Well, I definitely enjoyed that little blog hiatus, but I suppose its time to get back to it. After all, If I have to go back to work, I might as well get back to writing too. :)

I hope you all had fantastic holidays, and are getting in to the swing of a new year.

5/365: blogging with tinni

In keeping with the blog-o-sphere’s obsession with the new year, I guess I should drop my two cents in and say that I don’t “DO” resolutions. Last year, I went so far as to call them “anti-resolutions”… I’m good with goals though… that is a good thing, I think.

I certainly don’t like the pressure of listing all I will accomplish for the year at one time, my goals and desires (not to mention interests) change with the seasons, and I don’t want to box myself in, or set myself up for disappointment should I change my mind.

However, I’ve thought of some things that I’m totally committed to doing, and other things that might be cool, if I still feel like it when the time comes. :D

in 2010, I’m committed to making these things happen…

  • I will STOP defining myself and measuring myself by the opinions of others (perhaps the greatest flaw in my character)
  • I will be a loving, attentive, and passionate wife
  • I will sing in a public and professional setting (aka, NOT bloody karaoke-though I love it)
  • I will be cast in a stage production (make me a chorus girl, I don’t care)
  • I will dig deep into my yoga practice, because it brings deep and abounding joy and peace to my life
  • I will finish a half marathon (if my plantar fasciitis will ease up, and I can run it, that would be great)
  • I will find beauty in myself, and stop being so critical when I look in the mirror
  • I will maintain my healthy weight, and continue to be active and eat right.
  • I never want my weight to TOUCH 150 again. I weigh 144 right now, and have weighed 143~145 since October. Lower would be cool though.

in 2010, I’d be stoked if these things came to pass, but I won’t get my panties in a bunch if they don’t…

  • I’d like to blog 5 times a week
  • I’d like to try a sprint distance triathlon
  • I’d like to cut back on some of the crap I still eat (I’m a sucker for wine and cookies)
  • I’d like to run a race in a place away from home
  • I’d like to see the ocean again
  • I’d like to get cast as a featured role in a stage production (I don’t mind if it’s small, but I’d love if my character had a name that I didn’t just make up… aka, villager #3)

I suppose that is it… :) You guys are awesome.

Have a happy Wednesday.

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Hey lovelies!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last update, and for that I do NOT apologize. :)

The holidays always manage to make me feel stressed, and blogging has to go to the back burner when I need to focus on friends, family, travel, and last but not least… myself. :)

Thought I’d give a quick update about our Holidays!

On Thursday, we got up bright and early, to drive to east texas, where my dad’s side of the family lives (Dad and Step Mom extrordinarre live in Tennessee). We picked up my little brother on the way, and made the journey to the east. It was awesome, we had a big breakfast and exchanged gifts including this beauty… Trust me, it is a long story… :)
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It was so great to see my daddy…
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We were watching the storm pass over our home, in DFW on the weather channel, and knew that we needed to get on the road if we wanted to get home safely.

We set off and got SO close, but just north of Frisco, they started closing off roads and people were sliding off everywhere because of the ice. We decided to detour to my grandparents house to get out of the “blizzard-like” conditions. We waited out the storm, but decided that we would try again to get home, as we had some plans for christmas morning, and wanted to get to our own beds.

Another hour + on the road, and eventually, we got home safe and sound.

We woke up on christmas morning, and I felt very jolly. I made some cinnamon/egg nog waffles for my hubby and brother… (don’t forget that your waffle iron needs non stick spray, or your first waffle could look like this:

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Once I remembered that little nugget, my boys were happy. :D

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We opened the few presents under the tree (as most were exchanged at other times and places) and I watched the parade and stared out my windows into our snow covered yard. :)
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After breakfast, I got to have a christmas chat with my lola! The whole family was there, and she got to meet my brother clint, so it was pretty special for me. :)

Later that afternoon, we took my bro out to my grams house, where we had a DELISH dinner, and opened more presents. Grams and my great grandmother, aptly called “grandmother” made pies and potatoes, stuffing, and fruit salad. Yum.

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I was sooooo glad to see my mom… isn’t she beautiful?
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That is my holiday wrap up, I hope yours was just as enjoyable. :D

Cheers,
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Wowza!

I made this for thanksgiving, and it is a culmination of looking at several different recipes and styles, and adding flavors that I wanted. Very easy… (unless you let it boil over because you always forget how hot your stove is – but whatever)

This is the BEST, most delicious, quick, easy, tasty, unique cranberry sauces I’ve ever had, and I’ve been known to polish off a can around cinco de mayo…

I could kick myself for not taking a photo of mine, but it was beautiful. :D

Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce with Vanilla and Marmalade

Ingredients:

  • 1 12 oz jar (1 1/2 c )of orange marmalade
  • 2/3 c of orange juice
  • 1 cinnamon stick (or two, it doesn’t matter)
  • 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over for weirdos
  • 1 tbs of vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon

 

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium sauce pan over medium heat to melt. Bring to an easy boil. Add cranberries and return to boil. Reduce heat (really reduce it unless you want to scrape caramelized marmalade off of your stovetop) and cover, stirring regularly. Berries will begin to burst within 8 minutes or so. Add vanilla extract. Continue cooking until it has thickened to desired consistency, which should be no more than 5 more minutes. Remove and add ground cinnamon. Stir to combine and allow to cool in the pan before transferring to another container and moving it to the refrigerator to fully chill.

Nutrition Facts

Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce with Vanilla and Marmalade

12 Servings

Amount Per Serving

  Calories -119.0

  Total Fat -0.1 g

 Cholesterol -0.0 mg

Sodium -23.2 mg

Total Carbohydrate- 31.1 g

Protein -0.3 g

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Hey gang…

I hope you all had an amazing thanksgiving (if you’re in America!) ;) And I hope you’re making the most of this holiday season. :)

I was supposed to be “off” for thanksgiving break, but as could be expected, vacation was spent being super busy, and bustling about in a holiday stupor. My MIL came in town on Wednesday and I’ve been go, go, go, ever since!

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On Thursday, we went to my Grams house for thanksgiving dinner, which was absolutely delish. I had been looking forward to having a holiday meal in moderation, which I managed to do pretty well… (I enjoyed some turkey, potatoes, yams, green beans, cranberry sauce-which I lovingly prepared, and fruit salad) but I have to confess… that is when things went a little wrong.

Somehow, with company staying at our house, I went a little food crazy… and for pretty much every meal except thanksgiving dinner, I overate, and threw all caution to the wind. I haven’t eaten this badly in a LONG, LONG time. I might even say that I was binging for the past few days, and it has been a LONG time since my emotional eating was this out of control.

In the interest of full disclosure, lemme tell you about my crazy eats this week. :-/

  • Wed. Dinner- Fuddruckers turkey burger with fries
  • Thurs. Lunch- Thanksgiving food… and pie.
  • Fri. Lunch- Urban Crust pizza with my mom (a fire baked pizza with chicken, mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, caramelized onions, and truffle oil)
  • Fri. Dinner-Thai food including a thai tea, spring roll, lettuce wrap, and a coconut milk/chicken/yellow curry dish FOLLOWED by a spot of frozen yogurt @ yogurt story.
  • Sat. Lunch- Chicken enchiladas (no cheese) and tomatillo sauce from Blue Goose Cantina
  • Sat. Dinner- Chicken Express Chicken strips bonanza and a barrel of authentic southern sweet tea
  • Sun. Lunch- A piece of fried fish and mac and cheese from a crappy fast food sea food place…

To top it all off, I didn’t lift ONE finger or foot, as I’d planned in an effort to counter those calories…

THIS was when I finally went, WOA. STOP.

as american as...

I have to say, friends, that I definitely buckled under some of the stresses and emotions that crop up during the holiday season.

I felt overwhelmed, tired, stressed, and alone… even while surrounded by my wonderful family and friends

Have you ever had a tumble off the proverbial wagon, that made you think you couldn’t get back on?

I’m so glad that I’ve learned a few things over the past year. Things that make me encouraged, and not defeated.

1. I am not the product of one bad decision.

2. It is NEVER too late, or too hard, or not worth it to make one tiny little choice that puts you back on track. (I’m reminded every time I look at my wrist)

3. I have to be kind to myself. So, I made some poor choices, and I gave into some negative thoughts and feelings… but I can DO ANYTHING… I have to love myself, and support my self through the tough times too.

It is easy to love yourself and feel good when you’re doing everything right. It’s a lot tougher to love yourself, when you feel like you’re your own greatest obstacle.

I’m feeling a lot better, and have made a couple of committments to help me stay on track for the last month of the Holiday Challenge!

To start things off, I registered tonight for something special…

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What better way to reclaim the promises I’ve made to myself than by starting training this week!! I’ve been looking forward to training for a couple of weeks, and I’m so excited that it starts this week! This should be awesome (and hard) but really rewarding.

Also, I’m going to count calories via Lose It! again for a while… (this is the iphone app which has recently launched a website too!)

(If you’re on loseit! add me as a friend! The email address that I use there is kelseytoney @ gmail.com)

Anyway, I think this blog post was long enough. :) I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. :D

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Okay, I think this is the coolest one YET!

Hopefully, you’ve seen the super duper giveaways 1 and 2, 50 Holiday cards and an 18×24 poster print!

You could print an landscape image from vacation:

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(My image from Sedona, Arizona 2008)

Or a botanical that you love for your bathroom:

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(My image from Madrid, Spain 2009)

Here is the scoop!!

Prize Offered: (1) 16×20 rolled canvas
Shipping: Free UPS Ground within United States
Eligibility: Limited to US Residents due to shipping costs.

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Artist Canvas
UPrinting.com
UPrinting.com Reviews

I can not wait to get my free blogger appreciation canvas, because I’ve been dying get this print from Paris up in my girlie, paris themed powder bathroom! How romantic, right?

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Ready to enter! Here is how!

You can get up to 3 entries for this giveaway!

Method one (Required): Leave a comment on this post stating what you would have printed on beautiful canvas!

Method two (optional):

  • Tweet about the giveaway (@kelsnotchels is giving away a canvas print from @uprinting ! Check it out: www.kelseytoney.com) or something to that effect,
  • link to the giveaway on your facebook status,
  • link to the giveaway on your blog

Then comment here and tell me you’ve done it (include a link if possible)

Method three (optional): Subscribe to KelseyToney.com!!

  • via RSS like in google reader, or
  • via email using the box on the sidebar of this site, and/or
  • add Kelseytoney.com to your sidebar/blogroll

The winner will be selected on Next Sunday, the 15th!

It’s free stuff! Please help my first giveaway become a success. And don’t forget, I have 2 other giveaways that have been posted this weekend! You can enter all 3!

Thanks guys! :D

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