goals & gratitude

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Lifestyle, Photograph, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

This post may look familiar to some of you who are on my mailing list. This is the one time I hope no one opened their email, ha ha. I write my posts ahead of time and schedule them to publish (appear online). Well, since this was scheduled for 01/02/18 – I had forgotten to change the year from 2017 to 2018 (this happened in December) – so it published it immediately. I heard *ding* and saw my email.

Ruh. Roh. So please forgive me, won’t be the last time this year I bet 🙄 – Happy Day to you  – barbara

Ahhh, it’s that time of year – to set goals – might as well get in on the fun, and join the masses that have goals to eat healthier, exercise more, learn to cook or maybe a new language, read more books the list goes on and on…

Some of my favorites:

👍Learn to say “No” sometimes – it’s OK. You can’t be everywhere at the same time and it’s hard when you’re stretched thin with work, home, life to try to fit in one more thing. Sometimes it’s barely possible. It’s OK to say no (thank you for teaching me this, Mom!).

Continue reading “goals & gratitude” →

December Sky – Michigan Sunrise

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Michigan, Photograph3 Comments

I’m all about a dramatic sky. And… this is dramatic. What a gorgeous sunrise this was! This is a throwback photo – from the archives. One New Year’s resolution for me might be to clean up the way-too-many-photos that I cannot seem to delete.

I hope you will be enjoying a stunning sunrise (or sunset) soon!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED…

Photos this week – Have a great day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, THOUGHTS5 Comments

A day of joy and exultation  – Be merry – Sing your favorite Christmas carols – Sip the egg nog – Enjoy the gift giving – Help make dinner – Enjoy the company – Remember it… Savor it. Make these memories last.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! May the magic bring a smile to your face – and on this busy day, and if you see someone not celebrating because they have no family nearby or friends to call upon them, maybe spread a little Christmas cheer? Invite them for a meal or dessert, share a smile and a laugh. Even a short visit will change their Christmas from quiet, and sad to feeling loved and cared about.

Spread the love! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Christmas Cactus – always a good gift!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Photograph4 Comments

 

I have a Christmas Cactus that I’ve had for so many years now. It faithfully blooms every Thanksgiving – I love this plant. If you know someone who doesn’t have one, that’s always a nice little gift. They don’t take much work. I water mine once a week. Transplant it when it’s bulging out of the pot. I wipe the leaves down on occasion – they can get dusty. Maybe a few times a year.

This photo was from when it first started to bloom, which is always exciting to see! This plant will reward you with numerous beautiful blooms every single year!

Merry Christmas Eve, eve…

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED…

Photos this week – Have a great day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

 

Overnight Oats – endless possibilities!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, FOOD, RecipeLeave a comment

Overnight Oats – I bet you’ve heard of them, they’re all the rage right now. There are an infinite number of variations – this is just one. I used frozen (thawed) mixed berries from Whole Foods – and WOW! This was like a berries and cream dessert with a little texture from the oats. Loved it! How nice to have breakfast with minimal effort! This time of year with the temptations of unhealthy eating and snacks galore it’s nice to take time to eat healthy in between outings – this is a quick and easy way to do just that!

I read an article about how to make a better batch of overnight oats – a good article from Bon Appetit (a beautiful magazine with fabulous recipes!!

I basically used the Wholefully Classic Overnight Oats (click HERE to view, print or save to Pinterest).

Next time I will add more milk just to see the difference – it was delicious!! I used Chia seeds, regular 2% milk and a quick dash of honey (not much at all). It was perfection! Fred and I split this and it was plenty for us.

Classic Overnight Oats

(Wholefully.com) – 1 large or 2 small servings

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 heaping cup of rolled oats (I used Old Fashioned)
2/3 cup milk (regular milk, almond, soy, etc. whatever you like)
1 tablespoon of chia seeds (or ground flax meal)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Less than 1 tablespoon honey
Whisk the above ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Spoon into a jar with a tight-fitting lid (open mouth jars are idea – I think I used a pickle jar and it worked).
Closed and refrigerate 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
When you go to eat the oats, I put them in a bowl and added a splash of milk and more berries.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Happy Winter!!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, THOUGHTS2 Comments
Me, Santa & Bridget

Wow! Time flies! It’s already the first day of Winter which means that today is the shortest day of the year – it also means from tomorrow until Summer the days will be getting LONGER! That’s good news for many of you. For me, I’m perfectly happy with short days, cloudy skies and rain.

Hmmm, an odd duck perhaps? Ha.

I remember this photo with Santa – my sister, Bridget, and I had matching outfits – but because it was so cold outside (Michigan) we had to wear leggings (not the stylish leggings of today, these were thick and shapeless – which took away from “the look”, ha ha… Now that I’m looking at this image, I’m thinking I have ski pants on – they don’t look like “leggings”, but I know that’s what we called them.

I love how Bridget’s hands are clasped together in unending joy – A happy day going to meet Santa and pass along the wish list (from the Sears Wish Book catalog no doubt)! Good times!

Speaking of the Sears Wish Book, I couldn’t find one for 1967, but here’s the catalog from 1968 – what a blast to look at!

Why do we have to grow up? Ha ha…

Happy first day of Winter to you!

Delightfully Baked Apples – this is a quick and easy recipe – Apple pie without the crust!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, FOOD, HEALTH, Recipe4 Comments
Ready to pop into the oven!

I swear this is apple pie without the crust! I was craving an apple pie – but… make an apple pie, eat an apple pie. Probably not too good for the physique! So I scoured the Internet for recipes that were fairly healthy and this one fit the bill perfectly!

This recipe is by SkinnyTaste.com a great resource for recipes. This recipe comes together quickly, bakes for about 30 minutes (and makes your house smell amazing!) – We serve with a small scoop of ice cream. Really one half of a baked apple is plenty.

Click HERE to print the recipe from the Skinnytaste.com website:

Fresh out of the oven!

Delightfully Baked Apples

INGREDIENTS:

2 large apples (use whatever you’ve got), cut them in half, remove the core/seeds

2 tablespoons butter (not margarine)

2 tablespoons brown sugar, Unpacked (can use less)

2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour (can use GLUTEN FREE)

4 tablespoons oats (recipe calls for quick oats, I only had Old Fashioned and they worked fine)

Cinnamon, just a dab (add more if you like, I did)

DIRECTIONS:

Oven to 350℉.

Cut apples in half, remove seeds and core

In a small bowl combing the butter, brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon – then spread the mixture on top of the apple halves (I spread with my fingers right to the edges) – sprinkle with more cinnamon if you like.

Place on a cookie sheet (I covered mine in foil for a no-cleanup option) – bake for 30 minutes.

Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream if you like!

Catch you back here tomorrow!