Tuesday, December 27, 2011

happy christmas!

this year we had 3 christmases!
my family in the woodlands.
duncan's mom's family in louisiana.
duncan's dad's family and cousins also in louisiana.
we came home with a car full of gifts and full bellies.
although i missed being home, we had a lovely 2011 christmas.

 {sarah & nana peeling shrimp for christmas eve gumbo. yummmmm!}

 {making cake pops with cousins}

 {these are delicious! and so easy to make!}

 {our stockings}

Friday, December 23, 2011

sharing holidays


we're packing up the car, the dog, all of the gifts...
and heading to louisiana this year for christmas.
last year we packed up and went to colorado.
and the year before...
so this year, while we're getting ready to leave our home for the holidays
it made me think,
when do we get to say,
"we want to have christmas morning at our house"


so, how do you and your families celebrate/share the holidays? 

enjoy your christmas with your family!
merry christmas from leah + duncan + waylon

Thursday, December 22, 2011

holiday gift wrap

i love wrapping presents
i love paper, ribbon and stamps
how do you personalize your gifts?








only 2 days to get all of these gifts wrapped!!
happy weekend.
xoxo

Friday, December 16, 2011

33 fixes for an empty stomach







When you’re trying to lose weight, a growling tummy is like a best man’s speech: the longer it lasts, the more dangerous it gets. But hormones, not your gut, are to blame for binges, and preventing them from going haywire is the key to reining in kilojoules without feeling ravenous. So dig in – we’re giving you 33 ways to fill up.
1. Choose surf over turf Fish is more satisfying, per kilojoule, than beef or chicken, according to Dr Susanna Holt’s Satiety Index, a rank of different foods’ ability to satisfy hunger.
2. Turn up the heat The cooler a room, the more people tend to eat – which is why restaurants often keep thermostats low.
3. Can the juice Whole fruit contains fibre that makes you feel fuller than juice.
4. Bulk up [ Fibre expands in your GI tract to make you feel full, so make sure you get your RDA of 30g.
5. Love your bread Dodge the wonder white and go for wholemeal – it’s 5½ times more filling.
6. Pass on diet labels A study found that after eating full-fat muffins, subjects ate less in the next 24 hours than after a fat-free version.
7. Hold your nose Just smelling a fresh-baked cupcake can induce insulin secretion that makes you think you’re hungry. Bet you’re not.
8. Munch raw carrots Irish researchers found carrots are more filling when they’re raw. Get crunching!
9. Down vitamins Research suggests your body may compensate for a lack of nutrients by increasing your appetite so you’ll eat more.
10. Be pro protein A study found people ate 1846 less kilojoules a day on a 30 per cent protein diet versus a 15 per cent protein diet.

11. Shape up Wedge-shaped foods like pizza and cake make it difficult to estimate proper portions.
12. Have some avo Your body burns carbs in about an hour, so eat healthy fat to buy time before hunger pangs hit.
13. Graze like a cow Five evenly spaced, mini-meals (of around 1465kJ) a day will regulate your appetite and ward off sugar cravings.
14. Get nutty Nosh on pine nuts – they have the most protein of any nut or seed, and their pinolenic acid stimulates powerful hunger-suppressing hormones.
15. Listen to Jack Johnson Eating while listening to mellow music slows you down. Your stomach takes 20 minutes to tell your brain it’s full – that’s almost half of Sleep Through the Static.
16. Go ambidextrous Switch your fork to your non-dominant hand to eat slowly and give yourself time to recognise you’re full.
17. Don’t eat by candlelight Dim light can spark overeating, says a US study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
18. Bag dried fruit Go for 2 cups of grapes over ¼ cup raisins – both are 420kJ, but the grapes’ water content makes them feel more filling.
19. Slurp a smoothie Make it with low-fat yoghurt and fruit for a satiety trifecta: protein (to decrease hunger), fibre (to fill you up without many kilojoules), and calcium (to help burn fat).
20. Whey your options Boost that smoothie with 1 to 2 tablespoons of whey powder. New studies suggest that in addition to a protein punch, whey may affect the hormones that make you feel full.

21. Go fruity Mixed fruit can curb a sweet tooth, and it has plenty of fibre, which helps regulate your blood sugar.
22. Have a seaweed spritzer When you mix agar-agar, a fibre-rich thickening agent derived from seaweed, with fruit juice, it soaks up the liquid, making you feel full.
23. Go for cocoa Participants in a study were significantly more satisfied 30 minutes after they drank low-fat chocolate milk than after a soft drink.
24. Be antisocial People who eat with one other person consume about 35 per cent more than when they dine alone; at a table of four, that rises to 75 per cent more; and in a party of eight you’ll almost double your intake.
25. Go blue Studies show blue to be an appetite suppressant. Use blue plates, napkins and placemats.
26. Boost your bean count High-fibre beans cause glucose to release slowly into the bloodstream, preventing sudden slumps that cause hunger spikes.
27. Dig pop culture It’s mostly air, so popcorn’s twice as filling as chockie, with fewer kilojoules. Try Riviana Air Popped Popping Corn (380kJ per 25g).
28. Skip soft drinks High-fructose corn syrup, the main sweetener in soft drink, doesn’t spur insulin production to make the body process kilojoules, or trigger leptin, which tames appetite.
29. Start a pack-a-day habit Chewing gum suppresses your sweet tooth. (But if you prefer chips, banish the gum – it may make salty cravings worse.)
30. Trade your corkscrew for a stubbie holder. Participants in a study ate more while drinking wine than while drinking beer.
31. Watch horror films Nausea is responsible for a lack of appetite.
32. Find berry treasure Raspberries are one of the most fibre-rich fruits, packing 8g into a cupful – that’s more than a quarter of your RDA.
33. Make miso When your metabolism drags and energy dips, you crave things that give you a quick lift. New research reveals that protein-rich miso soup boosts metabolism.


{womenshealth.com}

Tuesday, December 13, 2011


i have used every excuse in the book. 
and now i regret it. 
heaviest weight i've ever been.
so i decided yesterday that starting 12/13/11 
i was going to loose 15 lbs.
and i'm going to be real honest with myself. 

here's the deal. 
i can run several miles. 
but i can eat every calorie (and more) that i burn.
so here's my meal chart.



and my exercise plan is to keep training for my 
12, 12, in '12.
12 miles per month. (logged races) but 20-25 miles per week training.
12 months
in 2012.

weight training on tuesday/thursday

so, here we go! 
HT: 5'10"
HW: 170
CW: 170
GW: 155


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

baby, its cold outside!

{lululemon.com}


running in 38* can be so fun....or so awful. 
on tuesday, i walked out the door in my short sleeve shirt and shorts
and was freezing by the end of 2 miles, so i turned around and came home!


here are my favorite cold running pieces:
calf length tights 

long sleeve, light weight shirt with thumb holes to keep your knuckles warm


 a vest



my favorite website if you don't know what clothing is appropriate. (click on the picture)



new songs for your running ipod:
coldplay-paradise
rhianna-we found love

happy running!
xoxo
leah


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

SPROUT ROBOT

i saw this website and loved it! 
sproutrobot.com 
you enter your zipcode and it tells you what to plant week by week! love it. 

Friday, December 2, 2011

have a happy weekend!

i've been searching for the perfect holiday color....
& here it is!
RUBY RED SLIPPERS 
by Deborah Lippmann


happy weekend. 

Thursday, December 1, 2011

hot cocoa cookies!

oh. my. gosh.
how delicious do these look.
i think these are going to at the top of my Christmas baking list.
from the Rachel Ray magazine.


In a medium saucepan, melt together:
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
12 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate (bars)
Stir frequently over medium heat until smooth. Let cool for 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Using an electric mixer, beat together:
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Beat on low speed until smooth, 2 minutes. Mix in the cooled chocolate mixture just until blended. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing on low speed until just comined. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and roll between your palms to form 1-inch balls. Arrange about 16 balls 2 inches apart on each cookie sheet, flattening slightly. Bake until the tops of the cookies crack, about 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut 7.5 ounces of semisweet chocolate (bars) into 1-inch squares. Snip 8 marshmallows in half crosswise and stick 1 square of chocolate onto each of the cut sides.

Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and gently press a marshmallow half, chocolate side down, into each cookie. Bake until the marshmallows are just softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 5 minutes.
Grate 5 ounces of semisweet chocolate over the hot cookies. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to the racks and let cool. Repeat the process with the remaining dough, marshmallows and chocolate. Bake each batch on a clean sheet of parchment paper.

What is your favorite holiday cookie?