Happy Friday! I know this was a really short week with the holiday, but for some odd reason it felt long to me. I am happy for another weekend to be upon us, and to be kicking off the soccer game season watching my favorite fast-footed player. In my efforts to simplify, I am striving not to be a hoarder “stuff person;” however, sometimes I do find things that are worth sharing. Plus, a few of these were gifts, so they don’t count. So today I wanted to share with you the stuff I am loving lately. At the end of this post, I also want to tell you a scary story of something that happened to me yesterday, and what I actually own that I didn’t have with me yet it could have saved my life. Don’t you worry though, because obviously I did find another way out of my scary situation, because I am still alive to write this post. 😉
A year and a half ago Chris and the kids gave me the aqua Kitchenaid mixer for Mother’s Day. I had no idea how much I would actually use this thing. Well, I am truly trying to clean up my eating for good (I’ll write more about the reasons why another day, but anyone who has struggled with tinea versicolor will understand!), so my parents gave me the Kitchenaid spiralizer attachment for my birthday.
This gadget has been life changing! If you own a Kitchanaid mixer you need it. I had been struggling with a hand held spiralizer to make zoodles and after about an hour of cranking I had a small serving. With this, you just attach, add vegetable or fruit, and turn the machine on and you have zoodles or whatever it is you are trying to make in a minute. I’ve been making zucchini noodles as well as sweet potato noodles.
This recipe is technically called a “breakfast bowl” but I made it for dinner the other night and it was delicious!
I’ve also broiled salmon and put avocado mashed up with basil on top, served with a size of zoodles with sautéed veggies. This is not the prettiest iphone picture, but it was awesome! Avocado and basil together are a match made in heaven. We had so much basil this year so I’ve been using it as much as possible.
So as you can see the spiralizer attachment has come in super handy for this girl!
Along the lines of clean eating, my mother-in-law sent me this cookbook- Nutrition Stripped. This book has so many fabulous clean eating recipes, and some are really simple. So far I’ve made the plantain bread with poached eggs, and I added avocado to mine. There are tons of great smoothie recipes as well as meals of all shapes and sizes. I loved the plantain bread which was just two ingredients- plantains and eggs, and of course you season how you like. It toasted well the next day as leftovers, too.
I searched high and low to find the exact same shirt in aqua for you, and I came up empty. (If anyone finds, it, let me know! I found some similar styles, and you can find them in the widget below this image if you want to let the world know you are sarcastic, too. Or perhaps it’s a gerat gift for one of your own best friends.
And well, I did buy myself one thing… But in my defense, I am not a shoe person and pretty much buy 1-2 pairs of shoes each year (that’s year- not season!) as needed with the exception only of running shoes. The last pair of boots I bought was 4 years ago, and I didn’t own a pair of booties, but had several outfits I thought needed them. So I searched all of Amazon for an inexpensive real leather pair with fringe and good reviews and not a super high heel. I bought these booties and have already worn them and they pretty comfortable and I love the way they look on this thick-calved girl.
Now for my scary story….
Now that school is back in session, Sawyer has to be up at 6:30 each morning to get ready for the bus. So each morning I get up to get a run or walk in with a friend of mine, Carrie. We head out at 5:15 and return at 6:30. Tuesday morning she was unable to join me, so I took Catcher and Snowball for a walk on my own. I was prepared with my headlamp and reflective vest but realized I left my bear whistle at home. I thought, “Oh I am just being a silly worrier!” And surely, I was, because I made it home with no sightings.
Yesterday morning, Carrie joined me and we took the dogs out as well, and were armed with our headlamps and reflective vests. We were just about finished with our loop, less than 10 minutes from home, when Carrie grabbed my arm, and said “Wait, Cassie. Is that a bear?” It was still dark, but sure enough about 80 feet away from us was a black bear. It had heard us talking and stopped and looked at us. We knew not to run, so we slowly and quietly started backing away, still facing the bear with our lights shining his way. There was only one house we could get to, as the bear was in front of the neighboring house, and there were no other homes in sight. We scooted back out of the sightline of the bear and walked to the house, but no one was home. We just stood there assessing the situation and deciding on our next move. Not prepared with our phones or my bear whistle, and with no other route back home (aside from turning around and walking 45 minutes in the other direction), we decided to flag down the next car and ask for a ride to the end of the street.
The next car came and we were too far back and missed it, so we sat and waited again and another car came by a few minutes later. A nice woman gave us and my dogs a ride, and I will forever be grateful for that. I found out where she lived so we can do something nice to properly thank her. And in all of that was a huge lesson to us…. First of all, carry out phones. And second of all, carry the darn bear whistle I purchased last Spring after my first sighting! I also think I will be arming myself with bear spray…. this was too close for comfort. Either of these could have saved our lives in that moment, but luckily the kindness of strangers saved us.
And with that story, I am just happy to be alive, and excited to spend my time with my family this weekend. And no bears, thank you very much.
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