Jenny's Journey

2 of my recent additions to my favorite things.  First I will tell you about this product I came to know and actually is perfect for the dry skin our winters cause us to have.   SheaMoisture brand products This stuff in particular is what I am using now.  I use it daily as a facial moisturizer. It is sooo thick I store it upside down and have to take the cap off to squeeze any of it out.  It absorbs quickly and it has oats, aloe and Vitamin E in it to calm skin.  It has a pleasant smell...not too perfumey.  I also have a nice Olive and Green Tea body wash that I am using too. I don't think its for African skin only....I was wondering at first and I do think the company does make a lot of products for African skin and hair....though after looking for pictures online to post of this I am beginning to think I am the only white girl using this product!   The website it pretty nice. www.sheamoisture.com  I will need to check...

Thanksgiving came and went. It was yummy. As usual. As expected. My 2nd Run Turkey Run 5K is in the books. I thought it couldn't be colder then last year. Well, I was wrong. It was cold A ND windy. I felt good the entire run. I was still a bit cold, but this year I was a bit more prepared in clothing/layers and I wore my new Columbia OMNI heat base layers. My thighs didn't take all day to warm back up, unlike last year. I was able to run the whole distance, so that made me very happy. My next challenge, if I decide to partake will be the March 21 2015 Climb for Air. IF I participate again this year it will be my third year in a row. I say "IF" because last year was pure HELL. (see picture on side bar! Are we not just the cutest!) I know I don't have to push myself that hard, but I like a challenge and I like to try and beat my previous times. Plus I did my best last year in attempting to beat Jimmy. If you recall he never actually did pass me on the steps, but...

Today I volunteered at the schools Scholastic Book Fair.  Oh how I remember loving when those little papers would be sent home in our folders.  How I would beg for a book each and every time!  Usually it ended up being one of the most expensive books in whole whole thing.  Not much has changed in that regard! This is the 2nd time I have volunteered and both times it was very nice.  Its so cute to see the kids (along with my own) come in to purchase books. If I didn't need to work as much I really think I would very much enjoy volunteering at the school more often.  And at this age my girls LOVE having me there. I ended my day at school by having lunch with Jenna at 1120 followed by lunch with Jadyn at 12. Mom is still cool to hang out with, ya know?!?!  Plus with Jadyn's friends, I brought in some eggless cookie dough treats that Guy made. Those went over very well with the girls! My last thing on my to do list was get my tires rotated.  Tha...

I don't know what was with me, but all summer long I had no desire to cook dinner or even think about what was going to be for dinner.  Ick.   I usually like cooking, but no new inspiration or even care to look for recipes, made cooking dinner a major issue. And for some reason, people in my family want dinner every freaking night!!! Back to school, fall in the air (doubtful since its now the hottest its been all summer) I don't know what it is but I have the desire to cook again!  Good thing cause brats were getting kinda old!   I have been perusing Pinterest again lately, so that probably helps a bit.  Soooo, anyways...good ol Shelly pinned this recipe to Pinterest just recently and I thought it looked darn good and easy too. (the 2 requirements of most meals I make) Well, it was kid friendly and Jimmy and I liked it too!   Meatball sub on a stick Recipe   from Cookiesandcups.com    The original recipe is from the  P...

Well, if all went as planned we should be on the road by now.  I planned on going into work on Friday at 4 AM, and not take a lunch so I can be out and on my way home by Noon.  Hopefully on the road by 1:30 pm.   We are totally winging this first day/nights drive.  We were initially going to stop 1/2 way through Minnesota, but are plans have changed and we are going to see how its going and try to get to Souix Falls, SD instead.  Push it hard one day, take it easier the next days drive....   We are all super excited and hopefully I can come home with some awesome pictures and great memories!

So its Friday and exactly 1 week til we leave on our adventure to the West.  Final destination : Yellowstone.  Along the way we are scheduled to stay in a campground 5 minutes from Mt Rushmore and attend a well known nightly rodeo in Cody,WY before we step foot in Yellowstone. Among the usual sightings at Yellowstone, on one very special day - My Birthday, we are planning to drive down to the Tetons in Jackson Hole.  I have heard by many that they would go back to the Tetons again. With neither of us ever being west of Minnesota, we are all really looking forward to it all.  The kiddos and me too, are excited to cross off some more states that we can say we have been in.  We will pass through Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana by time we are back home.  We are all set to play the license plate game along the long, long way. For us to go on this trip and make it least costly and fun(?!?!?), we decided to camp.  The girls are still young an...

We took the kids to Little Amerricka in Marshall, WI. It is between my home and Madison. I had bought a Groupon for super cheap for the four of us and it was well worth the price. (it came to like only $8 a person!)  The crowds were nonexistent and the weather great.  Rides for both large and small.  I took a few pictures that I thought turned out pretty nice. . This roller coaster was awesome.  We all went on it the very first thing.  Its went around 4 times before we had to get off.  Jadyn loved it, Jenna not so much. One of my favorites, but I realized today that I  just don't have the stomach for any of these rides anymore.  Don't see a trip to the true Great America anytime in my near future.  The Ferris Wheel We took at 3 mile train ride through and beyond the park.  It was odd.  One minute there was geese, llamas, sheep, and then zebras and long horned steers. Kinda creepy but who doesn't like ...

Ok.  Yes, I finally tackled my overly full freezer.  I just had to. Stuff just tumbled out anytime anyone opened the damn thing!  I tossed a few suspicious looking items, made mental notes (I will forget them later) for dinner ideas this week and next and figured I had to do something with the Gazillion frozen bananas I had.  Yup, I had that many!  After very little searching I came across this recipe below. My usual banana bread recipe has to have chocolate chips in it.  Believe it or not  - I didn’t have any!  What the??!?!?  (Just made some Chocolate Chip cookies the other day) Anyways, I thought these muffins/bread turned out very tasty.  Moist too.  I doubled the recipe and used up 6 bananas.  I did 12 muffins and one loaf bread.  I loved the way the muffins turned out I wished I would have made them all in muffins.  (that would have required more patience then I was willing to allow – I was stick of being in th...

Well little Miss Jenna has been asking Daddy to take off the training wheels on her bike.                         So Daddy did . And after a few tears (10 seconds worth) and 10 minutes of practice with Dad..... We had ourselves a 5 year old pro on that bike!      I do not lie.

We took our yearly hike to one of our favorite parks(introduced to me a long long time ago by my friend Shelly)  today.  Our plan was to hike – James had downloaded the hiking trail maps the other night and decided he wanted to do 4 hikes, Balanced Rock, East Bluff Trail, East Bluff Woods Trail and Potholes.  About 3.3 miles we figured.  The 2 trails were easy.  Balanced Rock and Potholes are much more fun!    After hiking and a bunch of whining from little Jenna (she is only 5) We got back to the bottom where we parked the car.  Found a  nice spot for a picnic, ate Linner (by that time lunch was way past).  The girls changed into their swim suits and they took off for the lake.  They were not in the water 20 minutes when the wind picked up so quickly.  The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees.  This green dust was coming off the trees in the bluffs to the left of us (pollen?)  We stuck it out until we heard ...

Want to make your kiddos some AWESOME bubbles?!? Heck, I want them for myself! Here's the recipe for Guys Bubbles: 5 1/2 cups water 2 cups Ajax orange dish soap 1/2 cup Karo corn syrup Mix and bottle. Note: the above measurements fit perfectly in a 64 fluid oz juice container. Yes, I know it sounds like a lot of bubbles, but bubbles always spill and they are SO MUCH FUN! Right?!?!?  Hopefully this amount can last through the summer. Also, while perusing through my recipe box(that's where I keep my bubbles recipe - duh!) I found 2 little oddities that I also have stashed in my recipe box, both written on recipe cards. This one from my Mom - Just a tiny little minute, Only 60 seconds in it, Forced upon me - can't refuse it. Didn't seek it, didn't choose it. But its up to me to use it. Just a tiny little minute, but Eternity is in it. AND This one heard from like the 2nd season of Survivor - if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd...

I have to start off this blog post giving props to my husband. That man is one determined individual. He puts his mind to something and he doesn’t stop. He also is very competitive, unlike myself. I like to compete against myself, try and do better than I did last time. Last year after I completed the Climb for Air he said he would “kick my ass” – so, what did I do? Yup! I signed his butt up for this year’s climb! Knowing he couldn’t go into the climb without any prep that boy took up running. Gotta work on that cardio. And guess what? He likes it! He likes running! Anyways, to make a long story short…he did beat me. I wouldn’t say he “kicked my ass.” But he did beat me by 2 seconds. 11:20 vs 11:22 Yes, TWO fricking lousy seconds. I should have pushed myself even harder but I was already pushing my way through all those stairs as hard as I could. I know he was excited to beat me, but he didn’t rub it in. (Though I know what he is telling all his buddies!) I can alwa...

So I tried something new today. I baked a tasty treat that called for 3 whole vanilla beans. Yeah, exciting…I know. :P I have seen it done but never attempted anything with real true fresh from the bean itself VANILLA. I do love myself some vanilla bean ice cream. I didn’t make ice cream. Sorry. Anyways, I attempted a rather involved (even though the degree of difficulty was considered EASY) it was a bit more involved then I like to usually do AND it involved cutting in butter/making a dough. I stay far away from any recipes that tell me I need to make a pie crust or roll out dough. I would normally buy a premade crust at that point. I just don’t have the patience…usually. I get frustrated with the many problems dough can give you. Though today, I did not give up when the dough had me worried. I added a little more heavy cream and it was much much better. My Godson Jacob got me a Pioneer Women Cookbook for Christmas and I record her cooking shows and breeze through the episode at a lat...

I don’t know about you but I cannot wait for all the sweets and goodies to be gone. Yes, I don’t have to eat them, but we all know that’s easier said than done. Now that the New Year is here, what better time to start once again eating healthier. I know my scale is showing the typical holiday gain and with the cold cold weather we have been having any chances of me getting a run in outside is slim (I did do it the other day when the temps hit a record 31 degrees!) I have not yet learned to love my new-to-me treadmill either. It’s B-O-R-I-N-G!!! I do like it for attempting interval training because the timer is right in front of my eyes…and I can count down to when it will all be over with! So anyways, the other evening I threw this recipe together in my trusty old slow cooker and was pleasantly pleased to wake up to rather tasty and healthy oatmeal! Yeah, I know….Yum….not. But it actually was. I added chopped pecans and golden raisins (ever tried golden raisins? They kick regular raisi...