Noah bought a carton of blueberries on Sunday. Tonight I noticed that a few on the bottom were looking bad so I said to myself that we (translation: Google and I) would create a dessert for Noah. I have made apple crumble quite a few times in the Fall so I decided to use blueberries. I am not a great big fan of all things blueberry (or raspberry for that matter), but Noah gushes over the little blue gems. And I’m open enough to trying new things so I decided Meh? Why not?

And for this recipe, I got to use my IKEA torte dishes (I think that is the proper name) that I bought in July. I hadn’t had an opportunity to use them yet.

The recipe was super simple. I found it from the Aunt Jemima website.

1/2 C Aunt Jemima dry buttermilk pancake mix

1/2 C Quaker Oats

1/3 C Brown Sugar

1/2 T cinnamon

3 T Butter

1/2 C Blueberries

Combine pancake mix, oats, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of butter until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs) Spray 6 inch torte pans with cooking spray and evenly divide blueberries between dishes (add a little more if you love blueberries…like my husband). Add the dry mixture to the top. Divide the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over the top of the two dishes and add a sprinkle of brown sugar.

I place the dishes in a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Here was the final result:

and…

Tagged: baking, recipes ]]> http://astarrynight.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/adventures-in-blueberries-part-1/feed/ 0 astarrynight IMG_20120117_190550 all done http://astarrynight.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/not-a-resolution/ http://astarrynight.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/not-a-resolution/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:41:56 +0000 astarrynight http://astarrynight.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/not-a-resolution/ ]]> I am not one for the grand New Year’s Resolution. I have never been one for making them and they feel trivial to me. If I need to make a commitment or a change, then I should be able to make one no matter what time of the year it is. However; I am going to make a commitment. Not a resolution, in the traditional sense, but commitment. 

I want to reach my goal weight by my 25th birthday. I need to realize that this goal is possible, but that it is a marathon; not a sprint. My body shape and weight is not going to take place overnight or over the course of a few weeks. It will take hard work and discipline, but I am going to do this. 

And the Fitness board on pinterest.com has been great motivation so far. 

I’ve not quite lost 20 pounds since I started in September, but I know that I am losing pounds and interests…little at a time. I’ve got the measurements, I’ve got the scales, and I’ve got the tools. I just need to stop reaching for the cookies whenever I get upset or bored. It’s something I’ve been guilty of for a while.

As far as eating out goes, things are improving. I’ve been out a few times for work and date nights, but the number has been drastically reduced and I have almost completely stopped eating at fast food restaurants (maybe one trip to DQ in the past month?)… I’m doing this  

Wish me luck. I’ll keep you updated. 

Since the challenge started I have had 2 breakfasts from McDonald’s; one meal at Dairy Queen; one meal at Monical’s (each with Noah); and one trip to El Cactus with Noah and friends. So…not a perfect streak, but definitely progress. I am packing my lunch and finding ways to be creative with leftovers.

I’ve got one month left in the year. I want a majority of the next 91 meals (that’s 3 meals a day for 31 days) to be homemade (or pre-packaged if absolutely necessary!). Can we do it? Yes, we can!

Well, my friends, NO more!

I am challenging myself to pack my lunch every work day between now and 2012. I need to save money and cut back on calories. I believe this challenge will help me achieve these goals.

So…if you have any good “brown bagging” tips or recipes, please let me know!

I’ve just put the finishing touches on an apple crumble and I’m now waiting for the oven to heat so that it can go into the oven. Noah helped by cutting the apples and adding a few touches to the finished product. I used Jamie Oliver’s crumble recipe and added nutmeg and cinnamon to complete this recipe.

I have noticed that the more I do these workouts, the “easier” they are. I say “easier” because these workouts are the opposite of easy — they are very difficult, always challenge me, and make me drip with sweat. Even the “EZ” workouts (e.g. Fire 45 EZ) are difficult. What I mean by “easier” is that I find myself able to give more to these workouts because I know the moves. I am able to give these workouts more intensity and energy because I’m more comfortable with them. I have also noticed a change in my ability to work out. I don’t feel as “winded” each time I do the HIIT workouts or I feel like I’m able to go a longer period of time before feeling completely out of breath.

As far as weight loss: it’s not coming off as fast as I’d like (but when does it ever, really?) but there is a definite trend of losing each week since I started working out consistently on September 5. I started my new BodyBugg program (my second or third “restart”) on August 22 at the weight of 235. This was after the 5-Day Inferno (Turbo Fire) and my birthday. The week before, I weighed 237. I know weigh 227. My overall goal for this set is to weigh 215 by October 31. One thing I am really learning is portion control. I know that if I am going to eat out, I can be smart about it — even if it’s a fast food joint. I don’t have to eat french fries and when I don’t, I save myself calories! AND when I am smart about it, I can still have little treats from time to time. For example: Did you know that if you split an Oreo mini Blizzard with someone 50/50, it’s only about 175 calories? I don’t treat myself to these every day, but it’s nice to know that I can indulge every now and then and not feel guilty over it.

I should also explain that I’m taking this journey in sets. It’s much easier to look at small goals of 20 pound increments rather than looking at the goal of losing 80 pounds. Once I lose 20 pounds, I start a new program and set the same parameters (2 pounds a week, etc.) and work for that goal. I feel like it will be more encouraging this way.

I will report my weight and measurements at the end of week four.

In Ben H. Winters’ (author of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters) latest novel, Bedbugs, from Quirkbooks, Alex and Susan Wendt decide to leave their small one-bedroom apartment and move their family into a larger home in Brooklyn.  If you’re a homeowner or you’ve moved to a new town and needed an apartment to rent, you know the stress of finding “THE ONE” (see my previous posts about home ownership if you have no clue about this experience….).

It’s easy to overlook a few cracks here or a few things there if it means that you’re settled and no longer searching through for-sale/rent ads. Alex and Susan found relief in a brownstone house in Brooklyn. This home had tin ceilings, a bonus room, a decent sized kitchen, and a nice landlord. Although there were a few issues and despite a few cryptic comments from the maintenance man, the couple sign a lease and move in.

Susan, who left her position in a law firm to pursue life as an artist, quickly settles in with the unpacking and arranging of their lives in the new home. She cares for her daughter, searches for the perfect shops, and maps out the best commutes in the area. Although she stays busy with the house work, she also feels guilty for leaving her job and reducing the family income to pursue life as an artist. She promises herself that once the routine is settled, she will begin to paint. Eventually their routine settles in, Alex and Susan feel like their lives are returning to normal, but they cannot overcome the paranoia of having bedbugs. News of pest infestations are every where and all of their friends insist they have the house inspected, but Alex and Susan are convinced they are clean.

And then first bites appear on Susan.

An inspection is done by the “insect inspector of the stars” and it turns up nothing. Weeks go on and Susan can only focus on are welts that keep appearing on her body each morning. The odd thing is, Susan is the only member of the household with the bug bites. The only evidence of bedbugs are these welts. As the bites continue, things become tense between Susan and everyone else. Susan reaches out to her friend, but she is alienated because no one wants her bedbugs. What is interesting is that the inspector has deemed them to be bug-free but no one will reach out to her “just in case.”  Eventually, Susan is alienated from everyone she knows, including Alex.

Susan cannot prove that she has a bedbug infestation but has no way of explaining the severe outbreak of bite-like welts that cover her body. It is even suggested that the welts on her body are self-inflicted. So what is the answer? Where do they bites come from? Was the stress of moving too much for Susan to handle or are supernatural spirits at play in the old Brownstone?

Read and find out

This book is fantastic and it’s out on shelves tomorrow (You can buy it here.). I picked the book up one morning and read 100 pages without realizing it.  The story flows so well and keeps readers engrossed throughout the story. You won’t be able to put it down.

I highly recommend reading this book, but take note: Your skin will crawl.

Gorgeous and comfortable!

Sizing: Feels true to size

Pros: Comfortable, Figure Flattering

Best Uses: Date Night/Night Out

Describe Yourself: Trendy/Stylish Dresser

Comfort vs Style: Style Driven

Was this a gift?: No

I love this top! I am in to the one-shoulder look and this is perfect. It’s a combination of figure-flattering, comfy, and stylish. I feel very classy when I go out in this shirt.

(legalese)

I wish I could say I dug right in and finished the book in a day, but I can’t.  Things have been crazy/busy, so it took some time to dive in. And once I did, I could hardly put this book down. Here’s why:

Notice anything peculiar about the girl in this picture?

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (by Ransom Riggs) is the story of Jacob and his grandfather, Abraham. Like most grandfathers, Jacob’s told stories. These stories were of a particularly bizarre nature. There was the story of a home that orphaned children escaped to during The War (WWII) for protection. This home was a haven for victims of the Holocaust and bombings that had torn their homes — and families — apart.  The children that live in this home, according to Abe, had special gifts. There were siblings who could lift heavy objects with ease, a girl who could hold fire in her hands, a boy with bees living inside of him, and an invisible boy. Not your normal orphan spread. All of these special children lived under the supervision and care of Miss Peregrine, or “The Bird.”

Jacob grows up listening to these stories and seeing photographs of the peculiar children, but like most children he stops believing in the stories  and the peculiar children after being bullied at school. After telling his grandpa he no longer believed in the fairy tales, his grandfather stopped telling stories. And that was Before. And then there was the After. The After reveals the dangerous secrets of the Peculiar children and the mysteries surrounding their home.

Riggs does an excellent job of captivating his readers. Once you pick this book up, it is difficult to put down. Readers have an inside look at what Jacob is going through — his thoughts, his disbelief, and his emotions.  We also have a look at who the Peculiar children were and whether Grandpa Abraham’s stories were true, or just a story he used to cope with the horrors of being hunted during the Holocaust, orphaned, and exiled to a remote island.

To know more about what happens in the Before and After or the mysterious life of Abraham Portman, check out Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (you can buy a copy of this New York Times Bestseller at www.quirkbooks.com)

First things first, the “Rainbow Bright” room.  This is the former living space of a 16-year old girl with an eye for [bright] colors. Each wall was painted a different color — blue, yellow, orange, and pink. Wow. Sixteen year old Audra would have loved this space, but 23-year old Audra using this as a craft room/home office/guest bedroom was a little overwhelmed.  Within a week of living in the new place, this room was primed white and ready to go. The new colors will be Delicious Plum and Water Chesnut. The inspiration came from seeing this. (Please note: I was silly and forgot to take “before pictures” of this room before I primed. Muh bad.)

We also have to update our kitchen. I will post pictures of this renovation, but it’s an “Everything Must GO!” type of renovation in which we gut everything and add back in a few beautiful Martha Stewart cabinets, new tile flooring, and energy efficient appliances. More details to come soon (no, really, I promise to update you soon!).

The next BIG thing to come with the new house is a puppy. My sister-in-law’s boyfriend had Black Lab/German Shepard/Something Else mixed labs, and this little guy (we call him Maverick) just melted our hearts. Now, he’s chewing up our carpet (which we’re going to replace).  We brought Maverick home a few days after the move in.  He’s energetic, playful, and nosy. He also has sharp teeth. He does find himself in trouble quite often (I feel like “Iceman” on most days because we get in a lot of fights. You’ve seen Top Gun, right?).

Remember the scene when Iceman tells Maverick he's dangerous? This is what it feels like for me most days with my pup Maverick.

Our home is a work in progress, but I will be posting pictures as we go. Please be patient. It can take us a while to get these projects done! But, that’s probably enough about me, my house, and my pup. Come back soon for more of the home renovations, painting adventures, and tales of scraping wallpaper borders.