Tooth Madness

For about a month now I have had a tooth on my bottom left side that has been killing me! If you have ever had tooth pain you know it is like the worst thing ever. So when one night I was woken out of a deep sleep by the pain, I knew it was time to get it taken out! Without an appointment I walked into my dentist's office and said that this needs to come out now! They where so nice: took some x-rays, saw it was not worth saving and took it out right then and there. I felt nothing!! Usually I get crap doctors who jip ya on the meds, but the only thing I felt was a small pinch when they gave me the shot, and the laughing gas made even that bearable. So I was really happy with the treatment I got. The only thing I could do without is the pain the day after it is taken out. IT IS AWFUL!! I'm ready to be put under again please. Lol, the funny thing is it is not nearly as bad as the cavity being there. So all in all I'm beat up from the accident and tooth-pulling, but I'm happy that I'm done with tooth problems for a while.... hopefully. 

Have a wonderful Friday everyone! 

-Megan

Vegan Recipes: Raspberry & Blueberry Smoothie

I love smoothies, but I mean who doesn't?? Well I recently got a Magic Bullet and love it!! I'm not ready to do a full review on it just yet, but be looking out for it. So the first thing I made with the bullet is a raspberry, blueberry, spinach, almond milk, and agave smoothie! Delicious! Anyone who has had veggie and fruit smoothies knows that when you add veggies to the smoothie you get a kinda kick, and I really love it. It is delicious and super healthy! I didn't really follow a recipe, but all you need to do is take frozen berries of your choice, add some leafy greens, almond milk, and agave, screw on the lid and mix!! It's that simple, its a great breakfast and it tastes like a dessert!! Give it a try, you will love it! Here are some pictures. Also it is good for about two servings. 

All the ingredients. 

Getting ready to mix. 

All mixed up. Love that color!! 

It is an amazingly good smoothie that is so good for you and will give you all the energy you will need for the morning or a midday snack. Give it a try! 

I hope you are all looking forward to the weekend as much as I am! 

-Megan

You Rock At It!

I love to crochet. I find it relaxing and I am good at it and fast, so there is almost instant gratification--and I am one who is impatient and who needs instant gratification. So the other day my friend who is not the best at it decided to give me ALL her leftover yarn! I am going to be set for the rest of the year, so you should expect some crocheting blogs in the next few months. I'm not a fan of some of the yarn, but she really loved one skein and wanted a scarf but couldn't make it herself, so I think that will be my first project. I think it is good for us to have projects, at least for me. It helps me take some time for me away from work and learning and other stresses of life. I think everyone should try to find something that they can do that they feel good about and enjoy doing. It is really freeing to allow yourself to think you are good at something and not feel bad for thinking it. Try it: find something and know that you rock at it! It feels amazing. 

I hope you all are having a great week! 

-Megan

Conquering a Fear

I would say I am a confident person, but just like everyone else, deep down I am still a scaredy-cat. One of my biggest fears is singing in public, and what have I signed up to do? Just that: singing in public. It will be with five other ladies and all the others are amazing singers: one was Ariel on the Disney cruise ship, and one of the others has had time in a recording studio. So needless to say I am extremely nervous. I am glad that I know and love all the ladies I am singing with, so I decided instead of being afraid I am going to embrace it and fully enjoy the experience. It is kinda liberating deciding not be be scared of something anymore. But I feel that with other fears that I have, like spiders or heights or living alone, I think there are some fears that we can simply decide to embrace and let go of. You may not agree but in April I am going to sing my a** off up there and feel good about it because I decide that is how it is going to be. 

I hope you all are doing well and that you are able to make a small jump to get over some of your fears. Happy Monday!! enjoy your week! 

-Megan 

Eventful Night

My dad and I decided to spend the day together; we went to an Eagles game (we won, 5 to 0). It was a great game. Then we stopped off to eat some dinner and made our way home. On the way we hit a patch of ice and spun out and hit our back left end on the median. Luckily no other cars were around or involved and we are both okay. Can't say the same for the car, but so blessed. It couldn't have worked out better; well it would have been better if there'd been no accident, but all in all, so blessed! 

-Megan 

Foods I Love: Sweet Potatoes

For the past few months I have been loving sweet potatoes. I cut them into french fries, I cut them into thin slices and bake them into chips with a little of sea salt... but my favorite way is good old fashioned baked, then smothered in Earth Balance vegan butter and Organic Blue Agave Nectar. Honestly, it is like candy. The best thing about sweet potatoes is that they are so inexpensive. We get 4 from Sprouts every week and it only costs about 3 bucks. Even with the butter and agave, if you are vegan you will already have them in your pantry and fridge. I am all for an inexpensive and delicious meal, and most importantly, it's HEALTHY! Love it! 

Well I am going to go eat one now, have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

-Megan 

Vegan Recipe: Mushroom and Sausage Pizza

Today was a snow day! I love the snow; mostly what I love about it is how beautiful it is. 

It was so pretty outside tonight it made me think of a snowy calendar. But Snow days also make me want to eat pizza! Oh how I have missed pizza! So I ventured out in the cold for all the pizza fixin's! 

I came home with 

Corn tortillas, organic pizza sauce, rice mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, vegan sausage, and I forgot to put the chopped black olives in the photo! 

(Got everything from Vitamin Cottage.) 

What else I needed: 

A baking sheet, tin foil, a cutting board, a knife, a spoon, and a can opener. 

What to do:

Lay out all the tortillas you will need on the baking sheet covered in tin foil, open the pizza sauce and slather your tortillas with it! Then cut up your mushrooms and vegan sausages. Open your can of chopped olives. Lay on your rice cheese and add your toppings (your vegan sausage will most likely be fully cooked and just need to be browned.) Then pop them in the oven under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes depending on how crispy you want them!  Then cut and gobble it up! It is so delicious even my husband loved it; I only say that because he usually doesn't like soy meats. But give it a try, you will love it! 

Who is ready for Friday? I know I am; hope everyone is doing well! 

-Megan 

Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales

      For those of you who have not read the original Grimm Brothers' fairy tale stories, you are in for it; they are a bit dark and twisted and very different from their Disney counterparts. Take Cinderella for example: there is no ball involved, and you would be shocked to read the original Snow White. And on that note, for those of you who don't know the Grimm brothers wrote most of the original Disney stories and other legends passed around Europe and the States. My husband and I found this copy at Barnes and Nobel for 8 bucks!! I had to pick it up and I am now reading through all their amazing stories. If you are like me and like all things dark and creepy you will love these stories, but if you are of the faint of heart or don't want your beloved Disney Princess stories to be tainted, steer away. 

I hope you guys are having a great week! 

-Megan 

: Cirque du Freak

When I was in middle school I vaguely remember reading this series. But I saw the movie (which was crap) and thought: hey, I know more about this story, why do I feel like I know more about this story? Then I remembered that I had read the books and thought the books were great so I decided to read them again. If you are a vampire fan you will enjoy. If you are a fan of weird people you will enjoy, and if you are into fairy tales you will enjoy. They are great books and stories: short books and very easy to read. I do wish they were longer so I didn't have to go out and buy them all the time. To add to the maybe not so great side, there are quite a few books in the series. I am only on book two and I go through them like wildfire. I'm excited to finish the series and I will let you all know what I think. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

-Megan 

Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures

So I'm not quite sure if I like this movie or not. I went into this movie with no expectations; I have not read the series and don't know anyone who has. So this was a brand new story to me. If you are not familiar with the story, here it is in a nut shell. A young man named Ethan Wate is fed up with his life in a small rural town in South Carolina, and one day he meets a young witch named Lena. Together they fall in love and learn secrets about her and her family, and have to try to fight to create their own futures whether it be for good or evil. 

After seeing the movie I was pleased with it I guess. It falls along the same lines as Twilight and Harry Potter: a love story mixed with magic and trials. So if you are a fan of those you will find this enjoyable as well. It is a bit slow at some points, I thought the accents could have been a bit better, and the acting of some was not as believable as others, but if you are not as picky as I am then you will love it. The acting was good, some did better then others: Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson were amazing. I don't think I have seen Emmy do a better job in a movie. The love story is very sweet and fun to watch develop. I won't be seeing this again in theaters, but will most likely buy it when it comes to DVD. I do think you should go see it; I am just personally torn between if I liked it or not. But you be the judge. 

I hope you all had a great Monday and here's to having a great week! 

-Megan

Learning to Speak German

So I am not one for going to extra school. I hated every minute I was in school and luckily I have a husband who is extremely smart and driven or else I would live a crap life forever. But I do enjoy learning, just at my own pace at my own time, my own way. So I have been wanting to learn a language for a while now. I have been thinking about learning German because my mom's side has a lot of German blood in her. My mom even has a disk set on learning 

German so it wouldn't cost me anything. SO I have decided to do it. I am extremely nervous and excited all at the same time. If you speak German leave a comment in German, a nice comment mind you and I will do my best to translate it and reply back in German.... It may take a while to respond, but I will do it. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and if you are embarking on a new adventure let me know and I will be supportive to you as well. 

Have a great Sunday everyone! 

-Megan 

Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

My husband loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but I am not always comfortable about giving him all that crap that's in them. So while I was reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, I came across a Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup recipe. I made them for the first time and I think they turned out very well. They were actually easy to make. So I figured I would share the recipe with you guys. I modified the recipe to fit my needs; you can do this one or stick to the original. 

What you will need:

 ~ 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter

~ 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

~ 1/4 cup maple agave nectar 

~ 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

~ 1/4 cup almond milk 

~ 2 large spoons 

~ 2 pots 

~ Muffin tin 

~ Muffin liners

In one saucepan combine the Earth Balance butter, crunchy peanut butter and maple agave nectar and stir on medium heat until fully combined. To the muffin tin lined with the liners add small, even amounts of the peanut butter mixture until the mixture is gone. In the second pot combine the almond milk and chips together on medium, stirring constantly until mixed thoroughly together. Then to the tops of the peanut butter mixture add small amounts of chocolate. Once complete put the tin in the fridge for at least 2 hours so it will set. 

Once it has set take out of the fridge and enjoy! These are so good and not nearly as bad for you as other chocolate peanut butter cups. I hope if you try these you love them, and have a wonderful day! 

-Megan 

Movie Review: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

I just saw The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and I personally loved it. In a nutshell, the movie is about a young man named Charlie who has gone through some rough things in the past and is entering high school as a freshman with no one to turn to. He meets some new friends that are seniors named Sam and her stepbrother Patrick. They introduce Charlie to a whole new world of friendship, sex, and drugs. Charlie and Sam develop a wonderful friendship that flourishes into something more where he learns a dark secret about his past that causes him to have a nervous breakdown. Luckily he has a good family and friends to turn to and help him through and he is able to help them in return. 

This movie is a semi-dark movie. If you are not into sex, drugs, and mental illness I would say steer away, but if you are one who goes for movies that resemble more of our real lives I would recommend this movie. It shows true friendship and that even when you are going through hell that life goes on and turns out better on the other side. We rented the movie off of Xfinity OnDemand, but I think Redbox has it as well. I would recommend this movie: I will watch it again and the acting is amazing. I say go check it out. 

I hope you all have an amazing Valentine's day; spend it with the ones you love!

-Megan

Happy Valentines Day

Im not doing an actual post todsy, just want to wish you all a happy Valentines day. Spend it with someine you love, if you spend it with a sister or the love of your life. I hope everyone feels loved today! 

-Megan

Vegan Recipe: Wild Rice with Beans, Mushrooms, Onions, and Tomatoes

I am always looking for new vegan recipes. Most people think being a vegan means sacrificing more than just animal byproducts, but taste as well, so my goal is to always be finding amazing vegan foods. Tonight all I had in my fridge was an onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes. I have to say for a minute there I was stumped, but I went to the pantry and found beans and wild rice; I figured I would make the rice and add all the veggies in with the beans. At first it worked... then I realized I needed more moisture, so I added orange juice. Then I tasted it and found it needed more flavor, so I added vegan vegetable bullion. The outcome was delicious. 

So if you are interested, here is the recipe. Enjoy! 

What you will need:

~ A white onion 

~ Mushrooms

~ Tomatoes 

~ Wild rice 

~ Beans 

~ Vegan vegetable bullion 

~ Orange juice 

~ Rice cooker 

~ Cutting board 

~ A knife 

~ A pot 

Put rice in the rice cooker first so that it will be almost done when the veggies are. Cut up the onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes and put them in the pot, then turn the burner on to medium heat. To the pot add your can of rinsed beans. Stir all the veggies and beans together and add in enough orange juice to coat the bottom of the pot. Once the pot is simmering add the vegan vegetable bullion. Once everything is mixed together let it simmer until the rice is finished. Once the rice and veggies and beans are all done put out on a plate and enjoy! 

I'm telling you this is so delicious and healthy and filling. It will be on my weekly menu from now on! I may even make it on Valentine's day for my hubby. I hope you enjoy your week and have a great Valentine's day! 

-Megan 

My Top 5 Favorite Books

This one is going to be super short but I am a total book nerd. One of my favorite things is to curl up in front of the fire with cocoa, a warm blanket and a good book; if it happens to be snowing it would only be a plus. I had a super long day and was going to do this great Valentine's day themed blog, but I will have to save that for another day. So I figured it would be fun to share what my top 5 favorite books are. Most of them are trilogies, not going to lie; I think one is not, haha, but I may be wrong. 

5. The Twilight books: hey, you either love them or hate them, and I happen to love them. I have read them so many times the pages are falling out of some of them. 

4. Hunger Games: now I only started reading these after the movie came out, but I think these stories are amazing. I was not a fan of how it ended, but still, great stories. 

3. The Fablehaven books: these are so fun and easy to read. The writing is amazing and it's fun to read as a family. 

2. The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit: I count these all in one even though technically there are 4 books. But these are great; these stories are a big part of my husband and I's marriage. 

1.  The Harry Potter books: I grew up on these books and movies. They are engraved on my soul it seems like; yes, that is a bit dramatic but these are a big part of my growing up years. 

Sorry this is such a short one, but I hope if you haven't read any of these that you will go and give them a try. I loved them and I have read each one multiple times. I'm off to bed; I hope you all have a nice evening and a great Tuesday! 

-Megan

Valentine's day

Waring, about to get sappy. 

I was never big in to lovey dovey stuff, i am still not. I just know now why people do. 

My husbsnd maks everday better. Im lucky to have such a wonderful person as my forever. Jer likes to be romantic, usually im like how about we don't get all mushy, but Valentines day is the only day i do. I will give Jer a gift on Valentines day, but as a small I love you gift it will forever be out there that he is the other half of my soul and the light in my life. I love ya babe. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful Valentines day with your love and never forget how lucky you are to have them. 

-Megan 

Zoo Day

We spent the day at the zoo, one of my favorite places to be. It was the perfect day to go. As you know I hate people, and there were very few people there and such great weather it was like the best day. I went with a few girlfriends who have kiddos, and you would think going around the zoo with a total of seven kids would be hell. It was not, they all were well behaved and really enjoyed themselves. It was also nice to just talk to my friends while they looked at animals. I'm not hard to please, just give me a good convresation and nature and I'm the happiest girl in the world. Jer and I need to go sometime soon. It's a short and simple log today, hope you all had a wonderful day and have a great weekend!

-Megan

Monthly Favorites: January 2013

This is already going up a little late and if I put it off any longer I will not be able to put it up and it still be relevant. So here are my January 2013 favorites. (Am I the only one who cannot believe it is already February?) 

Beauty:

~ I am loving my new Giovanni Natural hair styling foam. I got it at Sprouts for those of you who were wondering, and it is amazing. I have tight wavy hair but it tends to lose some volume throughout the day, so I use this and it leaves my waves tight all day. 

~ Bare Minerals defining mascara is amazing, the brush is amazing and the formula is so smooth that it just glides on my lashes with minimal clumps. 

~ (A little awkward to talk about) my Tom's Of Maine apricot deodorant. I love it and it smells amazing! Lasts all day and I love it! 

Food:

~ I love almond milk; it is best with my vegan rice puff cereal, but it's great by itself as well. 

~ Sweet potatoes: I could eat these everyday! They are healthy and delicious. I top them off with vegan Earth Balance butter and agave nectar. Try it; it is to die for! 

~ Gala apples: simply amazing. 

Movies: 

~ Silver Linings Playbook: great movie, and I think it was the only movie I saw in theaters this month. 

TV shows:

~ Friends: it is a great series that I will never be able to get enough of. 

~ How I Met Your Mother. 

~ Psych: it's my husband and I's favorite show! So funny and it's one of my favorite things to do with my husband. 

~ And my guilty pleasure show, Pretty Little Liars. My life is almost drama free, no fighting or death of a best friend or people stalking me, so I get my drama fix here. I have to tell ya, it is a good show for those who like mystery, and drama. I usually like comedy only but this drama does it for me. 

Games: 

~ My husband and I don't like to wait to get our gifts for each other, so I already have my Valentine's Day gift! I got the new limited edition Lord Of The Rings Adventure Board Game. It is like a mixture of Risk and Settlers of Catan. I did a blog post on it a few days back if you are interested in reading more about it. But I love it and it's the best game ever! 

Random:

~ Girls' night

~ Days at the zoo.

~ My warm bed.

~ And most importantly, my fantastic husband. 

Hope you guys liked my favorites post! Have a wonderful night and a great Friday! 

-Megan

Healthy Living: My Top Five Favorite Workouts

I try to live the healthiest lifestyle that I can, and that includes working out. But I like to mix up my workouts so I won't get too bored and not keep up with them, so I thought I would share my top five favorite workouts. Some are more intense than others, but I hope you get some ideas and motivation to work out a bit more. 

In order from most favorite to still awesome, but not my fave. 

1. Yoga: I have high anxiety, so taking a few minutes to drink my herbal tea and do my yoga in the morning helps me keep my cool throughout the day. 

2. The Wii video game, Just Dance: honestly it goes by so fast and you don't feel like you're working out. It's so fun. 

3. Walking: I'm not much of a runner anymore because of the fact I have hip problems. But walking is one of the only things that, when I have gained a little weight, melts the fat away the fastest. 

4. Weight lifting: I like my muscles to be a little tight and have some definition, so lifting 3-pound weights gives me the arms I want without making me look manly, and doing squats with my weight ball gets my legs looking fab. The ab wheel sucks to use, but will help you tone those stomach muscles and slim you down. 

5. I don't have a picture for this one, but squats and leg lifts. My problem area on my body is my thighs. Its like they suck up the fat from anything and super glue it to my legs, but leg lifts help the outer side of my thighs to not have bumpy lumps on them. 

I love to feel healthy and to work out; I'm one of the weird ones. I just ate some fries so I'm going to have to go do one of these right now. I hope you are inspired to work out more and let me know your favorite workouts. 

-Megan 

Recipe: Vegan Apricot Chocolate Coins

So I think I may have found what I'm bringing to the recipe group tomorrow: apricot chocolate coins. Basically dried apricots dipped in chocolate. YUMMY! Here is how you achieve this magic. 

What you will need:

1. Dried apricots (organic and all-natural work best; also look that it doesn't have harsh preservatives).

2. Dairy Free and Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate chips (it is a bit expensive).

3. Pot for boiling water.

4. Bowl for making a double boiler. 

5. Cutting board. 

6. A rolling pin. 

7. Baking sheet lined with wax paper. 

How to:

~ Take the all-natural organic apricots and on the cutting board, flatten the apricot slices with the rolling pin. 

~ Make a double boiler, meaning take a pot of boiling water and place another bowl over it, not touching the water on the bottom to the bowl on top. Add to the double boiler your vegan chocolate chips. With a whisk stir the chips until they are completely mixed together and smooth. 

~ Take your flattened apricots and dip half of each apricot in the chocolate. 

~ On the baking sheet lined with wax paper, place all your chocolate covered apricot coins. Once they are all there place them in the fridge until hardened. 

~ And after an hour or so ENJOY!! 

These are so delicious and I think they will be a hit; if you are interested on where I got this recipe I got it from the diet and recipe book The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone. She for sure beats to the beat of her own drum, but I love her and the book is amazing! 

-Megan

Amazing Vegan Stuffed Peppers!

My grandma and I have a very similar way of cooking, and we should; between her and my mother was where I learned how to cook. Tonight my grandma showed on our doorstep with a hot pan filled with vegan stuffed peppers. The smell of it alone sent me into food heaven! When I asked her what was in them she said: pomegranate juice, figs, rice, and squash. It was sweet and salty and completely quilt free. Also extremely filling; I don't think I came up for air once while I was eating them. So Tomorrow I'm headed over to her house to make them myself and get the recipe. I will for sure be sharing!! On another food note, Wednesday I am going to a Food Group. The ingredients that we are meant to use are either chocolate of cheese. I'm not sure what to make: does anyone have any suggestions?? I will let you guys know how that goes and will get you the recipe for whatever I choose to make for Wednesday and for the stuffed peppers. I hope you all go enter a food heaven of your own! 

-Megan 

A Bunch of Germ-Infested Sick People!

Everyone in the house is sick. Not with anything like strep or the chicken pox, but an awful head cold and sore throat, where all you can really do is wait it out. But there are some way to make being sick more barable. 

 Take some time off, watch a movie, and drink some soup; be sure there are plenty of tissues nearby and sleep as much as possible. I hope if you are sick like us you are better soon! Have a great Sunday.

-Megan

Board Game Review: The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Edition Adventure Board Game

For my husband Jeremy and I Friday night is date night. Tonight we made our way to Jamba Juice and then to Barnes and Noble, where we have been eyeing this Lord Of The Rings Adventure Board Game, Deluxe Edition. We are both extremely nerdy--I'm talking Sheldon from Big Bang Theory nerdy--so we figured it is payday and this can be a Valentine's Day gift from one of us (it was his gift to me we decided). But anyway, we played it almost right after we got home. Here are my thoughts. 

They way I would describe this game is if Settlers Of Catan and Rick popped out a little board game baby. We started with the directions; well, they are extremely unspecific in some areas so be sure to look at and read all the cards before hand: they have rules on there that you will need to know and it is hard to play without knowing them. Also be sure to look on the back of your cards if you are playing the character Sauron. Jer didn't even notice they were two-sided until our last move. Everything is very confusing at first and it kinda pissed me off; I felt that they should have made it easier with everything from the board to the rules. But once I calmed down and understood the game it was a lot of fun. If you are not into long games that make your brain work then this is not the game for you, but if you are a Lord Of The Rings fan and are willing to look past the strange rules you will find it enjoyable--once you get past your initial want to flip the game board and pieces over. I think it's a great game and will for sure be playing over and over again with friends and family. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

-Megan