Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Here I go again with another  "Mug" recipe. Obviously the tooth I had pulled a week ago was not my sweet tooth.

I'm gonna make this short and sweet (no pun intended).

I was looking for a single serve recipe. Something that included ingredients that I could find in my pantry. Something simple and sort of healthy. Well, I found this recipe for Peanut butter cake that included just a couple tablespoons of this and a tablespoon of that. This recipe does not include any flour so I thought it would be healthy and figured I'd give it a try. I'm such a sucker.

I was a little skeptical about it but I gave it a shot anyway. With 13 grams of Protein, this would be a perfect snack for, say... a body builder, maybe. This cake is not for the one on a diet. I learned this AFTER I ate it all. This tiny cup of cake has a whopping 308 calories! Oh but how did it taste? It was rather delicious with the texture of a muffin. It was not too sweet but had just enough sweetness to satisfy my craving. I ended up adding some whip topping but it was just as good without it. 

Peanut Butter Mug Cake

In a large Mug or Bowl
Mix the following ingredients until smooth (It will have a caramel texture and color).

• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
• 1 pinch of Baking Soda

Microwave for One Minute- Allow to cool for a minute.
Enjoy

Original Recipe

Valentine Crochet

Valentines Day is near. This is one of my favorite days.

After Valentines Day, I start getting ready for spring. I begin my tanning sessions and begin my Easter shopping along with spring cleaning and decorating.

With love in the air, It put me in the mood to crochet some valentiney things. I created these coffee mug cozies. The were all experimental patterns that turned out quite well if I must say so myself.
The white one is my favorite. I somehow come up with a stitch of my own and added a free hand embroidered heart to the side. This created a nice thick, tight weaved piece of fiber art. 

I put them in my shop in hopes to make a little extra cash (health insurance is not cheap now days). They are perfect to decorate your mug or give as a gift. If they do not sell, I may just do that myself. I can stuff some goodies in a mug, wrap it in love and share it.

I went to the dollar store the other day, you know, those stores where everything is only a dollar. Well, not so much at this one. I found some greeting cards and candy. Then I grabbed some lovely items to decorate my mantle for Valentines Day that included a wood sculpture and some heart shaped garland. Upon arriving at the register I heard the cashier tell another customer that some of the Valentine items cost more and you will have to spend at least ten dollars to get them for one dollar. 

Uh??? No.

Now you know your poor when you start putting things back at the dollar store!!!! I told my husband to just put the garland and things back. I can make my own.

and that's exactly what I did.

My hand crocheted garland is a lot nicer than the plastic/paper ones at the dollar store and knowing I made it myself makes it more special to me. I found this cute heart pattern online and got to work.

I used my lighted crochet hook not to disturb my Husbands comfort of the dim lighted room while watching TV. (cool huh), It took me about an hour to create ten little hearts and string them together.

Using some steam from my iron, I flatten them out a bit and hung them on the mantel. I will now add some matching candles and other lovely items to make that sweet Valentine look I intended.

Now on to some valentine foodie ideas.

Snow Day

We had some snow today mixed with a lot of sleet and freezing rain. That's par here in North Carolina. Rarely do we see just snow. Also around here, when we see a few flakes the cameras come out and everyone has to announce "Its snowing" with pictures as proof. When we get the first sign there might be snow, all the schools and businesses close down. Crazy isn't it? I bet you Northerners think we are hilarious at this point.

I work with a small business that is run from fleet vehicles and we do not attempt to put them on the road when its bad. Its got to be pretty bad thought. We service everywhere from Lancaster SC to Boone and Asheville NC and everywhere in between.

Let me start with saying I do not get up even on a work day until 7:00 or 7:30. Pretty much depends when the sun comes through the window. Well, I get a text this morning at 5:00! It was one of our managers. "Don't bother coming in today, we will not be working therefore we are not opening the office. Sleep in". Um...Its 5:00 in the morning!!! Its snowing outside and the sleet is slapping the bedroom window. I hardly think I can "sleep in".  My husband is sound asleep. I managed to doze off a while longer until my fitbit vibrated to let me know its time to wake up. Im up!

This is really nice. Its so peaceful outside as the world around me has turned white. The snow is falling and the trees are doing all they can to hold the weight of the snow and ice covered limbs. It has done this all day long. I was able to enjoy my coffee and breakfast without rushing to work. It was too cold and the sleet was to hard to take a walk. Me and my husband actually walked laps inside the house. Yep, circles around the living room, through the den and back around. We did this for an hour. That equaled 3 miles for me. It was better than a treadmill and funnier too. My husband walks five miles every morning around the neighborhood, but not today.

I was able to catch up on some house work.[ husband inserts laugh here]. I crafted a little, crocheted some and wrote this post. I did attempt to go outside a while. Its not as fun since my daughter has moved out. She is lucky to get to work from her home today and will stay in until the roads let up which will probably not be until Sunday. Anyway, I layered some clothes and ventured into the yard. Man was it cold. 28 degrees cold with the sleet stinging my face as I tried to take a few photos.

Looks like the dogwood buds were fooled by the recent warmer temperatures.

Big bird, little squirrel. Squirrel wins.

This little fella let me walk right up to him for his photo shoot.

Later I enjoyed some fresh soup my husband made. It was an experiment. It got two thumbs up as it was full of flavor and loaded with healthy greens. 

We named it SOS soup. Because it consist of mostly Squash, Onion and Spinach. No relation to the SOS you put over toast or rice. [wink]. Other ingredients include, zucchini, vegetable broth and a pinch of garlic. This recipe is healthy, bursting in flavor and very low calories. One cup only has approximately 50 calories.

Hopefully tomorrow will be another great day and keeping our fingers crossed we don't loose power.
Maybe we can even do a real walk around the neighborhood.

That Dreaded Visit

That dreaded visit to the Dentist"

I'm writing this post in a series of two days. Hoping it may help me cope with my anxiety. I'm a big baby when it comes to dentistry. I am so afraid to go even though they have never hurt me besides that two foot long needle they use for numbing. Believe it or not I do have a big pain tolerance. I just don't know what it is about the Dentist. I'm embarrassed to admit, my teeth are not in really good shape due to this phobia, not to mention the lack of money and no dental insurance. Even as a child, we never went to the dentist unless we were in pain. But with four kids, I can see how my parents could have never afforded preventive care. However, with my own daughter, I kept her checkups up to date until she turned..., well, until she moved out on her own.

Day One: After several weeks of an agonizing tooth ache. I finally put on my big girl pants and called the dentist. I'll admit, I was hoping the nerve would just die. Well, it didn't and the tooth wins once again. I made an appointment for tomorrow to have it extracted. Yes yanked out because I refuse to get a root canal that I cant afford and besides, the tooth that hurts has already been filled like twice.
As soon as I put the phone down, my heart started racing and the anxiety started. About 30 minutes later the dentist assistant calls, "Lisa? we are going to call you in a prescription for a nerve pill to take one hour before you come". Bingo! Now not only will I be scared, I'll also be a noodle so I can't fight back. Speaking of fighting back, I have been known to get to the chair, then sneak out when the Dentist left the room. Really. So now, my husband takes me and makes sure all the doors and windows are barricaded. ha. I know, I sound ridiculous, huh. Well sorry, but I'm really that afraid of the dentist. I'd rather give birth.

Day Two: I've worked half the day and now I've taken a Valium and sitting patiently in the waiting room of the torture chamber (Id rather be working).  As I listen to drilling down the hallway, It sounds like a tire changing station. My heart is racing but i'm keeping my cool. I look tough but inside i'm wanting my mommy.
[Gulp!].  Here she comes....."Hi Lisa come on back".
I'm putting my phone away now and putting my life in the hands of a dentist...................................
....
Ok the phone is back out. I'm all numbed up and waiting. The sign on the wall says "turn off cell phones". Well, I'm a blogger therefore there has to be pictures involved. so hears a quick shot of the place setting before he digs in.........

It still baffles me that with all the new technology now days, the Dentist still use drills and pliers.
....
45 minutes later, I'm done. It wasn't so bad. The numbing needle didn't even hurt this time. I think the ole dentist is getting better at it.  Of course, he tried to talk me into having it crowned but I said no and stuck to my plan to have it taken out. After he extracted the tooth he examined it and found two cracks. It even fell apart as he was showing it to me. I think my choice was the right one now. Even he admitted it would have been too weak for a crown.
Its later now and the numbness is gone. I have not had to take any pain medicine besides Tylenol, no bleeding and no swelling. Glad its all over with and can continue as normal.

I Did it! [again]

Its been two years since I completed my Phlebotomy Technician training and received my certificate. Phlebotomy is something I have always wanted to do. (dont ask).

Even though I have not used my skills since I left class, I did have a pretty good stick record. I think I was pretty good at it. Its something once you learn, you never forget. It just takes confidence. I use this knowledge as a back up plan. If my current job ever ends, I will have some sort of education under my belt. However, I would not mind finding some volunteer work now to keep me sharp. (no pun intended).

In my spare time, on the 2nd week of January, I went online and took 8 hours of continuing education classes to renew my certificate. A lot of the answers to the questions on the test came right to me. I remember how nervous I was about passing the first time. In the online classes I refreshed on the things I already knew plus I learned some new things that we never went over in the original class. I find every bit of  studies on this subject interesting. I have no trouble staying intrigued.

The online hours were over and I paid my dues. That was not so hard. It didn't hurt a bit and It didn't include any blood shed this time. 

Three days later I got the letter in the mail.....could it be?

Yes it was.

It was my letter of completion along with my new certificate card. Once again, I'm feeling proud of myself. It's good for another two years. Here's to my first goal achievement for 2016.

Will I ever get to practice my skillz? Time will tell.

Ivy Tree

We have only one tree in the yard. Its beautiful to me but my husband thinks its ugly. A tree company told us once that eventually the ivy will take over and kill the tree. Well its been over ten years and the Ivy took over but the tree is still there.

This is all Ivy !!!

When the leaves fall off in the Winter, all that's left behind is the bright green Ivy as if were perfectly placed, transforming the tree into a safe haven for the birds to play. I call it the Ivy tree. 

Looks like its adding a new type of Ivy this year.

Here is more Winter Ivy.

When Spring arrives, it will burst into blooms and transition into a the biggest most beautiful Dog Wood tree in the neighborhood, beautified with white crucifixion flowers. This tree offers a large shade we can resort to on the hot days of Summer.

The birds will rest still in the tangled thickness of the vines. As I look up through the branches, I can actually see their little eyeballs staring back at me. They think I cannot see them. My favorite birds are the turtle doves. They often march out onto the outer branches in pairs and cuddle as they enjoy the warmth of the sun together.

This is full bloom in the Summer

The only Ivy you will see in this tree during the summer are the vines hanging to the ground as if they want to swallow the yard. We keep those cut back because personally, I think they would. Ha. 

I love this tree because it houses many different species of birds and many squirrels. They sing songs and play. I keep them fed and enjoy watching them from my patio or kitchen Window.

We may have to cut the tree back this summer as it will probably reach to the patio and over our grill. 

So, sorry Miss Ivy tree, the patio is mine!

French Toast in a Mug [fail]

I have gotten into this frenzy lately about meals you can make in a mug. Single serve dishes you can whip up in a matter of minutes in your microwave. While most turn out great, sometimes they don't work out like they are suppose to.

Everyone post their pretty pictures of recipes that workout and look delicious and easy. But what about those recipes that just don't turn out right? Well I'm fixing to show you one ( I have had worst). 

I decided to make French toast in a mug. I did everything the recipe called for.

I cut up cubes and placed in a buttered remken (same as a mug). 

I poured in the egg and milk mixture and let the bread soak a minute.

I added a few blueberries for sweetness and stuck it in the microwave for a minute and a half.

It come out of the microwave looking wonderful. But then when I dumped it onto my plate , All I really saw was an egg with bread cubes in top. [fail]

Where did I go wrong? Maybe I should have used more bread?  Either way, I added a little sugar free syrup and ate it anyway. It was actually pretty good. I will give this recipe another shot adding more bread next time.