Favorite Things: Maternity Pants

It took me some time to take the plunge into maternity wear.  I was holding on to my normal clothes past the point of being able to button them!  I have no idea why.  Maternity pants are 'da bomb! When can you purchase a pair of jeans online, in a brand you have never tried on before, and find that they fit perfectly?  When you are pregnant!  When can you buy the first pair of skinny jeans you try on?  When you are pregnant!  When can you eat a big meal and not feel like your pants are telling you, 'you shouldn't have done that.'  When you are pregnant!  Omigod.  I'm wearing these things to Thanksgiving dinner!  Using the bathroom?  Super easy....no buttons or zippers to mess around with.  Seriously, who invented the button and zipper?  All pants should be made like this.  I know, in a few months I will be so over the maternity wear, but for now, I'm enjoying it!  And please, let me know if I forget to zip my pants once I'm back into zippered jeans!

Recipe: Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!

For Christmas I received a subscription to Taste of Home Magazine.  I've always liked their recipes as they are usually quite easy and practical; and tasty too!  The latest triumph from the June/July issue was Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks.  This recipe happened to be one of the healthy options recipes.  I was skeptical.  It really couldn't be as good as the full fat version, could it?  Surprisingly, it came pretty damn close!  It was no KFC extra tasty crispy chicken, but it really was a tasty healthy substitute (Mike did not like the idea of removing the skins, but he was even surprised at how 'not healthy' it tasted).  It met my other recipe criteria as well; few ingredients and easy enough to make on a weeknight.  This recipe got points for not using any bowls for prepping too!  My only gripe about it is that you need to marinate the chicken for 8 hours or overnight.  That's not a big deal.  It just means that you have to plan ahead.  The dishwasher of the house (Mike) would also like to suggest that you line the baking sheet with foil for easier clean-up.

I'd like to note that the packages of drumsticks at the store came in five and twelve packs.  I purchased two five packs and was heavy handed when measuring the ingredients so as to have enough to coat ten pieces instead of eight. (I like recipes in which I can do this.  This is why I dislike baking.)  It didn't seem to alter the final product.

And without further ado......

Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 chicken drumsticks (4 ounces each), skin removed
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil-flavored cooking spray

Directions

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine yogurt, mustard and garlic. Add chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 425°. In another plastic bag, mix flour, paprika, baking powder, salt and pepper. Remove chicken from marinade and add, one piece at a time, to flour mixture; close bag and shake to coat. (You know you want to say, "My mom made Shake 'n Bake and I helped!" in a southern accent. Go ahead, say it.  I did.) Place on a wire rack over a baking sheet (lined with foil for easy clean-up); spritz with cooking spray. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Facts2 chicken drumsticks equals 227 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 81 mg cholesterol, 498 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 31 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 4 lean meat, 1/2 starch.

This recipe is:

Diabetic Friendly

Project 52: April, May, and the rest of the year - FAIL!

As you may have noticed, I have had nothing to show for the recent weeks of the Project 52 challenge I joined in January.  Even before that, my submissions were spotty and uninspired.  As it turns out, I've had other things to occupy my time this year.  Namely, planning for a baby that it due in September.   I'm actually surprised I had any submissions in the months of February and March.  I really don't remember much of that time period as I'm pretty sure I slept through 95% of it!  Thankfully, I'm sleeping the standard 8 hours per day now (okay, on the weekends it's more than that, but that's the norm for me...that I will soon not have the privilege of having), however, photography has been put on the back burner.  It's a shame.  I feel like I've opened up some free time with the scale back of my workouts each afternoon, but taking pictures during that time just hasn't occurred to me.  I'm sure once I have some new 'material' to photograph this fall I will have the camera out a lot more.

Stay tuned.  I plan on trying to keep with with this blog here and there.  In the past few weeks I've finally started cooking some new recipes again (no, there was no morning sickness or aversions to speak of; just plain laziness!) and I think tonight's dinner was a winner worthy of a blog post!

Review: BarkBox

This past year for Christmas we gifted Gilbert a subscription to BarkBox.  (Yes, we get gifts for our dog. Sometimes they are practical, sometimes they are not!)  What is a BarkBox you ask?  It's a box containing 4-6 dog goodies that gets delivered to your door once a month.  It's always a surprise but typically the box will contain some treats/bones, a toy, and a hygiene type product.  A card is included to tell you more about the products and the companies that make them.  Most often, these items are not found in pet stores and are more of a specialty item that is only sold online.  Boxes are set up for small, medium, or large dogs (small and cute, just right, and big and bold are their terms) .  So, if you have a great dane you aren't getting a bone meant for a Yorkie.  You can purchase subscriptions in one month, three month, and six month  increments; getting the best deal by purchasing six months.  We started out with a 3 month subscription for $23/month (which includes shipping) and figured we would cancel if we (or Gilbert) didn't like it.  

Personally, I enjoy it!  I like knowing that we get a treat replenishment each month!  It's also an opportunity to see what new products are out there.  Some of the products might not be worth purchasing to us, but you never know if you will find something that you love.  For instance, I really liked the Oatmeal Shampoo that came in December's box.  If I wanted to I could visit the company's website or even Bark Box's store and purchase a full size bottle. I liked the subscription enough that I did not cancel (my one complaint...the subscription automatically renews) and Gilbert is getting another three months. I'm pretty sure Gilbert likes it. He sniffs the treats and then takes the toy and runs while I check out the hygiene product!  I recently brought in a similar sized box from Amazon and I'm pretty sure Gilbert thought it was his Bark Box.  He ran into the house and patiently waited as I opened it. Only to be disappointed that it was not for him!

So, if you are in the market to spoil your dog, try out BarkBox.  It's just as much fun for humans as it is for their best friends!  'Like' BarkBox on Facebook and you can get coupon codes for new subscriptions.  

December - Treats, red velvet dog cake mix, oatmeal shampoo, toy

January - treats, treats, spiral bully stick, moist wipes, toy

What's in here?

February - treats, treats, treats, dental chew ring, toy

March - treats, treats, bionic bone, poop bag holder, toy

Ooooh, a stuffed bone!

Don't touch it.  It's mine!

April - Duck treats, liquid vitamin water dish supplement, grooming mitts,
bone stuffed with something dogs love, and a rope toy.

The newest paper used to package all the goodies.

Project 52: March

My lack of motivation continued into March.  The weekly assignments were beginning to feel like work and like I was forcing a photo to fit with the theme.  So, I told myself if that weeks photo didn't come to me during the week I wasn't going to force.  Therefore, I missed two weeks!  Oh well, I just don't care.  It's looking like a similar scenario this month, but I'm really hoping the weather improves so I can get outside!

 

10/52 Sunlight

 

Sunlight was hard to find.  Here it is shining off of an icicle.

 

 

 

 

11/52 Wildcard

 

This was easy!  Here's a lime growing on my lime tree.

 

 

And, that's all folks!  See you next month!

Project 52 - February

If I would take a look back at the photos I’ve taken over the past four years I would probably notice that the least number of them were taken during the winter months.  My guess is that February is the slowest.  It is the shortest month of the year afterall.  It’s also by this time that I am DONE with winter and the short daylight period.   I’ve grown tired of my usual indoor shots.  There just isn’t much going on!

This February is no exception.  Beyond a few photos of how finishing the basement is coming along and my project 52 challenge I have rarely picked up my camera.  If it wasn’t for project 52 I think my camera would have sat unused for a few weeks.  The worst part?  I can barely get myself to take photos for project 52.  I’m so uninspired and just not into it.  For the last few weeks I’ve pulled something out of my arse at the end of the week, just so I could submit something!  I’m hoping with the coming of spring I get my motivation and creativity back.  This funk is not just affecting my photography….my house isn’t nearly as clean as it usually is!

Without further ado, here are the submissions I pulled out of my arse this month:

6/52 Light

I didn’t know what I was going to do for this one.  Light is hard to come by these days.  Luckily it snowed late in the week and I was able to get out during the day on Saturday to get these icicles.  I was running in and out of the house when I noticed the sun actually make an appearance!

 

7/52 Composed

This one was a total reach.  I just happened to notice the reflection of the outside trees in my glass coffee table and figured I’d try to do something with that since I had no other ideas.

8/52 Inspiration

Yeah, didn’t have any of that this month!  On Sunday I decided to buy some flowers at the grocery store.  I always love to take pictures of flowers and thought that would be good inspiration.  Well, I neglected to refill the water in the vase and they died before they bloomed.  That is so uncharacteristic of me!  On Saturday, I remembered this flowering plant in the kitchen and decided to use that instead.  I brought it to the deck door, the only place we get light inside the house (and only between 11am and 1pm).  Gilbert was laying there sunning himself and I didn’t want to kick him out so I used both him and the flowers as my subjects.

9/52 White

It’s funny.  For a whole week I had no idea what to do for ‘white’.  I guess I’m so sick of snow that it didn’t even occur to me that snow is not only a Wisconsin winter staple that I hate, but it’s white!  On Thursday or Friday I noticed these huge icicles forming on the gutter from the bathroom window.  Though a reminder of how cold it is outside, they were something different to look at as I blow dried my hair!

I really hope that I won't be whining about my lack of inspiration to my readers next month!

Project 52 - January

I started a new project 52 this year and so far am liking the set-up.  The themes have been interesting and challenging.  I feel like there are a million more participants in this challenge compared to the last one.  Talented participants at that!  Even though they feature over 25 photos as 'eye candy' each week I have a feeling being featured is a hard task to accomplish.  But, we will see.  With more participants I have noticed more participation and comments on the Flickr site which is nice.  We'll see how long that lasts.  I've already become a slacker myself!

Here were my January submissions:

1/52

Time

This is my time to wake up each morning.  Not bad considering I'm AT work at 6:30am. 

I decided to challenge my low light shooting this week as well.

2/52

Fresh

A fresh pair of new running shoes to begin the year.

3/52

Pieces of Me

My purple painted toes describe a few things about me.  Purpletoes, with the addition of my maiden name, was my very first e-mail address.  All the forms of my name were taken so I had to think of something fun.  That's when I looked down and noticed my purple painted toenails.  That e-mail address led to purpletoes becoming my moniker for many websites.  Somehow, using this name still gives me a connection to my maiden name.  Also, one of my biggest pet peeves is unnpainted toenails!  I'm not really a fan of other peoples feet.  Hopefully mine don't gross too many people out!

4/52

My Daily Routine

Though not always daily, I typically take Gilbert for a walk every afternoon when I get home from work. He was not too happy after this photo session when he realized I had his leash out for nothing!  I like how his one white toe made an appearance in the picture too.