roasted pumpkin seeds.

1 1/2 C. pumpkin seeds, cleaned and rinsed
2 tsp. olive oil
salt
garlic powder
seasoning salt
other desired seasonings

preheat oven to 300. toss pumpkin seeds with oil and seasonings in a bowl and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  bake for 45 mins. to 1 hour, stirring every 15 mins. until golden brown and crisp.

recipe and picture from here.

fall family walk at freeman park.

when the leaves first started turning we enjoyed a beautiful Sunday evening at our favorite park here in idaho falls- freeman park.  this place is my personal paradise here in the high desert! it is acres of green grass and rolling hills, trees, streams, bridges and a walking path that runs along the snake river.  

the kids rolled down the big hill by the playground, zach explored and went down the slides with mommy, and we all enjoyed the fresh, crisp air.

then we went and explored the river.  the kids had a blast splashing in the water, hopping along the stepping stones and seeing how far out they could go.

there are some awesome cottonwood trees along the creek that are perfect for climbing.  this would be my dream creek to have running through my backyard!  the kids splashed around in the creek and ran from one side to the other.

Chris thought he'd get in on the fun too- clinging to the tree for dear life!

when it got too dark to play anymore we stripped the kids down(livy right to her bare bum and she streaked back to the car!  hey, you're only 4 once!!!)  she wrapped up in a blanket and we drove home happy and ready to crash into bed!

orange julius protein shake.

seriously, this is good.  like, yummy, yummy good.  can't believe i am drinking it for breakfast good.  i had some leftover orange juice, some leftover powdered milk i had blended up and decided to throw that in with some new vanilla protein powder i hadn't tried yet.  this will change the way i make orange julius for my family now forever! 

orange julius protein shake

1 C. orange juice

1 C. milk

1 scoop orange fiber powder (i used melaleuca)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (i used melaleuca, "attain")

4 ice cubes

mix first 4 ingredients in blender. add ice and crush.  enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

FORMER orange julius recipe

2 C. milk

1/2 can orange juice concentrate

1/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

8-12 ice cubes

blend all and enjoy!

we have been drinking this recipe for orange julius for years now.  i started making it when i was in high school and it became a favorite with my college roomies and guy buddies.  in fact, i think it may even be why some of them hung around me so much...that, and for my lasagna!

i "taught" chris how to make it when we were first dating and it became our movie night staple.  the kids pretty much think that friday nights are synonymous with movie night, orange julius and popcorn.

NEW orange julius recipe

2 C. milk

1/2 can. orange juice concentrate

1 scoop orange fiber power

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

8-12 ice cubes

blend and enjoy!

(you can also make lime julius with lime concentrate in place of the OJ concentrate)

*pic snagged from here

my thoughts on protein shakes.

this is probably going to be WAY more information on protein shakes than any of you care about.  oh well.  i like getting my thoughts written down.

when i first wake up i drink a full glass of water.  this is so essential when your body has been deprived of water for t he last 6-8 hours while you were sleeping. i wake up at 7:00 and get brady off to school.  

most mornings i have a protein shake to start out the day at about 8:30.  I try to eat another snack with a complex carb and a protein about 2-3 hours later, and so on.  

i LOVE protein shakes.  you probably don't hear that very often. but here's why:  i do NOT like cereal, and most of the time i am so busy trying to get everyone else ready and going in the morning that i forget to eat.  if i make up a shake i can drink it and tote it around with me. it fills me up with very few calories and helps me stay on track with my daily goals.  i don't count calories anymore.  i pretty much know after two months of counting calories how much each small meal should be.

i try to eat like this:

8:30- protein shake
10:30-11:30- small snack (such as small apple with 10 almonds)
1:30-2:30- small lunch or another protein shake
4:30ish- small snack
6:30/7- dinner (this is the biggest meal of the day by far, but I have been trying really hard to eat smaller, appropriate portions and not go back for seconds, unless it is salad or vegetables
9-10- small 3 oz. protein right before bed (i'm not always good at remembering this one)


usually i don't like my shakes to be very sweet. i also like them to be on the thinner side, so i usually double the liquid called for and drink a 20 oz. smoothie. i find that this also helps me get more water in early on in the morning and it fills me up longer.

i've been using melaluca protein powder for the last year and like it pretty well.  when i can afford it i plan on using some from shakeology as well. their quality and ingredients is superior to anything else i've seen.

in the past i have also used whey protein by jillian michaels and protein powder from arbonne.  i lost 40 lbs. using both of those. arbonne after having brady, and jillian after having olivia.  i think i get a better product and better price with melaleuca and am no longer a consultant from arbonne, so i can't buy theirs.  i would still be buying theirs if i was still a consultant.

so, to sum it up.  i like protein powder.  i like that i can throw in any frozen or fresh fruit i want.  i like that i can toss in some veggies and a couple handfuls of kale or spinach, or even romaine.  i like that it is filling and fast and i can drink on the go.  i like that it's helping me with my weight loss goals.  

happy birthday to my baby.

1 year ago today this baby boy joined our world and made it happier, funnier, and a little more complete. 

we love you zach!

good morning sunshine.

yummy.  the other day's breakfast was a real pick-me-up.  i've been dragging a bit lately and needed a little boost.  my concoction was the perfect fix, and good use of some oranges that were a little past their prime.

orange carrot smoothie
2 small oranges, peeled and halved
1 C. chopped carrots (or baby carrots)
5-7 drops DoTerra wild orange blossom essential oil
1 scoop orange flavored fiber supplement (i use melaleuca)
1 C. cold water

put all in blender and "chop," then puree or liquify.  add 2 ice cubes and pulse until crushed finely.  Makes 2-3 C. 

my "go to" pancakes.

this is the pancake recipe that i've been making pretty much since Mr. G and i got married.  it's from the Betty Crocker bridal edition cookbook which was given to me by a family friend.  lucky her, i get to think about her each time i use it...what a great wedding gift- one that you use like a million times AND think of the person who gave it to you.  thanks janet!

i have changed this recipe up a little, how could i not?  isn't that what i do?  i (we) discovered that we like a thinner batter.

i like this recipe because it's really versatile.  i can change it up to suit my mood, or the seasons.  for instance, last night i changed it into pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes.  we've also made banana pancakes, plain chocolate chip pancakes,whole wheat, cinnamon/sugar pancakes, and buttermilk pancakes.  i also ALWAYS double the recipe- this ensures plenty for dinner and leftovers for breakfast. if we have company, i usually triple it.  

the following recipe is doubled from the one in the book and also has the changes i've made.  trust me, they are better {and healthier, no oil. no butter, minimal sugar}.  sorry betty.

                        

betty crocker-ish pancakes (makes 12-14 pancakes)
2 eggs
1 3/4 C. milk*
2 T. applesauce** 
2 C. flour (can use white, wheat or half and half)
2 T. packed brown sugar
6 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients together.  Beat eggs and mix wet ingredients together.  Add wet to dry, mixing well with a whisk until batter is smooth.  Pour onto preheated griddle (350 degrees) in 1/3-1/2 C. portions.  If desired, sprinkle with regular or mini chocolate chips once pancakes are set (after about 15 seconds).


*(i often used powdered milk and blend the powder and milk up in my blender.  uses my food storage and no one is the wiser.  tricky, tricky.  i do this in almost all of my baking/cooking)

**(i use home-canned, lightly sweetened plain)

for pumpkin
add 3/4-1 C. canned pumpkin puree
dash of nutmeg
bigger dash of cinnamon (maybe 1/2- 1 tsp....)

for buttermilk
add 2 T. white vinegar to the milk and let sit for about 5 minutes, OR use real buttermilk in place of regular milk


for banana
add 1-2 mashed bananas



for cinnamon/sugar
sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture over tops of pancakes once on griddle.

oh, PS.  i stole these images.  the top pancake pic is from here and the choc. chip one is from here. i just don't even want to try taking good pictures of food anymore with my current camera. doesn't work out.  and these pics look pretty much exactly like my recipes, sans butter.  we don't use butter very much. but it makes the pictures look good.

my birthday. 29. for now and forever!

my birthday was september 19th. it's ok- i'm only about a month behind on this poor blog of mine!  Chris surprised me on my birthday with a small cake and ice cream for our family to have a little party together and a bouquet of sunflowers (my fav).  I had been {not so subtly} hinting for a few months that i would JUST LOVE a bouquet of fresh wildflowers or sunflowers that grow along the highway and how incredible it would be if he just cam home one day and surprised me with some.

bless his heart, he did try.  he went to utah on business and saw glorious stands of wild sunflowers along the highway.  on the way home inspiration caught hold of him and he pulled over to pick me that glorious bouquet i'd been hinting about...he was going to be "the man!"  

that was, until he got chased back to his car by a swarm of bees!  thanks for the thought babe, and for looking like a fool running wildly along the highway for me!

these big beauties will do anyway! they brightened my day for almost two weeks!

Chris also got me some itunes gift cards so i can upload music to my new ipod (that he got me for FREE), a pretty yellow necklace that i loved at a flea market and Titanic.

the weekend after my birthday, mom and dad Graf were gracious enough to watch the kids for us so we could enjoy a restful weekend together up at their vacation home in hailey.  it was a gorgeous early fall weekend.  i ended up getting the 24 hour stomach flu and laid in bed most of saturday, sick as a dog.  i was grateful for the rest though and that my hubby could snuggle with me and wait on me hand and foot, instead of my usual task of still maintaining home and family when deathly ill!

we didn't let my sickness stop enjoying the weekend.  we watched movies and had breakfast in bed, went for walks, drives, and played card games.

sunday morning we slept in and then drove out several miles to a beautiful natural hot spring in warm springs river.

i have to laugh at this white boy!  he was so red after sitting in the hot springs! they were relaxing and wonderful. we will definitely be going back again.  we felt like we found such a secret treasure!  not a secret to locals however, it was surprisingly crowded with about 10 other people there.  we crossed the frigid cold river to get to this other private little spot!

thanks for a wonderful weekend Chris.  i can't wait to get away again! love you.

decisions. decisions.

i am going to be a little vague in this post.  those of you who are super close to me will probably gather what i am talking about and understand the situation.  all others, well, it probably won't make sense.

it's late.  i am tired.  i have a mountain of sewing to do because in a not-so-rare moment of insanity last saturday i told my kids that we would go to the fabric store and they could pick out some "spooky" fabric to make halloween pillow cases out of.

there is a load of laundry that i just started in the wash because i was just gently reminded by hubby who went to bed that he doesn't have a clean shirt for his 2:30 a.m. departure for work tomorrow.  yeah, that's right.  2 freakin' 30.  and it's not completely out of the norm.  when i say he just "went to bed," what i really meant was he just "went to nap."

we had date night tonight.  it was nice. time alone. together.  remembering why we like each other.  joking, having a nice time.  date night is awesome.

so, the decisions.

do we stay here.  in this very, very nice two bedroom apartment with our three beautiful minions and SAVE and PAY OFF debt.

OR-------------

do we shift focus from paying off debt and get into a little more (OK- a LOT more) debt by buying another house.  a house that i already feel is OUR house.  OUR HOME. a house that i haven't been able to stop thinking about for many  months now.

it sounds easy.  it feels right.

but there are many factors involved.  there are a lot of unknowns in our life.  it would be REALLY, REALLY NICE to finally be DEBT-FREE come summer-time, IF we stayed here.  it would also feel REALLY, REALLY nice to have a HOME again.

boondocks family fun day.

enterprise sponsored a family fun day at boondock's in utah.  it was a gorgeous day, we had a free ride, tickets, bracelets and dinner, all thanks to enterprise!  nothing like good free fun!

the kids love mini-golf.  brady did great and only lost to me and chris by a few points.  chris and i had a serious competition, in that he pulled ahead on the last hole and won by 2!

olivia does her own thing and zach liked watching the game and all of the neat scenery. there are two beautiful courses there.

                   

chris and brady sharpened their golf club balancing skills

                  

while olivia and zach "practiced being cute"

                  

after golf, the brady, liv and i went on the bumper boats.  liv rode with me and brady got to drive his own boat for the first time.  they had great fun blasting people with water and spinning in circles.  on the sidelines daddy and zach weren't as safe as they had thought! they got splattered by someone's water gun!

dinner followed with everyone from the company and then we daddy, liv and brady rode the race cars!  brady got to drive those for the first time too, and as he kept zipping around the track i couldn't help but think that he has gotten so big! how did he get old enough to be driving a go-kart all by himself!

olivia picked a pretty pink go-kart for her and daddy.  they smoked everyone in style!

next up were the batting cages.  brady, mommy and daddy all took a few turns hitting the ball out of the "park," er cage!

when it started to get dark we headed in for a few hours of play time at the arcade.  daddy took livy bowling while brady did laser tag.  we all played in the play area with an amazing jungle gym.  daddy and mommy had basketball competitions and earned a ton of tickets for the kids to redeem for prizes.

                   

                   

we also found out that we CAN NOT fit our whole family in a photo booth! but it sure was fun trying!

                                               

baked pumpkin spice doughnuts.

olivia had a little friend over this morning and we needed a fun little activity to do together.  plus, i've been wanting to try out my new "toy" (doughnut pan), so we whipped up some of these yummy treats together.

another pinterest recipe i snagged from here, including pic.

these were truly baked to perfection, as the recipe claimed.  but i found the original recipe to be bland, so i added some brown sugar and doubled the spices.  i also did not wait for the doughnuts to cool on the rack before i rolled them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. the second time i made them i also substituted my plain homemade applesauce for the oil.

next time i make them i'm going to try doing half whole wheat flour. the applesauce did make them a little heavier.

baked pumpkin spice doughnuts (makes 18)
1/2 C. oil (or plain applesauce)
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 C. pumpkin puree (i may try to add another 1/2 C. next time)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 3/4 C. + 2 T. flour (try half whole wheat)

preheat oven to 425. start with first ingredient, and then mix well to incorporate after each addition.  batter should be nice and smooth.  spray doughnut pan and fill to the brim. bake at 425 for 6 minutes; reduce heat (do not open the oven) to 350 and continue to cook an additional 10 minutes.

let cool in pan for 5 minutes and immediately roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and then place on a plate.

cinnamon/sugar mixture
1 C. sugar
2-3 T. cinnamon (according to taste)
2-3 T. brown sugar

pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of ground ginger
1/2 tsp. of ground nutmeg

DI deals and steals.

RANDALL milk glass bowl - $1
white platter - $2
letter Z - $0.75

                   

purse - $4

                   

                 
hardback books:
The Secret Garden - $2
The Tale of Desperaux - $2
Black Beauty - $1
LDS Piano Hymnbook - $3

toys:
car bridge - $0.50
toy laptop - $3
car playset - $0.75

zach 11 months.

this boy is a hoot.  he laughs at everything! he especially thinks that daddy, big brother and sister are hilarious.  

he still doesn't say many words or walk.  he says "mama" and "dada" and sometimes will say "hi" and "baby."  he responds to his name and does funny faces when we say them and show him what we want him to do.  he mostly babbles and says "lalala" all the time.  he can click his tongue and smack his lips and trys to mimick sounds we make.

he is so sweet and still likes to cuddle (most of the time)

he is still a bit of a picky eater and will seldom accept baby food anymore (of which i try to sneak in since we still have quite a bit left in the cabinet and home-made in the freezer

he likes eating whatever we are eating and does a pretty good job most days, but still prefers his bottle.

                     

things he does:

he makes funny faces

crawls super fast

likes to explore and play with things he's not supposed to

likes shiny things

climb on top of anything he can get up on

play with straws

favorite things to play with:

baseball 

he likes to roll it and then chase after it like a puppy! 

spray bottle 

he sucks the water out through the spout!

cardboard boxes 

i have to watch him so he doesn't eat the corners like his lil' sister used to!

the dishwasher! 

it's Brady's job to empty the dishwasher after school and whenever Zach hears it open he goes right for it and likes to climb inside

                  

"reading" books

swinging- 

he will stay in his swing for hours watching everyone play and work around him, as long as he gets a good push every now and then!

                     

we love you Zach- can't believe that you're almost 1 year old!!!