I am Cheating on Starbucks!

It's true I admit it, I am a cheater! I have been seeing Starbucks for several years now, we see each other almost everyday.  We have laughed together, cried together and have shared some of my most memorable times together. Things have been great but I find myself waiting for that seasonal other shoe to drop. Do you know what I am talking about?  It's that time of year when Starbucks pulls your favorite summer drink off their menu to make way for pumpkin everything!  You see my love affair with Starbucks has a lot to do with the Peach Green Tea Lemonade it's my vice. I love the taste combination and the fact that it's not a million calories in each Venti I order. Each summer I cross my fingers hoping Starbucks will bring it back (not like the toasted coconut frappacino which was one summer romance I will never forget).  This year I've got myself prepared I am ready for the day the Starbucks barista tells me "sorry we don't have that anymore!".  I have come up with my own very tasty, very economical version of my beloved Peach Green Tea Lemonade.  

That's right these simple ingredients do the trick.  

I brew 3 Tbsp Epicure green tea (use whatever green tea you love) in my David's tea fancy ice tea maker which holds about 1.5L steep for 20 minutes and cool.

Next I add 1 cup Sparklng Lemonade into my jug I use the Walmart brand because it is delicious you could use more if you like but I am trying to keep the calories low.

Finally I fill my glass with ice add 1 Tbs of Peach Syrup (which you can buy at almost any groceries or coffee supply store) and top off with green tea/lemonade mixture.  It is so refreshing and good, plus this version is only 60 calories! 

You can add or subtract amounts of green tea, lemonade and peach syrup until you find the combination that you love.

So now when Starbucks pulls my beloved off the menu I will just cheat the rest of the year with my homemade new love. 

Prairie Girl Saskatoon Muffins with Struesel Topping

My husband is a doll and managed to bring me home several bags of Saskatoon berries from a friend so I thought I better make good use of them so here's the recipe I came up with.

Prairie Girl Saskatoon Muffins with Struesel Topping

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

1/2 cup Brown or organic raw sugar cane

1/2 cup Honey

2 Eggs

1 cup Milk (your choice could use cows, almond or rice milk)

3 cups Whole wheat flour

4 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2.5-3 cups Saskatoon berries fresh or frozen

*In a large bowl, cream together coconut oil and sugar.  Add the honey and eggs, stir in milk.

*Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt.

*Mix or fold in Saskatoons

*Line muffin tins or grease if preferred fill 2/3 full.

*Preheat oven to 375F

Struesel Topping

3/4 Cup Brown or Organic sugar cane

3/4 Cup White Flour

1/4 Cup Butter melted

1.5 tsp Cinnamon 

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

*Mix all ingredients together until crumbly.

*Top each muffin with Struesel topping (you will have leftover topping unless you double muffin recipe)

*Bake for 20 minutes or until insert comes out clean.

That's it ladies and gentlemen! These muffins are hearty and go great with milk, tea or great cup of coffee. ENJOY

Not Just Your Average Nut Bar

I love to come up with new recipes or add my own flair to someone else's recipe. I came up with this diverse recipe because I was sick of buying granola bars that are over processed and filled with crap!
The beauty of this recipe is that the combinations are endless! I am going to give you my basic recipe and some variations on what you can do with it.
First step you need to make a coarse nut flour, here is the first place you can use your imagination or what I do is use what I happen to have on hand. In this recipe I used sunflower seeds to make the flour. You can use almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, flax, peanuts and any combination of the above!
In a food processor coarsely chop 2 1/2 cups of sunflower seeds (or as I said any combination of what you have on hand) DO NOT OVER PROCESS OR YOU WILL MAKE NUT BUTTER!
Place the flour in a large bowl

Next add 2 cups of nuts, seeds & dried fruit.
I used tropical fruit & nut mix, sunflower seeds, flax, chia & hemp seeds.
Add 1tsp of Cinnamon
You could add 1/4tsp of salt but I didn't since the sunflower seeds were already salted.

Next step heat

1/2 cup of Honey 

1/4 cup Organic Coconut Oil

And a splash of Organic Maple Syrup 

When combined pour this mixture over the fruit & nuts and mix well.

Next you can press this into a 9" x 13" pan 

I however used this handy petites pan I purchases from my friend Rita. It is the absolute perfect pan for making these bars this recipe divides perfectly into. If you want to purchase one please comment or email me and I will get you in contact with her.

In your preheated 350 oven bake for 18-20 minutes

Let these cool completely before trying to remove them from the pan and cutting.

Remember I said the variations on this recipe are endless well here is the second kind I made last night. I started off with the same 2 1/2cups of sunflower seed flour but this time I added in a total of

2 cups of tropical fruit & nut mix and dark chocolate, milk chocolate & yogurt covered cranberries. 

For texture and binding coarsely chop the cranberry mix in a food processor. In this recipe I omitted the cinnamon and didn't add salt.

Next variation I heated 3/4 cup of peanut butter and a splash of Organic Maple Syrup. You could use almond butter, tahini, honey, Nutella whatever combination you like to create the flavour you love! And then combine with fruit & nuts and mix well. These bars are baked exactly the same as the others in a preheated 350 oven for 18-20 Minutes. Make sure to cool these completely and refrigerate them before trying to remove these from the pan or cutting them.

The pure joy of these recipes is that you control what's in them. They are a hardy snack of pure natural goodness with no fillers or chemicals. You can feel great eating them and feeding these to your family. 

Confessions of a Cheer Mum

It has only been just short of two years since my beautiful daughter Lexi decided competitive cheerleading was her passion. The only thing I new about competitive cheerleading was from what I had seem in the Bring It On movie. In high school I was a cheerleader and we stood proudly on the sidelines cheering on our football team. The only reason most of us were on the team was to miss school, hang out with cute boys and to attend the parties. I soon found out what my daughter had signed up for was the polar opposite of what my cheer experience was.

Lexi did her research and picked a club in Edmonton and prepared for tryouts. She made a junior level 2 team and started to train really hard. By Christmas she became a crossover on the senior 2 team which meant we would go to Disneyworld for a competition. Cheer for these girls and boys is a lifestyle and commitment, not just for them but for their entire family. I was nervous, I am a shy person whom suffers from anxiety, how was I going to adjust to this new lifestyle. I had seen those shows about pageant and cheer moms. Let's be honest they make the moms appear to be somewhere between the devil and complete mental cases! I am happy to report that those shows are totally WRONG! (Well for the most part)

With Lexi on two teams I started spending a lot of time at the gym. Before I knew it I was making a bunch of new and wonderful friends. Lexi was loving cheer and now I was too. Our trip to Disneyworld was wonderful my sister from Philadelphia came and Lexi and I made lifelong friends from the cheer club that week. The first season ended with her senior 2 team being undefeated in Canada.

As quick as the season ended tryouts for our current season came. Lexi wanted to make a senior 3 or senior 4.2 team this year. We figured that most of her previous senior team would end up back together again. When team lists were posted much to both of our surprise Lexi had made the senior level 4 team. I knew she had worked extremely hard and had progressed quite rapidly, this was a well deserved accomplishment. We were both excited and nervous it was a great opportunity for Lexi but since none of her friends made the same team it was bittersweet.


We arrived at cheer to start this season and as Lexi went off with her team I found myself  nervous and alone. I had been warned that this team's moms were a tight knit group and it was hard to get into it. After a few practices and exchanging some pleasant "hellos" I noticed that these ladies went for a walk during the practice so I mustard up my confidence and asked if I could join them. Guess what, they welcomed me with open arms and they were not like some snobby elite high school clique.  These ladies are some of the smartest, most generous, compassionate and funniest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet!

I have realized as Lexi was following her passion of cheer, it had forced me out of my shell. It brought me out of my house and it had breathed new life into me. As cheer taught my daughter teamwork, discipline, commitment and hard work; cheer had also helped me become the outgoing person I always knew was inside me but was to shy to share with others. I have to say I am one of those crazy, over excited Mums that goes totally wild when my daughters team steps on the mat to perform. There is something about the energy the team gives off as they have their 2:30 minutes on
the mat to impress and shine. I can honestly say I love cheer!  Cheer has become a huge part of our lives and sometimes the family has to make sacrifices because of it. (And not everyone is always happy about it.)  But I look forward to taking Lexi to practice it really is one of the most fun parts of my week. I love it because I get to go and spend time with these awesome ladies and it's nice just being myself.

http://www.customizedgirl.com/s/Cheerculturecouture

New Scent Contest

As most of you know I have Lit Eco Candle Company & I love making my 100% soy candles. Well I want to shake things up this fall & add a new scent or two. I thought we might have some fun with this & give you a chance to help me pick a scent & get yourself a sample in the process.

So if you haven't already liked Lit Eco Candle Company on facebook do so now & then find this post on the wall & give me your ideas for the new scent. It's just that easy! I look forward to all your creative ideas, hurry because time is running out.

I am Back & Inspired To Share

It has been a long time since I last blogged and boy I have missed it. I can't believe that my blogs actually show up in google now! I feels so re-inspired if that is a word.  I have so much to catch you up on. I look forward to sharing what I have learnt over the last few months of my hiatus and what I have planned for the future.

The first thing I learnt was, you can't make everyone happy no matter what you do! Secondly "friends" will turn on you in a heart beat in the name of self interest. It's all good though.

I will be posting new photos and moving full force with my blog NO MORE PROCRASTINATING! Cuz I once heard that procrastination is like masterbation you end up screwing yourself in the end! So hold on to your bra straps ladies it is going to be a funny but bumpy ride!

Girlfriends are Forever

I Love my Girlfriends and NO not in a Katy Perry "Cherry Chapstik" kind of way. More like a James Taylor "You've Got A Friend" or Dionne Warwick "That's What Friends Are For" way.
I just had a vision of Dionne Warwick sitting around with all her Girlfriends smoking a big fat joint and drinking too much champagne quoting the lyrics to this song. "You know what Whitney, In good times and bad times I'll be on your side! No really I will." Tee hee hee! What, don't you remember when Dionne got caught with marijuana at the airport. Bahhaha, oh my A.D.D. childish mind sometimes. Focus!

Ready to Roll back in the day!

Where would we be in life without our Friends? From the first friends we made at Sunday school or preschool to the friends we made in high school, college or even at work. Friends play a crucial role in my mental well-being.  All the cliches are true when you have wonderful friends in your life.
Friends Love you in spite of your flaws. (Check )
Good Friends are like stars, you don't always see them but they are always there. (Sniff, sniff)
A friend believes in you, when you cease to believe in yourself. (Pass me the tissues Tito!)
They say diamonds are a girls best friend but will your diamonds wipe your tears when you cry? Or will your diamonds offer to dig a hole to bury that SOB in? No and that's why diamonds are not a girls best friend and girlfriends are forever!

Wow, I just don't understand how the perm could go out of style!

I have wicked friends and not like wicked mean, although I guess some of them can be, but wicked cool. The group isn't that large but boy are they a diverse bunch. They are nurses, dental hygienists, entrepreneurs, fashion gurus, librarians, philanthropist, massage therapists, pole dancers, (okay not professionally) teachers, bus drivers, writers, artists, real estate agents, hairstylist, business women and stay at home moms. Each friend fulfills a different need in me. With their unique personality they bring something special to my life. I've got my shopping friends, my holiday friends, my brutally honest friends, my bring out my wild & crazy side friends, my make me immature friends, my oh so serious friends, my revenge friends, my misery loves company friends, my anything you need and I am there friends and my good old known ya forever friends. I have awesome woman in my life.

We look like we have the same haircut.

How is it that a good friend may not see you for months or years but knows exactly when you need that surprise phone call or spontaneous visit. These are my friends. When I think about my friends and friendships there have been times that friends have come and gone in my life.  I think sometimes friends are like the "Littlest Hobo" they come into your life and make a difference and then they move on.

Can you guess what year it is by the hair?
1989

I've had friends I met when I was just a small child and I thought we would be best friends forever. It is amazing to me that you can be friends with someone for 30+ years and then the harshness of life takes you in different directions.  I had a friend whom I love dearly and saw that her life was making her literally sick. No matter what test she had at her doctors they couldn't find what was making her sick. I had my own therory and told her what I thought it was and tried to help change it. Looking back on it maybe I shouldn't have said anything and just told her what she wanted to hear. Unfortunately that was never the way it was in our friendship, we always told each other the truth whether the other one wanted to hear it or not. The truth, I guess she couldn't handle the truth! It really is too bad. We met at Sunday school when we were 4, lived together for many years, worked together, shared clothes, cars and money. We held each others hair when we were sick after drinking too much, and now the friendship is over. It truly is sad, I love her and hope she is living a very happy life. Okay your right, it can't be that great since I am not in it!

Oh speaking of friendships that are over that makes me think of another situation where a "friend" suspected that her husband was having an affair.  She asked me if I had heard anything about it, we lived in a town of 350 people I think everyone had heard something about it. Being a good friend, I told her that yes I had heard the rumors but had not seen anything with my own eyes. She proceeded to confront the other woman whom denied it and then her husband whom confirmed it! Somehow in all of this I ended up being the bad guy! I always thought as a friend, if your girlfriend asks you something like that you must be honest with her. WRONG! Obviously this person really wasn't my friend but I sure learnt some good lessons like don't get involved and I haven't heard a thing.



Flowers & Lace!?!

I actually have some friendships that have worked out! I have a friend that came into my life in high school and saved me. She is beautiful, smart, witty, talented and funny as hell.  She made me feel for the first time like I was okay. She brought me out of my shell.  She is the only person I confided in about my messed up family and she made me laugh about it when I just wanted to run away and hide. I loved how dramatic we were and that we had all these alter egos that we could live vicariously through.  At one point we were actually voted the craziest duo at our school. She is a true inspiration to me. She has had her share of heartache and disappointment but she has over come it and is very successful. It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since we have seen each other in person but I am hoping that 2011 will reunite us. I can't wait to see Carlos and Antonio, Batman & Robin, Rodney & Dr Dreads and everyone else.

I have another friend whom I love dearly and chat with daily. We couldn't be more different. She is a free spirit and that is what I love about her.  She approaches life so different from anyone I ever met and doesn't really let anyone or anything get her down. She is the only person I know that could describe a set of  truck tires as her "horny tires".  What does the even mean! Sometimes I wish I could be more like her in life and let myself go where the wind would take me. Unfortunately I think my husband and kids would think I had completely lost it if I did that. So I will leave the free spirit lifestyle to her since she does it so well.

This could have been our motto back in the day!

I could go on and on about my friends like how one of my girlfriends is so great at reading energy and gives off a glow of positive energy whenever I see her. Or how about the fact that most of my friends have the best sense of humor. Like my one girl friend whom told me that next time she comes over for drinks and scrabble that she promises to curl my hair and have a pillow fight! Now that is funny.

http://www.scraps123.com/

What can I say, I am a lucky woman to have such rockin' women in my life! I wish life didn't take us all in different directions. I wish that we all lived side by side and were able to see each other everyday or at least once a week. Unfortunately that is not the way life works. Most of the time our friendships are kept alive by phone calls, text messages and facebook. I know though if I was really in a crisis these woman would be on my doorstep ready to do whatever was needed of them. I am not going to list anybody by name but you all know who you are. I Love you and thank you for your friendship and always remember, "I will be there, you got a friend!"

I Love My Computer because My Friends Live in it!