My Motivation

I was talking with my cousin, Kari, the other day and telling her about what has helped to keep me on track as far as my health goals.  I haven't told many people about this but I have a big goal that is helping drive my behavior.  Travel.  I'm not talking about just our normal family vacations but rather a dream I have to take a 2-month backpacking trip. The trip destinations are still to be determined although I have some places in mind.  My goal would be to sustain out of a single backpack for the duration of the trip.  I would also write about the experience and live as a virtual/digital nomad.  This is something I've been thinking about for awhile and realized that the way I was living was going to prevent me from ever doing that among other things. And I certainly don't want to go out in life having never experienced the rest of the world.  Sure, I could continue to vacation as I currently am but some of the places I want to go aren't places with all the modern amenities.  I want to experience cultures more authentically and I know backpacking would be a great way to do this.  I also believe that to write about the world, you have to experience the world. I've found that through new worldly experiences, I have a better understanding of myself and where I fit in this world.  The day to day that we get caught up in seems so insignificant when you view it from a broader view of the world.  I have a better sense of self-awareness and overall a better sense of peace.  She joked in our conversation that I was going to "Eat, Pray, Love." While it was a joke, it was true in spirit.  I do love that book/movie because of the self-discovery journey that these locations led Elizabeth Gilbert on. There aren't many things in life that have been able to motivate me like this has and continues to each day.  I look forward to the day that I can make this a reality and report back on it.

Sleepover!

The girls had a sleepover with their cousin Friday evening.  Pizza, monster cookies, and Star Wars!

Elizavecca Korean Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask

Last week I saw a youtube video where someone was doing a bubble mask.  I had never heard of such a thing so I went onto Amazon and sure enough, it was for sale there.

The directions for the mask are in Korean so I had to refer to the video for instructions.  You take the spatula to spread it across your face and then wait for the bubbles to appear.  My girls had a blast doing this and loved seeing how puffy their faces grew.

** Nevermind the messy bed and the husband and dog lounging in the background...

After the mask has bubbled then it is ready to be rubbed in.  Rub in the bubbles until the mask is solid and then let it sit until it dries.  I'm not quite sure what the mask is good for (brightening, oily, etc.) but it made our faces feel nice and soft.  If you are interested in picking up some for yourself, you can do so at the link below.

Eggs

Eggs are great keto food, actually they are kind of a mega-food for keto.  Some people actually do egg fasts. I have come up with a lot of ways to eat eggs.  Lucky for me, I've always been a big egg eater.  Here are my favorite ways to make them.

Hard-boiled - Yes, just easy to take on the run and a great snack.  I like to sprinkle them with S&P or dip them in melted kerrygold butter.  Sound weird, try it.

Deviled Eggs - Take your hard boiled eggs cut them in half.  Mix up the yolks, mayo, mustard, and any other spices or veggies to your liking.  Siracha is good. Stuff filling back into eggs. 

Egg Salad - I make a lazy version of this where I just mash up an egg with some mayo, mustard, and diced onion and call it good.

Scrambles - I like scrambling eggs up with sausage or ham, onion, green pepper or any other low carb veggie I have on hand.

Omelets - One of my favorites.  I love cheese so an omelet is really just another avenue to eat more cheese.  I like to add pepper jack cheese, green chili, and some diced bacon to mine.  To top it off I add some Herdez green chili salsa or guacamole salsa.  So so good.

Egg cups - Using a muffin tin, line them with lunch meat of choice.  Break open an egg into each tin on top of the lunch meat. Add some cheese and veggies if desired.  Bake until the eggs have set (unless you like them runny).

Breakfast burritos - Take a scramble from above and stuff it in a low carb tortilla with some sour cream, cheese, and salsa.

Shakshukra - Really good and really simple.  In an oven safe skillet cook up some onion and green pepper till soft. Add some garlic. Add some spices: cumin, paprika, and cayenne to your liking.  Add a can of tomatoes (coarsely chopped) to the skillet and simmer until begins to thicken.  Season with S&P.  Now this part is optional - add some cheese of your choice.  Mozzarella, Feta, Monterrey Jack are good.  Stir in cheese.  Crack open eggs on top of mixture.  Move skillet to the oven and bake 7 minutes or so until eggs are set.  Top with cilantro or hot sauce if you'd like.

Another Keto Meal 1/24/16

A regular meal that I love is a flavored pork loin with roasted brussell sprouts.  This week it was mesquite pork loin and garlic bacon roasted brussell sprouts topped with a little kerrygold butter.  So good.  And yes, I use every opportunity to use up party plates... these are from Christmas.

40 Bags Declutter Update 2

This last week was really productive as far as the declutter goes.  I went through jewelry, my husband's closet, the two bedroom dressers, the master bath vanity drawer, and two linen closets upstairs.  I didn't think to take before pictures but I did get some after ones.



Vanity - these trays were purchased at Target really helped to get this drawer organized.

Girl's Linen Closet - these baskets were purchased at Target.  Before the door barely shut on the closet and stuff was piled to the ceiling.  Now each girl has their own basket with change of sheets. I tossed a lot from this closet that will never be used again.  Bye Bye Hannah Montana sheets!

Family Linen Closet - This one was pretty bad too.  Barely any room to add stuff.  All of the towels were in the wash so once they are put away, the closet will still be fairly full. I still need to get one more smaller basket for the dust rags on the second shelf.  I have some afghans made by family members that I have to admit, aren't my favorite, but I can't bear to part with them either.  I ended up throwing out a semi-broken humidifier and thought it would be easy to replace.  I went to Target and Walgreens today and wasn't impressed with the selection. And now my husband is sick with a cold... figures.

Husband's Closet - He wasn't thrilled to participate but now everything that is left actually fits.  He has lost quite a bit this last couple of  years so we had a good amount of weeding out to do.

Items added to the donate pile - 2 garbage bags full
Items listed and sold on Ebay - 14 + Relists. Amount made: $360 (not bad!)
Goals for next week - Upstairs bathrooms, put away Christmas décor ( I know, I know...)

Go-to Snack

On Keto, I snack on a lot of meat and cheese.  In particular, I like shelf stable stuff I can take and keep with me in a pinch.  The Old Wisconsin Beef & Jalapeno Cheese Smoke Stacks are my favorite.  I love spicy cheese. Sometimes I'll just have these as a meal when I'm not too hungry. I pick these up at Walgreens but I assume they have them at convenience stores as well.  I also found them on Amazon where you can order a case.  I may just do this going forward to save myself some $$.