Orange Carrot Breakfast Lemonade

WELCOME SUMMER

(kind of almost)

This morning I was craving something a little more tart and light to match the sunshine spilling through our windows! However, I also need filling when it comes to breakfast lately, (going vegan has shot my metabolism THROUGH THE ROOF!) which meant adding a scoop of oatmeal to my smoothie to ensure some lasting density! Here's what I came up with and it was DELISH!

Orange Carrot Breakfast Lemonade
2 navel oranges
1 large lemon
1 large carrot
1/2  frozen very ripe banana
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1 cup Almond Milk
1 cup Purified Water
(I prefer it with 1/2 cup water so it's a little thicker,
but hubby says it's better with a full cup)

Makes enough for two large, full glasses. 

(Or one large and two small if you're prepping for little ones!)

After I already poured a glass for the hubbz. 

He was getting impatient.

I've made this exact recipe twice, and both times it's turned out quiet different.

NOTE

• Smoothie recipes will always vary a little. Different lemons have different levels of tartness, and bananas come in all stages of ripeness levels. If you like it tarter, try more lemon, if you like it sweeter, try more or a riper banana!
• Have you ever sat and snacked on a bag of baby carrots? Sometimes you get a really sweet carrot, and sometimes you get a bitter carrot! Keep things like that in mind when trying out a new recipe
• Whenever making a smoothie with oatmeal as one of the ingredients, don't take too long to drink it! Though blended, the oatmeal will still begin to absorb the surrounding liquid and the smoothie will become thicker the longer it stands.
• If you do not have a high power blender, steam and refrigerate ingredients that are tough like carrots for when you come across a recipe such as this!

I just love Health Benefit Info. and lemons are one of my favs!

• Great to help promote weight loss because lemon juice is a digestive aid
• liver cleanser
• Contain substances such as citric acid, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, pectin, and limonene that promote immunity and fight infection!

Warning: never eat lemons within a half hour after brushing your teeth, and never brush your teeth within half an hour after eating lemons. I would say an hour both ways to be safe! Keep in mind that lemons can be harmful to tooth enamel. Enjoying your highly citric beverages are best done so with a straw to help protect your teeth.

Read more about lemon benefits here!

Pucker Up, YUMM!!!

Vegan Lasagna

Happy Tuesday everyone! Yesterday, I made an AMAZING Vegan Lasagna and thought I would document it for my own records and give you all a chance to try it out! I wish I would have taken notes step by step and taken photos. I'll be sure to do that on my next big dish endeavor!

JACKIE'S VEGAN LASAGNA

This recipe makes one 9x13inch pan full with about 2.5 lasagna noodles left over. 

It produced 6 large servings and came out at about $3.00 per serving. 

It's not a super cheap dish, but oh boy is it delicious!

Ingredients
1 zuchini
1 yellow summer squash
Baby Spinach
1/2 Sweet Onion
2 medium size tomatoes (one the vine taste the best!)
1 25oz jar tomato sauce (I used Simple truth organic Mushroom Pasta Sauce)
8oz Daiya deliciously dairy free mozzarella style shreds
14oz Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style Veggie Protein
1 box 100% Whole Wheat Lasagna (13.25oz)
Parsley Flakes
Ground (Cayenne) Red Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for sauteing)

 Here are some photos of the ingredients you might need to see 

in order to recognize them in a grocery store!

First, fully immerse the Lasagna noodles to soak in cool to room temperature water.
You may leave these soaking while preparing other ingredients.
(I left mine soaking for about 45 minutes, 15 minutes recommended for nonwhole wheat pasta.)
Next, thinly slice Zucchini and yellow squash.
Saute in olive oil over medium heat, just to cook half way.
Put on a large plate and set aside.
Wipe out pan with a paper towel.
Cube both tomatoes to desired size.
Dice onion and about 1/4 cup spinach. Set aside to use as a topping garnish.
Open roll of Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Sausage and cook in your saute pan as if you were browning ground hamburger. Cook until lightly browned and separated/easy to crumble. It will be a little sticky and won't taste great plain. However, it's a PERFECT match for this lasagna applied in context!

Drain noodles and place on a large plate, gently. Dry out pan if you used it to soak your noodles.

TIME TO BUILD!

Cover the bottom of the pan in thin layer of tomato sauce.
(Careful! The 1 jar has to last you through the whole lasagna!)
Lay down your first layer of lasagna noodles.
Apply another very light coating of tomato sauce to keep the lasagna moist.
Go down each noodle, placing rows of randomly selected Zucchini and Yellow Squash slices.
Go over the top of the squash with rows of Baby Spinach Leaves.
(Apply as many as your family will let you get away with!)
Crumble 1/2 the sausage over the top, dispersing evenly.
1/4 of the Mozzarella Style Shreds Sprinkled evenly.

Cover with another layer of Lasagna Noodles.

Coating of Tomato Sauce.
Remaining Zucchini and Yellow Squash.
The rest of the Veggie Sausage.
Both diced tomatoes.
1/4 of the Mozzarella Style Shreds.

Cover with the last layer of Lasagna Noodles

Top with the remaining Tomato Sauce.
Sprinkle diced spinach.
Remainder of the Mozzarella Style Shreds (1/2 bag)
Sprinkle diced Sweet Onion.
Apply Parsley Flakes and Ground (Cayenne) Red Pepper to taste.

I prepared this in the morning, covered it and put it in the fridge for the noodles to soak up flavor and for the seasonings to really get a chance to intermingle. When I got home from work, I covered it with foil, poked some fork holes in the top, and popped it in the oven at 400 Degrees F for 50 minutes.

Buen Provecho!

Ode to Warren Buffett

Chocolate, Ice Cream, Houses, Train Rides, Diamonds, Comfy Underpants,
AND The Ability to Insure it all??!!

WHO COULD THIS MAN BE??!!

One of the topics Clynn and I LOVE to learn about and discuss is various inspirational people. We choose our role models wisely. We like to study how they attained where they are and discuss what made them stand out so clearly among their peers. With that, I am opening a new segment on my blog! Every month or so, I would like to highlight one of the many inspirational people Clynn and I often speak of.

Today, we are highlighting 

Warren Buffett!

Clynn adds, "Warren Buffet is widely accepted as the best investor EVER.  Becasue of his incredible skill he has been given the nickname "The Oracle of Omaha" (He is from Omaha). Warren is the largest share holder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated." This company owns See's Candies, Dairy Queen, deals in real estate, owns railroads, Helzberg Diamonds, Fruit of the Loom, GEICO, and MUCH MUCH MORE. I'll bet many of you didn't know all of those companies were connected under one big one, did you?! ;D

As a sophomore in high school, Warren and a friend of his pitched in to buy a used pinball machine. The machine was placed in a local barber shop. Less than a year later, they owned several pinball machines in various barber shops throughout their home town. Many additional stories regarding Warren Buffett can be found here. His journey began long before he was a Sophomore in High school. Truly the heart of an entrepreneur!

Here are some quotes that we feel sum up the Warren Buffet that we admire:

• "You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong."

• "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."

• "You don't have to swing at everything--you can wait for your pitch."

• "There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult."

• "Never ask a barber if you need a haircut."

Also...I am the biggest See's fan you will ever meet.

So pretty much Warren Buffet was my hero before I learned all of this cool stuff about him.

Seeing his real estate signs around town means wanting a chocolate run!

WHO INSPIRES YOU?!

Going Blonde Isn't Alsways Easy

Turns out, going from dark brown to blonde hair is a process.

not a spur of the moment decision followed by instant gratification...

Here's what I was going for and the picture I used to show the hair dresser.

"Dark Ashy Blonde with some lighter highlights"

Here's some advice for you. 

If you're feeling like you should be thrifty and you also want a drastic hair change....DON'T.

When it comes to hair, you get what you pay for my friends.

Soooo I was already in 'orange deep'. I decided to give the hair dresser all the leeway she wanted to fix her mistake. She 'lifted' too much which is what caused the orange. Turns out, just because your hair is dark...doesn't mean it won't lift well. My hair just so happens to be quiet fine. Thus, it didn't take long to go from a dark brown to orange. After the bleach, and two more rounds of toner, I walked out of the salon at 10:15pm (An hour and fifteen minutes after the salon had closed) with an appointment set for the next morning to add some low lights to hopefully balance things out (free of charge of course). 

This is the color I left with.

A very Strawberry Blonde

SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC/TMI WARNING

The next morning I woke up with chemical burn. My scalp was covered in a helmet of scabs. EEEWWWW

(I'll spare you the photos on this one.)

I went into the hair salon as planned and showed them my head. 

They felt really bad and we decided to wait on the low lights until my scalp was healed.

That evening I did a coconut oil mask on my hair. I HIGHLY recommend these for everyone and especially those who have damaged their hair with dye or bleach. After a couple of these masks, my hair feels like bleach never even touched it! =D

(slight hyperbole)

Just scoop up a palm full (or two or three). 

Melt it in your hands by rubbing them together, and grease up!

Use a brush to more evenly disperse.

Throw it up in a pony and try not to lean on anything.

Leave the oil in as long as your day/evening allows 

(recommended minimum of 20 minutes)

and then wash it out in the shower 

using your regular no-poo/shampoo/conditioner routine!

The next step in my hair rehab is 'Purple Shampoo'. 

Some of you blondies might be very familiar with these products, 

but I had never heard of them!

(Thanks Nicole)

Purple shampoo is designed to combat the "brassy yellow" pigments 

often associated with going or being blonde.

Yes, it's actually purple.

Here's a photo of a couple purple shampoos later.

Slow and steady progress.

You can tell I've been wearing my hair up allot lately...

And no. Bangs won't fix it. haha

The following photos are what I'm working with for the next month or so.

After more purple shampoo and a foil, 

we decided to forgo the low lights on recommendation of the hair dresser.

DEFINITELY an improvement from the first photo.

My problem is, it doesn't look terrible, but it doesn't look fantastic.

When it comes to my hair...I like fantastic.

I'll try not to look too excited and don't mind my lack of makeup. ;)

I've been told being blonde makes my eyes pop more. 

That's a bonus!

SOOOO yep. I'll go in to my favorite hair place in a couple months...as soon as I can swing the big $$ and give ya'll a short update and photo when I'm happier with it. :)

Living life and making silly mistakes.

It's good to feel human.

Hiking

Growing up, I remember noticing that some of my peers had hobbies with their families. Definitely not all, but some. Hobbies such as shooting, horseback riding, surfing, rappelling, dirt biking, or rock climbing. All hobbies that can be enjoyed by a variety of ages.
I have always thought it would be fun to have a family hobby. Something we all look forward to and can use to bond together. Something we can plan trips around and will never get old.
Well, Clynn and I have finally discovered and declared our family hobby!

We are Hikers! 

Together, Clynn and I have been on about...Five notable hikes together. Oh boy, do I wish I had pictures of these. One hike we decided we were going camping around 5:00 in the afternoon. By the time we got packed and to the trail on Mt. Rainier, it was about 9:00 at night. Pitch dark with flashlight, backpacks, and puppies in tow, we hiked about three miles in, set up our tent and woke up in one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. "On Mt. Rainier?! No way," I thought. Mt. Rainier had been in my backyard all this time. Who knew such beautiful places existed just a small trip away from me. I didn't need to get on a plane, or road trip all day and all night to feel as if I'd escaped.

Sense then, we've randomly come upon a few hikes such as this. Not many...considering how long we've been together now. We've averaged about one a year. 

But that's about to change!

and this is our goal

Thursday, we hiked. Saturday, we hiked. and today....we can hardly walk. <3

Our hike yesterday was the first one I got to document with photos. We hiked a trail known as "Poo Poo Point" on Tiger mountain. The unique part about this hike, is that the summit is also a launching point for parasailers! It's approximately four miles up and four miles down....as long as you don't take the wrong trail down and end up walking along the highway back to your parking spot for an extra couple miles...

We were privileged to share this adventure with some good friends of mine and Clynn's! Justin and Christine. Some of you might remember Justin from mine and Clynn's wedding! Him and I went to AIT together, bonded over our long distance relationships (him with Christine, and I with Clynn), and have been friends ever sense! Turns out he's a pretty big nerd (thank goodness), so Clynn and him get along great! ;D 

Enough talking. Here are some fun photos.

Part way there...

SUMMIT

My way too handsome husband looking pretty dead!

Summit Picnics are the best!

<3 Christine & Justin <3

Clynn, "Why are you taking so many pictures?!"

Jaclynn, "BECAUSE WE'RE NOT PHOTOGENIC!! 

I have to take a million to get two or three decent ones..."

...getting a flattering one didn't really happen, 

but I at least captured the emotion of the moment.

This life doesn't have to be all about facing difficulties head on. 

We were designed to have joy and that's what these moments are all about.

Now, to keep 'em coming!

P.S. I challenge my readers to discover their own perfect family hobby! 

& you're more than welcome to steal ours! ;)

Babysitter Vs. Nanny

I would just like to take a moment to point out the difference between babysitters and nannies.

A babysitters job is to keep your children alive and happy, with your house in one piece until you get back. Preferably, a quality babysitter can stop texting long enough to get them to eat a semi-healthy meal, keep the markers off the couch, and perform bath time and night time rituals well. Your child should have a ton of fun with one of these lovely individuals we deem "Baby Sitters" while you enjoy the occasional evening out. :)

A nanny is a third parent.
(I know some of you really don't want to hear that! In which case, higher a babysitter.)

A nannies job is to help raise well adjusted, resilient, well mannered, educated, and disciplined children. We keep up with medications, make dinner, and do EVERYTHING one of the parents would do if they were available. We put an end to sibling feuds, potty train, give loves, see first steps, hear first words, pick them up when they fall down....again, and again and again. We watch and guide as they discover how to handle emotion, opinions, and cope in a world that is not always fair. A nannies job is to come to love your children as family. We cry when they cry, smile when they smile, and puke when they puke....just like you!

I am SOO blessed to have a very involved nanny family. :) However, I have had some past experiences, and I know I can speak for MANY other nannies when I say INCLUDE US!!!!
Talk to us about what your goals are for your child. Whether they are to eat more veggies, make more friends, improve reading scores, or lessen the number of tantrums. Let us in on the ways you plan to approach parenting...because if we are helping out 20 to 40+ hours per week....chances are, your efforts will be futile with out having us in on it. I promise, we can help. :)

With that...

Babysitters,

You may very well be the future of the nanny world. 

Try not to drown and don't take on more than you are sure you can handle. 

Don't forget to get emergency phone numbers, stick to crayons,
PLEASE get your CPR Certification, 

and maybe reconsider that flu shot. 

Also, you are allowed to use fruit snacks for bribes still. DO IT. 

A note to my fellow nannies (and myself),
Stay inspired. Know your role and perform it with confidence and gratitude. Do your best to follow the children's Mother and or Fathers' parenting style as closely as you possibly can. Observe the way they interact with their children and the way the children respond to them. Take notes. The human mind, both young and old, needs consistency, so do your best to provide it. Stay humble and remember these kiddos are usually trying their hardest too. We may not have kids of our own yet, but these little ones have SO much to teach us and there is endless knowledge and research to provide support.
A wise friend of mine once said "GOOGLE EVERYTHING." I second that. Knowledge is power...or in this case, understanding and a raised level of patience. ;)

Make sure your littles know that their parents love them and speak fondly of them as often as possible.

"Your mommy loves you so much!"

"Your hair is so pretty, just like your mommies."

"Your daddy would be so proud of that pitch! Let me take a video for him..."

These little offerings can go a long way for a child's self esteem.

If you are to be a third parent, don't forget to continually include Mom & Dad in your time with their kids as well. I know this can be particularly difficult for nannies whose kids don't see their parents often, but the more positive and nonjudgmental we can stay, the better off every one will be. Promise.

I hope this helped clear up some confusion and perhaps inspired the wonderful community of child caretakers and seekers.

Love,

Jaclynn