30 Days of Lists-December Week Three Update!

I'm behind in updating by a few days, because we were off on our Christmas vacation celebrating with family in Missouri. But I got caught up on all of the lists this morning and got  photographs taken this afternoon.  So, I bring you Days 15 through Day 21.

Day 15: I like to avoid...

1. Socializing

2. Seeing me

3. Driving in snow

4. Thinking about my past

5. Carbs!

Day 16: Favorite things to eat this time of year....but Can't....

~Lefse

~Buckeyes

~Fudge

~Mashed Potatoes

~Hot Cereal

~Buttered Rum

~Pumpkin Pie

Day 17: I wish I had done more_____

knitting

yoga

writing

learning

friend-making

working out

hiking

(First off, how cute is our foster kitten photobombing?!?!)

Day 18: On My Shopping List

Yarn

Books

Scrapbooking stuff

a New dress

Laptop

School Supplies

Camera Bag

Day 19: Projects I finished

Good Reads list
Wedding DIYs
lace scarf
knitted cowl
12 Days Swap
Great Christmas Swap

Day 20: With a day to myself...

I would-

nap

knit

see a movie

read

Day 21: Positive things this week-

seasonal depression is better than it has ever been

The Boy's IEP meeting went well

Weight loss=3.2 lbs for a total of 13 lbs

Christmas shopping is completely done

Solstice! The sun is coming back! 

Swap Reveal!

Meet my partner for the 12 Days of Christmas swap: 

I was paired up with the lovely and adorable Sofia, who writes at From PDX with Love. She is by far the more professional blogger between the two of us and I must admit that I felt a little intimidated when she first contacted me so that we could get an idea of the others personalities. Not only is she a incredibly beautiful, but she's one of those blogging superstars and incredibly sweet to boot!  We exchanged a couple emails and I got a pretty good grasp of her style and the shopping extravaganza began. I really cannot wait to see if she liked her package as much as I loved mine!

Because, really, who wouldn't love an adorable assortment like this?!?! 

Day 1: This adorable little plaid reindeer who has joined the gaggle of goofy ornaments on our tree. He is definitely outshining them all this year. 

Day 2: The E.L.F. eyeliner set I have been eyeing (no pun intended) at Target. I used to love liquid eyeliner and this set contains liquid in both black and brown, and a black pencil with a hint of silver sparkle. With some practice, I'll be rocking a perfect winged liner in no time. 

Day 3: A beautiful metal heart bookmark! I mostly read on my kindle, but I always have a book next to the bathtub for soaking and reading. I haven't invested in a bookmark in ages and thus all of my books have bent pages and torn dust covers. I love this bookmark and so do my books! 

Day 4: Blue and green teardrop earrings! First, they're super cute, they match my favorite sweater, and they have wire hooks which facilitate wearing along with my current captive bead rings. But most importantly, they are the colors of my beloved Minnesota Lynx and I will be rocking them all season long! 

Day 5: HUGE coffee mug. This thing easily holds 20 ounces of coffee! I've been brewing three of my standard Keurig cups into it and I'm a happy camper. It's my new go-to mug in the morning. 

Day 6: I'm working on my pen-pal skills. I've been doing some prison ministry and corresponding with some incarcerated folks and my resolution this year is to be a much better friend and actually start sending cards/letters to my friends. These dear little note cards will be perfect for that! 

Day 7: When Sofia and I were emailing about likes, I mentioned that I love statement necklaces.  I like a necklace that can really pull an outfit together. And look at this one! The day that I opened this, I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and a boyfriend cardigan. I tossed on this necklace and suddenly I was actually wearing an "outfit". I love simple styling, and adding just enough UMPH to make a look shine. I don't do it often enough, but it's another resolution and this necklace is gonna facilitate! 

 

Day 8: Hooray for new sweet smelling hand lotion for my purse! 

Day 9: And now the E.L.F. falsies? Oh my gosh, I'm going to look like a freaking pin-up before this is over! Well, okay, maybe not a pin-up, but I'm going to have some amazingly striking eyes!

Day 10: The most adorable little fabric covered notebook! It has joined the hand lotion in my purse and become my "blogging ideas" notebook. 

Day 11: This candle! Can we talk about this candle!?!?!  It smells SO GOOD! Like ridiculously good. Like vanilla and cinnamon and maybe a hint of something woodsy. When the wick is lit, it crackles like fireplace. 

Day 12: How cute are these?  Pencils made from tree branches!  I mean, obviously all pencils are essentially made from tree branches. But these still look like tree branches!  They're super cute!

Thank you so much, Sofia for putting together such an adorable array of presents. I had such a wonderful time opening them and they fit so well with my style and my life! 

Packing Low-Carb Road Trip Snacks

I've learned a great new trick this week thanks to the lovely Katie over at KTJ Weights In.  This week, I took on the phrase "I don't eat that".  It feels so much less depriving than "I can't eat that". And reminds me that the reasons for us eating (modified) Keto go so far beyond just losing weight. Give it a try. Let me know how it works for you.

Since we don't eat sugars and grains, roadtrip snacking and meals can be a bit difficult. Fast food just is not an option for us anymore. We don't eat chips, candy, pretzels, popcorn, and most standard convenience market snacks. So, what does a family do when an 8 hour road trip is unavoidable and they need to keep things low-carb?

CHEESE!

Cheese is your low-carb friend!  For our holiday trip this year, I packed cheddar and colby to munch on, but most cheese are zero or very low-carb.

MEAT!

There are so many pre-cooked meats that you can use as snacks, but as far as road trip friendly food, you con't want things that require a large amount of refrigeration. We'll have a small cooler with us, so we're sticking with summer sausage and pepperoni. I also packed up a few packets of zero-carb beef jerky, but keep an eye on that, because most jerky is not zero-carb.

ALMONDS! 

Okay, so almonds are not zero carb. They average 6-9 carbs a serving. What we have found though is that because there is such a huge variety of flavored almonds that we can cure almost any craving with one serving. They're packed with protein, so they keep us satisfied much longer than other snacks. Basically, I'm saying that they are worth the carbs. For this trip, I mixed together dark chocolate and vanilla roast almonds by Emerald. 

And with that last photo you may have picked up on what is my best tip for packing snacks if you are attempting to maintain a low-carb diet while traveling.  LABEL LABEL LABEL. 

I am way to reliant on technology for tracking my food every day. And I know that if I tried to bring a notebook and pen along with me, I would forget to write things down or I would lose either the open or the notebook in the shuffle of the car.  I individually portioned each snack item and then labeled the bag with the amount, the carb count, and the calories. This helps us to stay on top of it. And for those of us that don't have the greatest memory, you can just  pull the label off the package and stick it on the dashboard to serve as your food log for the day. 

8" Green Earth Frying Pan by Ozeri

Going Keto can be a bit of a challenge. There is essentially no way to get around cooking, unless you just want to eat sliced cheese and sausage, or spinach salads every night. We have an awesome set of pans that we received as a wedding gift.  They're a nice, solid, non-stick set. But non-stick scares the crap out of me! There is so much information available about the health hazards of cooking with PTFE and PFOA non-stick coating. At very high temperatures, PTFE begins to decompose and release fumes which are documented to be lethal to birds and small pets, and which can be harmful to humans. PFOA is classified by the EPA as a 'persistent pollutant of the environment'. 

When the kind folks at Moderna Housewares contacted me to review the 8" Green Earth Pan by Ozeri, I jumped at the opportunity! And I have to say, I'm impressed. 

 The Green Earth pan is a die-cast aluminum pan with a textured ceramic cooking surface. It is completely free of PTFE and PFOA. No more worrying about dangerous chemicals and gasses coming off my pans while I'm cooking!

As soon as it arrived, I knew that I was going to make eggs in it. There's no better test of a non-stick surface than eggs. And the stickiest, messiest of all of my favorite egg dishes is a tuna and spinach stovetop frittata.
It literally slid right off the pan and onto the plate. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought the pan had never been used! There was not a single thing on the pan! It was amazing.

I tried it again last night to fry a chicken breast. It wasn't quite as amazing as the first time, but it still released the meat without any fuss and there was very little remaining on the pan after.

I'm incredibly impressed. And feeling much more safe about my cooking surfaces now that I have this pan to use!

You can find out more information about the Ozeri line of products on their Facebook page  and more about the Green Earth Pan on Amazon.

Financial compensation was not received for this post. A sample product was gifted from Ozeri/Moderna Housewares. Opinions expressed here are my own.