Where have I been and what have I been doing you may (or may not?) be asking? Well, I've been:

• winterizing the yard
• going to a little place I like to call...work. ew.
• hanging out with my favorite little people
• talking on the phone with the school counselor. ugh. She's really sweet though.
• going on hot dates with a handsome 8 (almost 9!) year old
• sharing a small pumpkin pie blizzard with my date
• feeling extremely guilty about that pumpkin pie blizzard afterwards
• experiencing an awkward ultrasound appointment with a hot ultrasound guy, complete with jazz music.
• living a (mostly) vegan lifestyle...just for fun
• eating mashed sweet potatoes. Oh, yum.
• making plans for Cole's upcoming birthday. 9 already? sniff.
• enjoying a night out with friends
• picking on Amanda. poor girl. She deserves better.
• cracking up at my husband's talented dance moves at the nightclub
• trying out new recipes
• discovering tofutti sour cream. who knew?
• worrying about my mom
• trying to figure out 3rd grade math. Really, I thought I was smarter than this.
• making lists of all the crap that needs to be done around the house. paint, paint, paint!
• taking Gracie to get her hair cut. SO cute!
• thinking about Kelly and Brian, they're getting married next week!
• forgetting to return a "crucial" piece of paper to school so my kids could get a tiny rubber duck. Please.
• making smoothies for my co-workers. Cause I'm the nurturing type.
• sewing patches galore
• longing to get back to the gym, missing yoga and the elliptical.
• counting down the days (16!) until my trip to Virginia to see the newlyweds. Love them so much.

That about sums it up for the past week or so! Aren't I soooooo exciting? You're jealous.

This girl rocks!

Today, Gracie went with her Daddy and brother to Trailblazer Days at Camp Cowles on Diamond lake. Look who caught the biggest fish of the day, on a little pink Barbie fishing pole!!

I know, I know, this girl is amazing.

Creamy corn chowder

I threw this in the slow cooker this morning for us to enjoy for dinner tonight. It was fantastic!! It is vegetarian/vegan friendly and so tasty!

Creamy Corn Chowder
*taken from "125 best vegetarian slow cooker recipes" by Judith Finlayson

1 tbsp vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
2 onions, finely chopped (*I used one onion, and one leek. I used the white part of the leek and sliced it thinly)
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves or poultry seasoning (*I used thyme)
1 tsp salt (*I used unrefined sea salt)
1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock (*I used 4 cups)
2 large potatoes, peeled and grated
2 cans cream-style corn
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped (*I used a red pepper)
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped, optional (I omitted it)
1/2 tsp ground cumin

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, leek, celery and carrots to pan and cook, stirring, for 7 minutes, until softened. Add thyme, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add stock and bring to a boil. Transfer mixture to slow cooker. Stir in potatoes.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours, until vegetables are tender. Add corn, pepper, jalapeno, if using, and cumin. Stir well. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Tired

Friends, I am worn out. Pooped. Exhausted. I just came off an 8 day work stretch preparing for inventory. All went well but I am SO glad its over. Now I just have to figure out how to catch up on everything else at home!

On a completely seperate and unrelated note...I tried these tonight:

YUM. YUM. YUM. No, it doesn't taste as good as "real" ice cream, but I'm willing to sacrifice for my health. Try them!

Ravioli

Tonight I made this spinach florentine ravioli for dinner for Gracie and I (Cole refuses to touch any form of pasta).

I made a marinara sauce, doctored up with garlic, onion, chunks of tomatoes, and lots of marsala and mushrooms.

It. was. fantastic. Soooo good! The ravioli is vegan, and you would never know the difference in taste. It's made with soy ricotta. I saved a few bites for Paco to try but made him some regular ravioli on the side. Turns out he preferred the rising moon ravioli over the other stuff! SWEET!

I also checked this book out from the library...

WOW. Fantastic book and I'm not even through the first chapter!!

Veganism

Last week my sister mentioned that she was going to try out a vegan lifestyle. She has been a vegetarian for several years, and even inspired me to go vegetarian myself nearly a year ago. I must admit, I feel so much better. However, I have always been skeptical about veganism...mainly because it seems so "over-the-top", and a whole heck of alot of work.

While doing some research, I came across this website, which lists 57 health benefits of going to a vegan lifestyle.  I HIGHLY recommend checking it out...what an eye opener! So, I decided to try a couple days myself and see what I thought. The first two days were so easy that I'm going for a week! I don't know that I will make a permanent switch, but could easily do it 3 days a week or so long term. To be honest, I am doing it solely for health reasons. I am also concerned about all the junk that my kids eat, and am really trying to limit the "garbage" that goes into their bodies. I've found that they like most of the healthier foods that I buy, and if I can get them headed in the right direction now, then healthy eating will be a habit for them later in life!!

 This list has been extremely helpful....I always thought it would be so hard to find things to eat that were dairy and "animal free". Here are few things I've tried over the past few days:

Good stuff....certainly doesn't taste as good as butter but a whole heck of a lot better for your heart!

I liked the wholesoy & co yogurt. My friend Amanda tried a bite of it and hated it. It does leave a bit of "beany" aftertaste, but that didn't really bother me. Last night I used the vanilla in a smoothie and couldn't tell a difference from regular yogurt...neither of my kids noticed either!

I was surprised by the Vegenaise. I had a veggie sandwich for dinner last night and used a bit of this in lieu of miracle whip light that I ususally use. Tasted great! I could easily slip this by my husband and kids without them noticing.

The Yves veggie dogs are pretty good....as long as you have them with ketchup, mustard and relish! I don't care for the taste of them plain...but I wouldn't usually eat a plain hot dog anyway.

So far, so good! I went to Huckleberry's last night and found alot of really yummy looking new stuff to try out.....I'll keep you posted on how it goes!!