5 Minute Coffee Cake

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest, or was it Facebook...? Either way, I struck gold. It really does only take 5 minutes and you only make enough for one serving so you avoid the temptation for the next few days to eat it before it goes bad.

The only downside is it's not very healthy. It has a lot of sugar.

Here are a couple substitutions I made:

-Use splenda (or other sugar substitute) instead of sugar. Or 1/2 sugar, 1/2 sugar substitute

-Use greek yogurt instead of sour cream

I also added a little ginger (pinch or two) because anytime I use cinnamon I use ginger, it's like a rule.

Enjoy:

http://prudentbaby.com/2011/10/entertaining-food/a-cup-of-coffee-cake-in-under-five-minutes-2/ 

Snow Dogs

Everyone slept GREAT the last few nights! No middle of the night potty breaks or barking spats. Our secret: separate the trouble makers and turn on a couple fans to drown out any trigger noises. It has worked wonders.

This morning's snow has brought with it some ornery behavior. Zorra, the naughty husky, has found something worth digging at in the back yard. We tried calling her and using treats...nothing. Finally I give in and put my shoes and coat on. I walk up to her and when I'm inches away, she darts. Great, now we're playing a game. Normally that would be fine and I would play along to help her get rid of some energy...but it's cold. Eventually I catch up to her and grab the back of her neck to guide her back inside where it's warm. Success!

2 hours later: rinse, and repeat.

Zorra is back at it. This time I made a mistake. Since I couldn't seem to catch up to her, I went and found a leash to wrap around her neck when I got close enough. This worked great. No problem. Only ALL the dogs thought they were going to go for a walk. Jumping, whining, barking, spinning in circles. I would love to take everyone for a walk. But they don't seem to realize that I only have 2 hands. And again, it's cold. Much to their protest, everyone is now kenneled and napping. And I am back to work.

Ah, the adventures! :)

How many personalities can we fit into one house?

I've been dog sitting off and on since I moved to Iowa. It's always entertaining learning how the personalities work (or don't work) together. Sometimes it's 1 dog, sometimes 2 or 3. For the next 10 days we have SEVEN! Luckily I have my partner in crime, Sheena, to share in the fun :)
Here's the lineup:
Zorra - naughty husky
Kya - You may call me 'pretty pretty princess'
Sydney - I'm just here to be loved on, I don't know what the others are doing
Reagan - I'm too sweet to be involved in anything mischievous...no really
Savannah - I look innocent but don't get too close to my face...unless you have cheese. I like cheese.
Macie and Toohla - The little tykes - We can be naughty but are too darn cute for our own good :)

The first 48 hours have actually been pretty good. My biggest concerns were breakfast and dinner. 7 hungry dogs on a race to see who can eat the fastest. Luckily they've done this before. Macie and Toohla (little dogs) eat by themselves. Zorra and Kya (huskys) eat in their kennels. Sydney and Reagan (chubby goldens) devour theirs in about 4.5 seconds. Savannah (border collie?)....she eats in her own time, or faster if the chubbys stand over her.

That was easy.

They are having a little bit of a tough time sleeping though. They miss their mom :(

Today had a couple of entertaining moments. First, when arriving back to the house after a morning meeting, all the dogs were on high alert. Walking through the garage sounded like I was about to walk into a war zone - barking, squealing, whining, howling, scratching at kennels. On an emotional scale of 1 to 10, we were at about a 14.

After everyone went outside and spent some energy, I settled into my work in the office. The office is gated off so I have the space to myself to get some work done. Or so I thought. It didn't take but 20 minutes for the whining to start. I'm so used to tuning those noises out, I ignored it for quite awhile. But instead of giving up like I thought they would, they joined forces. The whining intensified in noise level and numbers. Finally I gave in and decided to see what the fuss was about. I walk around the corner and this is what I saw:

From L to R: Zorra, Kya, Sydney, Savannah (in back), Touhla, Macie. Wait that's only 6....where's Reagan. I look to the right and bam!

Yep. They're stalking me.

On to day 3.

Flashback to 1995: The Internet will fail!

I came across this Newsweek article written in 1995 about why the internet is going to fail. Bashing the prediction that books and newspapers will be sold online, this author didn't believe the "clunky computer could replace the friendly pages of a book." I can understand WHY he thought so:

Hindsight 20/20, he was wrong (we all slip up occasionally). But his predictions are interesting. He was right about one thing: "the internet is one big ocean of unedited data"..."Lacking editors, reviewers or critics, the internet has become a wasteland of unfiltered data." ANYONE can publish something...there are some really crazy people out there too *cough *cough

Check out the article...Don't worry, you don't need to go buy Newsweek - you can read it on your computer now (how times have changed): Why the Internet will Fail

Smile more often

Force yourself to smile. Try it; it's not that difficult. Now hold it for a count of ten and deepen it. Mentally affirm, "I am happy, totally, blissfully happy." Notice how your mood begins to shift. You can't help but feel a little lighter. Use your smile to start a happiness epidemic. Smile at everyone, everywhere. People are hardwired to respond to facial expressions they encounter. If your glower at someone, that person will return a frown, but your smile will evoke a smile. You'll feel happier too, because your body responds to your smile, even if you're faking the grin. So fake it until you genuinely feel happy. Once you know it works, do it often!

Taken from: "365 ways to life happy" by Meera Lester

Happy Thoughts Jan 4th

Sometimes we need to think of ways to brighten our day...let's face it, not every day can be perfect. But what's great...WE ALL have the ability to change our viewpoint. Here's a simple way to change how we feel simply by our sense of smell. During my Tuesday evening yoga class at the Y, Victoria, or instructor goes around doing little spritz of lavender scent at the beginning and end of our yoga session. I find myself looking forward to that little scent of lavender. In fact, I took a different class yesterday and found myself SO MISSING Victoria's lavender!

Set out a bowl of Freshly Crushed Lavender

Whenever you have a bad day, feel exasperated, and struggle to get out of a foul mood, use some lavender to restore your serenity. Lavender is one of aromatherapy's most popular scents. Scents like lavender, citrus, rose and sandalwood can trigger particular memories or experiences associated with them. That's because your olfactory nerve carries the scent straight to your brain. use freshly crushed flowers set out in a bowl, insert some reeds in a diffuser pot with lavender essential oil, light some lavender-scented candles, or put out some sachets of dried lavender. Allow the scent to lift your mood and remember that you never have to live a bad day over again.

Lavender is easy to grow in Iowa in the summertime. But, when you can't get it fresh, dried and crushed. You can get lavender essential oil at places like Campbells Nutrition, Back Country Outfitters in Beaverdale sells "Thymes" lavender scented items. Look for items that have lavender essential oil as the number one ingredient if you can't get cut/dried lavender itself.

Breathe Deeply......

~ Cindy

Fast, delicious AND nutritious breakfast idea

The increasing darkness this time of year makes us want to sleep more and eat comfort food. The last thing we want to do is get up extra early to make that super healthy breakfast we should all be eating.
Last year, while working at Amici (6:30am start time) I consumed this on a daily basis. Not only did I not get sick of it, but I looked forward to it! Cindy told me about this delicious little secret last year and now we are passing it along to you.


Take a simple breakfast food, oatmeal, add a scoop of your favorite protein powder and voila!
Our favorite recipe:
1/2 cup rolled quick oats
1 scoop chocolate protein
1-2 tsp peanut butter
pinch of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
Tastes like no bake cookies!

(You can even add your favorite fruit)

Get creative; I started using a vanilla, caramel swirl protein powder and love it - also added it to my coffee (not using a full scoop though, it can get too sweet).
Share your own breakfast ideas, we are always looking for new things to try!