Mason jars as mini blenders

My wonderful mother bought me a blender about 2 years ago for Christmas. It was lovely but about 2 weeks after I got it I broke the glass canister. I know, I know that glass is so thick how did I do that?! But it slipped out of my hands while washing it and slammed against the stainless steal sink and faucet and broke about 4 inches of the top off... as well as a large crack through the side and down to the bottom. Crap! Now what? So I researched how much to order a new canister for blending...heck, it was about just as much as the blender. This was no fancy dancy blender but it got the job done for smoothies, milkshakes for Audrey or that occasional frozen Margarita in the summer (that I never got to make) Anywho, I stored it away and kind of forgot about it until recently.

 I have been trying to get back on the healthy train. Since Chris got home from deployment my eating and exercising habits have went.. well.. to a not good place. We eat out a lot, it's sometimes hard to make meals that are both healthy but "man friendly", we are very busy so I generally use that as an excuse. So the last few weeks I've been hitting the treadmill and really watching what I eat. Okay, anyways back to the blender. I stumbled upon this post (Mini blenders) on Pinterest (go figure) and it is genius. Actually there are few post out there and can't believe that I didn't think of it! They say most mason jars (the ones with the smaller opening) will screw right into the base of your blender. And sure enough I had one that did! Don't mind my PBR mason jar my husband actually enjoys PBS (sick) but the jar serves the purpose. All of my other mason jars are the wide mouth ones but this little dandy works perfect.

Just unscrew the base and hardware where the blade is and reassemble it on the mason jar. Genius! This is just like those Magic Bullet things that probably cost a fortune. 

I mean you can't stop it and mix it or add ingredients if needed from the top like a normal blender canister but it is perfect for a single serving! I read it works good for baby food to if you make you own baby food. 

I obviously am using this because I am to cheap to buy another canister but even if you have a working blender this is still perfect for a single serving smoothie and much less mess than cleaning that big thing out.

Breakfast/pre treadmill smoothie: Strawberries, 1 banana, strawberry yogurt and orange juice! 

Hocking Hills Weekend

After the holidays came and went we were looking for a little weekend away. We had been to Hocking Hills a few times before and I knew it was just as nice in the winter down there. But it turned out the weekend we went it was exceptionally warm down there. I mean 65 and sunny warm! Yeah, for the beginning of January in Ohio this was amazing! So we spent most of the weekend outside and just relaxing. Staying up late and sleeping in late... it was really  fun for everyone :)

Audrey loved the 'hot pool' again. And it was so nice to be able to sit out there with her without snow (we were preparing for that)

This place would be beautiful in the summer

We had a rain overnight but the deck was awesome. How fun for a summer weekend!

Audrey just being Audrey :)

Relaxin'

Firepit

Campfires... Nights were chilly but sweatshirt weather at night, in Ohio, in January? We'll take it!

                            These were our afternoons... could not have asked for better weather

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And this is how Hudson slept every night. Always by her :)

A nice little 4 day weekend away from work and our busy lives. It was nice to just relax and hang out without the interruption of TVs, cell phones, computers, all of it. We definitely want to go back this summer if time permits :)

Mason Jar Salad

I came across this post on Pinterest and it could be life changing. Okay maybe not life changing but definitely a time saver and another reason there is no excuse to not eat healthy. So it's mason jar salad... sounds weird right? I thought so also so I gave it a shot! The post says layer your favorite salad topping with the dressing at the bottom. Put a hardy vegetable as your next layer on top of the dressing I used cauliflower but she also suggested cabbage or broccoli... any hardy vegetable.  Then dump everything else and put your lettuce on the top, smash it all in and shut the jar. The "salad genius" (as I like to call her) says that they will keep for 7 days and the lettuce will not get slimy as long as it does not touch the dressing. So I made one Thursday night and took it to work Friday and it was spectacular! Nothing was slimy, everything was just as fresh as when I put it in the jar. Not sure about after 7 days but I'm sure for a couple it would hold. Just dump the entire mason jar on a plate and voila! A quick salad already made. I just did a traditional salad with ranch but you posted a few other recipes that sound good. 

So here is the goal. Since I work around cheeseburgers and chicken wings all day and there is virtually nothing healthy on the menu I try to take my lunch as much as possible to work. But there are definitely mornings where I just simply run out of time to put something together and "I have to eat something greasy" okay, I am not mad about this all the time but I would be 600 lbs if I have sports bar food everyday. So I can make these salads at the beginning of the week for everyday that I work and when I walk out the door I'll will just grab one! For the busy mom these are perfect. She also noted using fruit and packing them in and then they are ready to walk out the door with in the morning. The "salad genius" may have changed my life! Here is her link to get the recipes and to give credit where credit is due!

Mason Jar Salads

A 2013 round up and NYE!

Here we are more than two weeks into January and 4 months since Chris has been home from Afghanistan. We made it through the holidays wonderfully and now we are just trying to get through the cold, dreary winter here in Ohio. That got us thinking... what are we still doing in Ohio anyways? As planned the home search started after the holidays and we quickly realized we do not want to stay in Ohio. The plan was to get out of here once I was done with school anyways aaaand now that I am done with school what is holding us back? Nothing, now. I want to get someone and settled before Audrey starts kindergarten in the Fall so we are looking now. Operation Move Down South is in full swing! This is going to be fun :) Right now, Texas is sounding really appealing! Anywho that is a work in progress and will take months to put in action and we have to start with jobs. But the process has begun! 

My blog has taken a serious blow after the holidays. Before I was able to get a few posts up per week now I'm lucky if I can finagle one every couple weeks. I feel like now I have less time than I did while in school. My aunt said it's because I am not on a schedule and organized. And that's exactly it! While Chris was deployed and I was in school my planner was like the Bible. It went everywhere with me and I literally have every minute of my day planned to keep me sane. It worked out well. Kind of. But now even though I have relatively a similar work schedule each week I'm still struggling to get things done like I used too. So back to the planner and trying to get organized! And get keep up on the blog. I know our life isn't as dramatic as when Chris was deployed but I still like to journal daily life here as a way to look back. 

Audrey and I got our hair cut this last week! I had 8 inches donated and I absolutely love the short hair I have heard nothing but great things about it. Maybe I should have always had short hair lol Audrey's is just below her shoulders so she can still put her's in a ponytail for gymnastics and swim class! It was a nice little change for both of us :)

Here was our New Years Eve "Party" since I never got those posted as I am waaay behind! Chris and I both had to work on New Years Eve during the day. My schedule isn't bad 10:30-5pm. His on the other hand is awful 4am-noon... sick. So his alarm starts going off at 2:30am everyday. I can't imagine. Anyways he had to work the morning of New Years Eve so there was no way he was making it until midnight that night so Audrey and I made a little party of our own :)

Audrey watching the New Years Eve specials

Since I had to work that day I had no time to get noise makers and party hats so next best thing... make them of course! So after eating a nice holiday dinner at home on New Years we spent the evening making party hats and crafts. By now Chris was sleeping but can ya blame him? He did wake up as Audrey counted down to midnight though :)

And it's not a holiday until you humiliate your dog :)

So 2013 is going wonderfully for us. Hopefully by this time next year we are settled in a nice little country town down South. Hopefully, anyways! Have a great weekend everyone

Lets Take It Back A Year: New Years 2012 and The Start of It All

I remember the day so clearly... trying to remember everything. I still can. The house and how it was a mess with Christmas toys everywhere. The little poppers and noise makers that blow out streamers they were everywhere. Food and drink containers laying around the kitchen after our New Years Eve night at home. My mom stopping by and me embarrassed as she walked into the mess. It was New Years Day 2012. I remember trying to memorize every move, every sight, everything because I knew the next day he would leave for Afghanistan. He had been gone for 3 months prior to Christmas day training in everywhere from Mississippi to California. He was home on leave for 10 days and as wonderful as it was it also went very quickly as the holidays generally do under normal circumstances. These were not normal circumstances by any means. I kept looking at the clock just praying for time to stop that day. Why couldn't this day last longer. Why did it have to be almost January 2nd already. I knew once I went to bed that night the alarm would be going off just a few hours later and we would be driving to the armory. I just watched him and looked at him trying to take it all in because I knew soon he would be gone for months. Military spouses won't always admit it but the worst eventually crosses your mind. "What if he doesn't come home?" I memorized every detail of him. I could not fathom this idea but in my head I had to be prepared heaven forbid I ever receive that news. He fell asleep and as I cried for awhile the exhaustion must have taken over because soon I woke up to the alarm going off. Oh no, its here, the morning I have been dreading for months. Poor Audrey didn't have a clue what was about to happen. She innocently went to bed as she would any other night to be woken up in the very early morning hours, bundled up in a blanket and shuffled into the car. He drove and I just cried.  I can remember the cold January morning with just a dusting of snow. I remember it all. I may not remember what I did yesterday but those first 2 days of January 2012 are so vivid still I can recount ever detail. It was awful and that's where it all began. 2012 started out as the worst year of my entire life. Our first deployment was completely different. We were pregnant with Audrey the entire time of the deployment. This time she was 3 and had some idea what was happening now. I just hugged him and held onto his shirt hoping that I would not have to let go. Finally he said, "I have to go." As I cried in the car as he loaded the bus I just hoped they would get off or drive away. The agony of watching then boarded on the bus while dozens of cars just sat there with their headlights on was awful. And then they left. And somehow I had to pull it together to try and drive home on these country roads, in the snow, hysterical, with Audrey in the car. So I did and that's where the deployment and the deployment blog started. And here we are an entire year later! Oh man, what a year it was! 

He returned home in September 2012 a year after his training and deployment began. With hopefully no deployment in sight it was wonderful to spend the holidays together. All of them. We have a very busy fall season so when Chris was away training he missed it all. Audrey's birthday, his birthday, our anniversary, and Thanksgiving. This year he was home for it all! New Years Ever and Day were so much more relaxing and stress free as I knew he would not be leaving the next day. So here we go with 2013... Starting out pretty slow and I am completely content with that. After pulling myself out of bed after he left for deployment I hit the ground running. Literally. 2012 was filled with a lot of great things but was also the toughest year of my life. Hand down. Those of you who have followed our deployment through the year know how tough it was for me but also how I managed to make it through with out a nervous breakdown. I ran my first marathon and graduated college! Woah, two huge accomplishments with a deployed husband. Audrey was so wonderful while Chris was deployed... a few meltdowns but by keeping her busy with crafts, trips, school and all the other busy things 3 year olds do she did just fine. Now as she turns 4 and has adjusted very quickly to Dad being home she is becoming smarter and funnier than ever. As for Chris his adjustments have come fairly easy. He still works out everyday and even talks of tough man competitions. He works a lot now as he has resumed his job with The Anderson working in their maintenance and fabrication shop and reenlisted his contract with the military so he drills once a month and that's plenty for me. So 2013 looks great for us! We have a pretty "typical" life now. Hopefully no talk of deployment and just concentrating on us. 2012 you were definitely a tough one. I am actually glad to see you go and I am so excited to see what 2013 has in store for us! Happy New Year to everyone and thank you so much for the love and support throughout a very tough 2012!

Christmas 2012 (the "quick" version)

So Christmas has come and went... very quickly it seems. The tree is down, the Santa decorations are put away and the elf on the shelf has made his way back to the North Pole. Sadly, my favorite time of year has come and gone but that just means we fly into 2013 with more excitement, hope and ambition for our family. Still coming down from the Miller Christmas high here is some of the fun we had that lasted well over 2 weeks!

This is Chris' traditional "Christmas smile" as I like to call it. We are complete opposites when it comes to the Christmas season. I am sure deep down he loves Christmas but never shows it :) That is what I tell myself anyways. When I met Chris he hated Christmas but I think as the years go on and with Audrey now he really does like it. I know he thinks I'm obnoxious about Christmas but he knew that going in :)

Christmas presents I made and gave to family! This picture does no justice they turned out amazing... I made 15 canvases total at a much cheaper price than having a photo center make them. And I think they turned out better :) Of course my mom cried!

Every year Audrey also makes a ornament and homemade Christmas card for everyone in the family. This year it was popsicle stick snowmen... phase 1.

And the finished product!

And of course presents!

Don't mind that awful tree... That is after being brutally abused by Hudson on a daily basis. It barely made it through New Years and everyday I would have to patch it back together... of the joys of being a dog owner :)

And more presents!

Helping cousin Carter with his present from us

Aunt Ann and Uncle Andrew got Audrey an Easy Bake Oven!

Passing out treats

So Christmas came and went without a hitch this year and I could not be more blessed for the family I have. Knowing that Chris was not leaving right after the new year this year gave us time to relax and enjoy the holidays. I remember last year although he was home on leave through Christmas and New Years it was so hectic because come January 2nd very early in the morning he would be leaving again, this time for a long 9 month deployment. So this year I am so thankful to have him home even now on January 3rd! And so excited to see what 2013 will bring our family :)