readers I have, lol, here is my new blog address
http://shannonssliceoflife.blogspot.com

Silly Pictures

Here are a few funny pictures of Olivia and I from the past week.

Olivia trying to bundle Buddy up to go outside....


















Me channeling Lincoln with Olivia's President's Day craft....


Olivia reading a Valentine card from her Aunt....this one played the Disney princess song and she was just captivated by it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Food Experiments

I continue to experiment with various recipes with hopes of developing a rotation of meals and snacks that fit my dietary goals. Lately I have just been, well, depressed. There really is no other way to put it. I am having trouble leaving junk food and fillers (high carb sides like rice, pasta, potatoes) behind so I have gained back the weight I lost and my blood glucose levels have been elevated. Meal planning, which has always been hard for me, has become impossible but I press on.....

These Coconut Flour Pancakes were definitely not like my usual Bisquick box version but they were not horrible. Mine came out thin, not at all like the picture on the website, but the flavor was okay. I had them with regular maple syrup since I have not yet found a lower carb alternative.


These Zucchini Chips were a tad spicy to me so
I will lessen the smoked paprika next time. They also shrink considerably after baking.


This Feta Stuffed Meatloaf with Cucumber Sauce was surprisingly a winner. Mark and I both liked it....Olivia wouldn't touch it but she is a little on the picky side right now. I did make a Greek Pilaf as a side to this which defeats the purpose of making a low carb meatloaf but I didn't have enough time to research another side option.  This side was a favorite of ours from when we used to participate in a monthly frozen food exchange so it was easy at the last minute.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Snow Bunny

Here in North Carolina we do not necessarily get snow every year. The weather station often calls it wrong as well which can lead to massive pileups at the grocery store and school closings with not a drop of snow. It's comical to those who move into our state from other parts but to me, it's part of our charm. A few weeks ago the weather station said we would get 2-4 inches and we had barely a sprinkling of snow. Then this past week they called for 0.25 inches, instead we probably had 5 inches. Here are some pics of my snow bunny enjoying the unexpected snow when it first started and then a day later once it was getting slushier.









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New Cereal Option

I found this recipe for Grain Free Hot Cereal on my favorite food blog these days. I have made it twice and both times found it surprisingly good. It looks scary, at least to someone new to these ingredients! The only con to it is that it does not stay warm very long and I do not like it as much once it cools so I have to eat it quickly. I took a few pics so you could share in the scary.

This is of the initial ingredients mixed together - chia seeds, ground flax meal and Swerve.





And here it is after mixing in the hot water and letting it sit. The chia seeds get gelatinous which means they are kind of slimy.





Here is how it looks after I add heavy cream and a few pecans. I am looking forward to adding berries when they are back in season.





There are 18 grams of fiber in this so it is a very filling breakfast despite how quickly it goes down the hatch!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Taco Shells and Dinosaur Eggs

I had some leftover taco meat from our dinner so I decided to experiment with the low carb taco shell alternative I saw on Pinterest. I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy this was (lesson learned, never doubt cheese!) and how much it really was like a taco shell. I don't think it is feasible to make these in bulk on the night we eat but I definitely can see eating a couple of these with leftovers for lunch like I did.



Olivia's preschool class did a unit on dinosaurs recently and she had her first paper mache experience - making a dinosaur egg. When she tore it apart there was a tiny dinosaur eraser inside, like a baby dinosaur. So cute! I love preschool art/crafts!


After my post a couple weeks ago about my frustration with Blogger I decided to invest a few dollars in another app. I read about the various options here and decided to go with BlogPress. Here's hoping for easier blogging going forward!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

In The Kitchen

After receiving my supplies I was eager to get started.  For my second low carb baking experience I decided on the Cranberry Orange Scones from Carolyn Ketchum's All Day I Dream of Food blog.  I love reading food blogs because the pictures are all so pretty but I am not a food blogger so I will keep it real!  Here is what it looks like when I work in the kitchen....

And here are my scones ready for the oven...

While I was busy with the scones Olivia decided to make playdough pancakes.  She really puts her whole body into rolling them out.

Baking Supplies

I mentioned in a previous post that I would be starting a new adventure in low carb baking once my supplies were all here.  I have decided that I still need one additional item, Swerve Confectioner, but in the meantime I have bought everything else I need to get started.  Here is a picture of my investment.  These supplies are an investment in my health and an investment in the true sense of the word.  I think these came to approximately $140.  The almond flour alone was close to $50 for 5 pounds.  Yowzers!!

January Sewing Projects

#1 King size pillow cover - this is one of two that I am making for a new reading nook I am creating in Olivia's room (you can see my sewing companion in this pic!)

#2  I am making small crayon rolls using an in-the-hoop embroidery pattern as Valentine goodies for Olivia's preschool class.  Her class has 6 boys and 6 girls.  I completed 5 boy ones.

#3  Sewing Machine Cover

#4  Cord keepers

Low Carb Baking

Shortly before Christmas I found out that I am moving out of the prediabetic stage I have been in for many years and moving closer to an official diagnosis of diabetes.  I was disappointed by this news but not surprised.  I have put myself 'last' for several years now and not taken care of myself the way that I should.  Since Christmas I have started making changes in my diet and have lost 8 lbs so far.  I hope to continue that trend as I make more changes and eventually reach a healthy weight again. 

As part of these changes I am embarking on the adventure of learning to bake low carb.  I have always enjoyed baking (and eating) so the thought of not having baked goods is just not acceptable.  After researching a great deal I made a list of items I needed to stock up on and placed my order.  In case you are not aware, low carb baking is NOT cheap.  The necessary flours and sugar substitutes are an investment.  Oh, but I digress.  Anyway, while waiting for my supplies to arrive I noticed I had almond meal in my pantry.  Almond meal is not optimal for low carb baking because it has a coarse texture but I read that it can suffice in scones or muffins so I decided to try my hand at my first ever low carb 'bread' item, a savory scone.  I found the recipe here  If you open the link you will see that my scones are nowhere near as pretty as Carolyn's but I think they tasted the way that they should.  I had never had a savory scone before so it was a little odd to me but I made them to go with a soup and they seemed to work perfectly in that capacity.  I am looking forward to my supplies arriving and baking my first low carb sweet treat.

Blog Frustration

I like using the Blogger (Google) App on my iPad if I have pictures on my iPad....it is really nice.  But, sometimes my pictures are on my Canon so I have to download them to my laptop then upload them into the blog through the Blogger website.  For some reason, even though I am rotating my pics and saving them before I upload them, the Blogger website wants to change them back to their original orientation so they post incorrectly on the blog.  The editing features within the blog do not allow a change in rotation so I'm stuck with either no pictures or upside down pictures unless the pictures are stored on my iPad.  So, that is why I have not been posting.  If anyone reading knows how to fix this issue please let me know.

Christmas 2013

Christmas seemed so short this year.  Mark had to work the day before and after so we didn't leave til late afternoon on Christmas Eve to head to my Mom's and and were only there til the following evening.  We had alot of fun though!  

On Christmas Eve our tradition is to go to my Dad's side of the family for the evening.  We eat dinner, load up into about five or six car and drive around Christmas caroling to friends of the family and then come back and just hang out for several hours, opening presents late in the evening.  Every year before now Olivia was just a hot mess and I ended up leaving early to take her back to my Mom's to sleep while Mark stayed behind.  This year I was VERY surprised that Olivia was mostly happy the entire evening and we actually stayed til midnight.  The last 30 minutes we were there she was fussy but up until then she had a ball.  She absolutely LOVED caroling and playing with her second cousin Nathan.  We even moved his carseat to our car so they could be together for the drive.  Every year I try to make something homemade for my aunts and uncles.  This year I made East Coast Applique's Dove Ornaments on my embroidery machine.  

The next day Olivia woke to find that Santa had visited her at Nana's house and later my brother and his wife came over and we enjoyed lunch together and more presents.  I had been very sick in November and December so I actually finished sewing Olivia's Christmas pants on Christmas Eve! 

Great Wolf Lodge

We took our second trip to Great Wolf Lodge in early January.  We have enjoyed both of our trips to the Concord, NC location but have agreed that the next time we are able to go we would like to check out the Williamsburg, VA location.  Each time we've gone to Concord we have ended up at IKEA and spent more time than we expected, missing out on prime water park time.  So, in the future we will try to separate Great Wolf Lodge trips from IKEA trips!  Here are some pictures from our trip.  This was the first time Olivia ever went bowling.  She was not nearly as interested as we had hoped but that was likely because of the huge game room next door that she saw on her way in.  We also made sure she visited the Cub Club before we left.  She talked for two days before we arrived about wanting to make a necklace there!

The Worst Is Over

Thank God!!  After a weekend of constant tears and high fever I was able to get Olivia into the pediatrician where she was diagnosed with double ear infections, sinus infection and bronchiolitis....yowzers, no wonder she was inconsolable!  Three doses of antibiotics later and she is on the mend.  Other than a little remaining ear drainage and a cough she is mostly back to her normal self.  Now to get back to getting ready for Christmas!

Right before Olivia got sick we went to storytime with The Grinch.  Much like the Chick Fil A cow, she was afraid and fascinated all at the same time!

Sickly Woodhouses

What I haven't mentioned in my last few posts is how sick I have been.  It started November 20th with cold symptoms and 3 weeks later has turned into bronchitis, surprise surprise.  Asthmatics rarely just have a cold.  So, Christmas shopping, crafting and card preparing have all been on the back burner.  If I recall I have spent this same period of time sick for several years now which really makes for an unenjoyable and stressful holiday season.  I say this every year but next year I plan to start much earlier.  At any rate I can handle me being sick but my baby, well, that is another thing entirely.  Olivia spiked a temp last evening and has been horribly ill for the last 24 hours.  It is clear now that she has an ear infection since I see pus draining from one ear!  Ick!  Here's my baby girl in her TV watching cocoon and shortly after.  Normally I try to limit TV but when it's the only thing that helps the tears subside I'm a pushover.

New hair

The last few haircuts I've had have gotten shorter and shorter but today's takes the cake!  I don't even have hair on the back of my neck anymore!  This will take some getting used to.  I see alot of scarves in my cold neck's future!

Return of the Bicycle

We bought Olivia a very nice Trek bike earlier this year.  Unfortunately, during the summer she fell while riding it and has been afraid to get back on it.  This weekend we took the bike back to the store and had the training wheels adjusted so the bike is not as wobbly and she has fallen in love with the bike all over again!

Poof!

And just like that, a week ago I disappeared from the universe, I mean Facebook.....gasp!   I could wax eloquent on how I reached this point but I will just share that it took five months of God telling me to do it before I obeyed so it was not a hasty decision.  I plan to return sometime in January but cannot rule out the possibility that this could be a permanent change for me.  Either way, minimally, I should have a seven week period without the distraction (and comfort) of Facebook, ample time to explore how it is impacting me and therefore, my relationships, for good or bad.

The first few days, upon waking, I still turned on my iPad first thing to open the Facebook app only to remember it is no longer there.  This causes me to realize that I consistently put "checking Facebook" first, not God or my family.  I have found myself very lonely without the sense of connection that is provided by regularly scrolling my news feed and I have found myself disheartened that folks have not missed me enough to text or email.  This has caused me to realize how out of touch I am from actual live people.  It is easy to blame this on others but it takes two to maintain a relationship so I am at least 50% responsible for my neglected or failing relationships.  When I have been out in public places where other adults were glued to their phones I have felt sad and frustrated that they appear to be favoring the internet over a live person sitting in front of them.  This causes me to realize that I often take the live person in front of me for granted, not making the most of my time with them.  I still find myself turning to the internet (Pinterest, blogs) when difficult moments arise throughout the day like a preschooler refusing to listen, throwing a tantrum or doing other things that are generally frustrating or annoying.  But those forms of social media definitely do not fill the void the same way as Facebook so I find myself using TV more to pacify my daughter so I can "escape".  This causes me to realize I am shirking my responsibility to discipline and teach my daughter consistently, only dealing with matters when they are totally out of control and can no longer be ignored.  My house is still mostly a mess with dirty toilets and layers of dust, my sewing machine is untouched, Christmas gifts unmade, I haven't been to the gym or planned meals.  This causes me to realize that I am tired and a bit lazy.  Facebook is not to blame for all the things I have not gotten done, I am.  

Olivia's "big girl" room

Back in the summer I started the process of changing over Olivia's gender neutral nursery into more of a girly room.  We moved out the toddler bed and brought in a twin xl bed we already had.  A few months later I found some second hand bedding.  It was a tall order to find something that would match the yellow walls we did not feel like repainting and the expensive Pottery Barn Kids blackout curtains we had not yet gotten our money's worth from but I think this quilt and valance set worked out well. And just this week I finished the accent pieces I wanted to add and new initial canvases to fit the new colors.  Here it is!

Ponytails!

It is rare that Olivia lets me touch her hair let alone ASKS me to touch it so I had to snap a few shots of the ponytails she asked for this morning.  Someday maybe we will get to the point where combing is involved but until then I'll gladly make messy ponytails! (Perhaps someday she will start looking AT the camera again too....a Mom can dream)