In Love

I'm absolutely in love with our new apartment. We picked up the keys on Friday, I packed up a bunch of stuff Friday night, and we've been moving stuff over ever since. Jinx even got to take a trip over there today. I think he was starting to get used to the new place, but the transfers were tramautic events...oh, the howling. He's now curled up in my lap.

Speaking of Jinx, he is a murderer. I let him out on the upstairs deck to prowl around. He's been just obsessed with the birds. So, I'm downstairs making dinner, and I hear a big thud. Thinking that he fell or something, I run up there to discover that he had himself up on the ledge with a smashed bird egg next to him. The mama bird is giving him the death stare. I don't know how he did it. The bird's nest was quite a leap from the ledge. Our kitty is a murderer of the unborn.

I love the flowers blooming, but I'm really hating this allergy crap. Hopefully these drugs will start working in a couple days like the pharmacist said. This sinus headache sucks. Come on antihistamines!

I'll post pictures of the new place once we get some stuff put away!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Treadmills are Hard!

In the words of a friend's wife,"Treadmills are Satan's form of torture." And I fully agree. I think I did a little better tonight than my sad, pathetic attempt on Monday night.

• 5 minute warm-up, roughly .25 miles
• 12 minute run, 1 mile
• 5 minute cool down, roughly .25 miles

I don't think running more than a mile on the treadmill is going to happen. I need to get outside. And somewhere without a lot of hills, 'cuz the area near where our apartment is has too many hills. And a pedometer would be nice too. Oh, and something to hold my iPod.

Must.win.lottery.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. Jinx, the kitty, is twitterpated. He goes nuts when the patio doors are open.

Go Me!

I just ran 3.3 miles! I was aiming to run a 5k, but I couldn't remember if it was 3.1 miles or 3.3, so I ran over a 5k. Now I just need to work on how long it took me to do it, 44 minutes. I'd like to do a race this summer. We shall see!

Make sure to check out my business blog and Etsy site in the next couple days for new items!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Hola!

I'm watching "How to Make an American Quilt" right now. I don't think I've watched this in probably 10 years. And now I remember why I love it so much. And why I love NetFlix with the XBox. Can we say, instant queue!

It's snowing right now. And I am sooo not happy about this. It's not accumulating, but still. Mother Nature can be rather mean sometimes!

I'm doing a Biggest Loser challenge with some of my girlfriends, and so far so good! I'd like to lose 10lbs by Mexico (May 22nd-28th). At the rate I'm going, I think it's possible. I've been doing the Couch to 5k program, as well. I think I'd like to actually run a 5k race this summer.

Recipe of the Week

Fettuccine with Lima Beans, Peas, and Leeks

• 12 oz fettuccine (3/4 box) - I used whole wheat
• 1-10 oz package frozen lima beans
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into half-moons
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh taragon
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan - I used a little basil & garlic Asiago as well
• A splash of dry white wine
• Some toasted walnuts
• Next time I'm going to add a clove of minced garlic

Cook the pasta accordigng to the package directions, adding the beans and peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (but not brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine, and let boil for a little while. Add the cream and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Toast walnuts and add to pan. Melt half of the cheese into the sauce.

Add the pasta and tarragon to the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

This is my effort to add more fiber into our diets.

On another kitchen note, I have some shiny new Italian glass storage containers on our counters now. They make me happy :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Random Thought

I have the acrylic stamp and the designer paper that is used in the new background design I downloaded. That is all.

Recipe of the Week

Homemade Granola Bars
(Energy Bars from the Healthiest Meals on Earth cookbook)

• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup puffed brown rice cereal (there's a brand with koala's on the box in the children's organics that works pretty well)
• 1 1/2 cups diced dried apricots (I use whatever dry fruit I feel like)
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 1/2 cup nonfat vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/2 cup blue agave nectar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I use chunky natural peanut butter)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Chop up the almonds. Spread the oats, cereal, and almonds on a 13x9 nonstick pan lined with parchment paper. Bake, stirring occasionally, until the oats are toasted, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the apricots; transfer to a large bowl. Add the raisins, protein powder, and wheat germ; toss with rubber spatula to mix.

Combine the rice syrup and agave nctar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Quickly pour the syrup over the oatmeal mixture and stir well.

With a spatula, immediately spread the warm mixture into a jelly-roll pan. Place another piece of parchment on top of the mixture and press into a thin, even layer. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours. Cut into whatever size bars you wanted and store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

These granola bars are actually really easy to make, and you know exactly what's in them!