Snikiddy Snacks – Giveaway [Closed - Winner Announced]

Thursday, I told you how much I LOVED these baked snacks.

You saw how much the kids LOVED these snacks.

Now, you too, have a chance to enjoy these yummy snacks for free!

Here is how to enter:

I have decided to use Rafflecopter for this giveaway.  I have heard lots of great things about them so we are going to give it a try!  It only takes about 3 minutes to sign up!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS April B!  Enjoy your yummy goodies from Snikiddy!

Snikiddy gave me the opportunity to give these snacks to you.  No money was given in exchange for my review or giveaway.  All opinions expressed are my own.

My name is Jennifer, I’m 35 and I currently live in a suburb outside of Atlanta. I live with my husband, Jason and Shi-tzu, Maggie. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
My full time job is teaching elementary school. My part time job is private tutoring after school for grades K-6. I have been on my weight loss journey my entire life but just began to take it seriously two years ago when I decided it was time to start a family. I didn’t want to be one of those people who others look and and say, “Is she pregnant or just really fat?” At the rate I was going, that question would certainly be asked. So, two years ago I joined Weight Watchers. Now, closing in on losing 100 pounds, my life is healthier and I am happier. Now…bring on the baby!
My blog is here for you to be inspired, learn something new, and hear all about all new products I try. Join me on this weight loss journey as I go through ups and downs, good and bad, and continue to take it one day at a time!

View the original article here

Hot Dogs, BBQs…and Fracking

Kudos to Fuel Fix.com for cooking up a link between hot dogs and fracking in time for the Fourth of July – making the point that chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing are all around our daily lives, in some of the things we eat and other products that make our lives better.

Take the hot dog. Fuel Fix points out that the staple at cookouts, ballparks and fireworks displays often contains something called sodium erythorbate for fast curing and retention of the hot dog’s distinctive pink color. In fracking, it helps prevent precipitation of metal oxides, improving the process.

Going to a barbecue? Many BBQ sauces contain guar gum, derived from (you guessed it) the guar bean. In hydraulic fracturing, guar gum thickens the water in the fracking fluid, better suspending the sand that keeps tiny cracks in rocks open so oil or natural gas can be recovered.

It’s true: Not all of the stuff that goes into fracking fluid can be ingested by humans, yet these substances are found in things people use all the time. Check out Fuel Fix’s neat slideshow for a different way of looking at a drilling process that’s revolutionizing this country’s energy production.

Final point: The typical fracturing fluid is made up of 99.5 percent water and sand. Just half of 1 percent is chemical ingredients. See FracFocus.org for more information on fluid composition and other aspects of the hydraulic fracturing process, as well as the Energy From Shale website – and Happy Independence Day!

View the original article here

Success Breeds Success

So true!

I had a great, healthy weekend!  It’s about time!

I exercised BOTH days.

Saturday, I walked 15 minutes outside and then 30 on the treadmill (I was hoping to go longer on the treadmill but I had eaten dinner and I felt like I had a lead balloon in my tummy.  Just another reason not to wait so long to workout!).

Yesterday, I ended up walking 45 minutes on the treadmill and then mowing the lawn for another 40 minutes.

Did you know that you can burn some serious calories mowing the lawn with a push mower?  We have a nice sized lawn so it takes a little while to mow it.  Ladies, mowing the lawn is not just for men!  I love to get that extra calorie burn!

My eating was also on track this weekend.  I tried to limit my carbs, not eat any artificial sugar (sweets) and stay on track.  I did very well both days with this.  SO, when I got on the scale this morning (Thinking like a skinny person and skinny people weigh themselves often)…

I WAS SO HAPPY!

I felt like I had been successful!  No, it wasn’t down several pounds.  It was down several ounces.  But, if I can go down several ounces each day, they add up to several pounds.

I felt so successful that I wanted to make sure I stayed on track today so I could see success again tomorrow.  I realized that when I am successful, I want to be MORE successful.  Hence, success breeds success.

Sometimes it is the little realizations, that you have known in your head all along, that suddenly hit your heart.  I love those!

What success did you have this weekend?  It doesn’t have to be major.  Little things add up to big things!  Share your success with us so we can celebrate together!

Make it a great week!

Photo Credit

My name is Jennifer, I’m 35 and I currently live in a suburb outside of Atlanta. I live with my husband, Jason and Shi-tzu, Maggie. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
My full time job is teaching elementary school. My part time job is private tutoring after school for grades K-6. I have been on my weight loss journey my entire life but just began to take it seriously two years ago when I decided it was time to start a family. I didn’t want to be one of those people who others look and and say, “Is she pregnant or just really fat?” At the rate I was going, that question would certainly be asked. So, two years ago I joined Weight Watchers. Now, closing in on losing 100 pounds, my life is healthier and I am happier. Now…bring on the baby!
My blog is here for you to be inspired, learn something new, and hear all about all new products I try. Join me on this weight loss journey as I go through ups and downs, good and bad, and continue to take it one day at a time!

View the original article here

Back In The Gym! Plus Bean Recipe Links

I’m back in the gym!

Expect more gym tweets, coming soon.

I did finally go back after my gym motivation post. Before going in I almost talked myself out of it because it felt weird after such a long break. Honestly I almost felt embarrassed, but when I walked in the owner asked about my mom and how things were and it didn’t feel weird at all.

I spent half an hour on the elliptical machine and then did some lower body work. I only have two weeks before snowboarding which isn’t much time but I can at least get my muscles to remember that they know how to work!

Two weeks til the trip. Less than that really. Have I mentioned that I CAN’T WAIT?

That’s really all I have for now. It’s dreary weather here and not much is going on to be honest…

So here are some interesting bean recipes I’m enjoying because we’ve been eating lots of beans lately!

Enjoy!

Related posts:

Creamy Avocado and Spinach Pasta RecipeMy Recipe For SuccessFriday Thoughts and LinksLinks, Art + Life, and I’m So Last MinuteYour Links And My Plans

View the original article here

Motivation For The Gym

I decided it was time to go back to the gym today.

Then I got busy and didn’t go. Oops? To be fair I did go on a 2 mile walk with JuJu and have been dancing around all day. This evening I decided to go check out Pinterest and find some motivation and inspiration to actually get back into the gym.

Maybe some of you need this too, so… Here we go!

I need that pillow!

Haha, jokes!

I’ll be at the gym tomorrow!

Related posts:

Don’t Procrastinate!FunnyGiveaway Winner and Motivation MondayHealthy Ways To Start The Year Off RightNew Starts & Long Term Motivation

View the original article here

Take it Outside

Wednesday, was one of my few days I have to spend at home.  I love those days in the summertime because I get up early, drink some coffee while checking email and reading blogs, then eat breakfast.  After a while, I will take the dog for a walk and then exercise myself.  I get lots of things done around the house and I enjoy the time of quietness.

Wednesday was one of those days.

After taking the dog for her walk (which she HATES by the way), I decided that it was a nice day outside (yes, it was 90 degrees but I like to sweat while working out!) and I would take my walk outside after dropping Maggie off at the house.  She can barely go around the block much less 45 minutes.

So, off I went, outside, in the 90 degree heat to sweat, listen to music, and just have a good workout.

There are so many benefits to taking a nice long walk!

Check out all the health benefits to walking.  Amazing.  In addition to the health reasons, little did I know, I was about to see so many “interesting” things on my walk.  After one thing, then, two, three, four and five, I knew I had to snap some quick photos and tell you guys about it.

First, let me tell you about WHERE I walk.  There is a “busy” road out in front of my neighborhood.  I first like to walk around the neighborhood and then walk the length of the road.  Well, this road is where I saw so many “interesting” things:

First of all, the litter.

I mean, seriously people.  Don’t throw trash out your car window.  How hard is it to save it and throw it away into a garbage can?  The only time I ever littered was when I was still living at home.  I was obese and went through a drive thru.  I didn’t want my parents to know so I threw the garbage out the window.  That was sad to tell you.  Anyway…speaking of sad.  I also saw this:

This is a memorial for a man that died running on this road early one morning.  He was a teacher nearby and a running coach.  Every time we drive on the way to our house, we go by these yellow ribbons and running shoes.  So sad and so tragic.

To lighten the mood a little after that, I saw something a little more intersting:

Yes, I get why someone would want to hide THAT box from their parents.  Gheesh!

Next to that box was…

A Fork!  Well of course there would be a wrapped up fork in the grass…makes perfect sense!

Then, of course, I saw this:

Yep, an iPad cover.  How this got on the side of the road, I will never know.  I have two covers of my own so I didn’t need this one.  I left it.

Last, but certainly not least was this guy:

A snake.  I freaked out and jumped to the side of the sidewalk only to realize he was dead.  So, of course, I stopped for a picture.  Snakes are gross and scary.  Dead or alive!

So…my walk on Wednesday was much more exciting than if I had just walked on the treadmill and watched some boring show on television.

What is the strangest thing you have ever seen while exercising, inside or out?

Photo Credit

My name is Jennifer, I’m 35 and I currently live in a suburb outside of Atlanta. I live with my husband, Jason and Shi-tzu, Maggie. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
My full time job is teaching elementary school. My part time job is private tutoring after school for grades K-6. I have been on my weight loss journey my entire life but just began to take it seriously two years ago when I decided it was time to start a family. I didn’t want to be one of those people who others look and and say, “Is she pregnant or just really fat?” At the rate I was going, that question would certainly be asked. So, two years ago I joined Weight Watchers. Now, closing in on losing 100 pounds, my life is healthier and I am happier. Now…bring on the baby!
My blog is here for you to be inspired, learn something new, and hear all about all new products I try. Join me on this weight loss journey as I go through ups and downs, good and bad, and continue to take it one day at a time!

View the original article here

Two Cooking Failures

Despite learning how to cook and trying out a lot of new recipes and foods, I still mess up a lot. There isn’t much that is inedible but there is a lot of food I make that gets very close to that point. Sometimes it’s because of failed technique and other times it’s because of weird seasoning. Either way I’m still learning in the kitchen and definitely encounter my share of cooking failures.

I tried to make cinnamon sugar radish chips today and I failed. Majorly. The chips did not turn out at all! It was completely my fault for a number of reasons, but let’s just say it was a kitchen disaster.

A couple days ago I made coleslawfor the first time. I was trying to make a healthier coleslaw but it ended up being too tangy. Yikes! But the good news here is I still ate a bunch of veggies!

I’ll admit though that it isn’t just two failures. This week (and it’s only Wednesday) I’ve also messed up two rice and bean dishes that ended up being just barely tolerable. Someone needs to get me out of the kitchen!

I’ve been a little blah about this blog because I’m excited about other blogging/website projects I’m working on. The latest super cool thing – I finally finished a paper flower tutorial! Check out DIY Hanging Tissue Paper Flowers tutorial.

I’ve taken up a new hobby: knitting! But since I already sit so much with my day job I’ve decided to only knit while standing up or pacing. It’s a bit strange, but it works! Right now I’m making a practice scarf to get down the basic stitches.

At least I’m getting more steps into my day somehow! Between walking, pacing, andNerd Fitness workouts I’m getting lots of activity into my life once again!

Yes, I had to post those last two things just to redeem myself from my cooking failures. My self-esteem was feeling bruised! I like to joke that Kepa is the real chef here and I am just the crazy experimental one. I tend to try a lot of things that are a bit different and sometimes that leads to more failures. Maybe I need to stick with tried and true recipes more often!

Related posts:

Cooking AheadHungry Girl CookingFinding The Joy Of CookingCooking? What’s That?

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Fix the Renewable Fuels Standard

There was good discussion of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) during a Hill hearing this week. API supports the appropriate use of ethanol, biodiesel and other biofuels in transportation fuels, but, unfortunately, in some ways the standard is bearing out the law of unintended consequences.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard addressed the House energy and power subcommittee, noting that U.S. refiners have primary responsibility for meeting the RFS requirements, blending nearly 15 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline. But the RFS’ requirements are producing some bad policy, Gerard said:

“EPA has allowed the RFS law’s volume requirements to drive decisions that are inappropriate and unwise.  The law has become increasingly unrealistic, unworkable, and a threat to consumers.  It needs an overhaul, especially with respect to the volume requirements.” 

Gerard detailed ill effects stemming from the RFS’s volume mandates:

E10 “Blend Wall” – 10 percent ethanol content in fuel is safe for U.S. vehicle engines, service station pumps and storage tanks. But under the law, the ethanol volume in the overall fuel supply is required to increase and could exceed 10 percent as early as 2013. That’s the so-called “blend wall.” At that point refiners will have only two options: produce E15 (15 percent ethanol) and flexfuel or E85 – a blend of between 51 percent and 83 percent ethanol by volume that can be used only in flexfuel vehicles, which make up about 5 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet today. More on E15 below. The problem with E85 is that it has a lower fuel economy than gasoline, and less than 2 percent of retail stations offer it.

E15 – EPA has approved the use of E15 for part of the vehicle fleet to help accommodate increases in the RFS volume requirement. But a recent study showed that E15 could damage engines that weren’t designed to use it, as well as gasoline station pump equipment. The risk can be measured in the billions of dollars. The Auto Alliance weighed in on E15, here. U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner shared the concerns of auto makers in a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson last summer. Gerard:

“EPA should not have proceeded with E15, especially before a thorough evaluation was conducted to assess the full range of short- and long-term impacts of increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline on the environment, on engine and vehicle performance, and on consumer safety.”

Cellulosic ethanol – A 2007 law requires increasing use of this advanced form of ethanol that theoretically can be made from a broader range of feedstocks. But it isn’t available, because no one is making it commercially. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Brian McGraw has more details, here. Even so, EPA continues to assert that aggressive mandates, not based on actual production, will somehow stimulate production. EPA could waive the provision but instead is insisting that refiners buy credits for a non-existent fuel, which will drive up costs and might harm consumers.

RINS – This stands for renewable identification numbers, which are used with renewable fuel credits that some refiners have purchased under a program created by EPA. Some refiners became fraud victims after buying invalid credits in good faith. EPA’s initial response was that the bad credits were the refiners’ problem, and that they’d have to buy more. This adds more costs to making gasoline. Industry currently is trying to work out the problem with EPA.

Again, industry supports renewable fuels. But the RFS as written threatens to become counterproductive. Gerard:

“The RFS law needs to be altered to fix what isn’t working and take into account the ability of the vehicle fleet and fueling infrastructure to safely use renewable blends. Mandates must have periodic technology/feasibility reviews to allow for appropriate adjustments. Biofuels are an important part of the nation’s energy mix.  But current law and how it is implemented have become increasingly problematic.  This could eventually hurt consumers and erode support for the RFS program.”  

The answer is commonsense problem-solving, including positive collaboration between government and industry. While the goals of the RFS are well-intentioned, the marketplace realities are concerning, with potentially negative effects on companies and consumers that should be fixed.

View the original article here

Gulf Lease Sale Emphasizes Need for Expanded Opportunities

Some details from Wednesday’s federal lease sale in the central Gulf of Mexico (news coverage here and here):

Size – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) sale attracted high bonus bids of $1.7 billion for the area off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama – ranging as far as 230 miles into the Gulf. Bids – Fifty-six companies submitted 593 bids on 454 tracts, with the sum of all bids totaling more than $2.6 billion. That’s a big sale, though not the biggest ever. According to BOEM the biggest value lease sale was $3.68 billion in the central Gulf in March 2008. The last sale in the central Gulf in March 2010 totaled $949 million. Record – The highest bid on a single tract was $157.1 million, submitted by Statoil in the Mississippi Canyon, Block 718 – about three times higher than the previous top bid of $52.5 million submitted in 2010.

Now, some perspective.  As API’s Erik Milito said Tuesday, the simple fact that the federal government held a lease sale in the central Gulf is important. It had been more than two years since drilling blocks had been put up for bid. That BOEM opened more than 38 million acres after a two-years-plus hiatus was a positive step.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar heralded the sale as evidence of the administration’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy:

“When it comes to domestic production, the president has made clear he is committed to expanding oil and natural gas production safely and responsibly, and today's sale is just the latest example of his administration delivering on that commitment. … The Gulf is back. There is great robustness in oil and gas activity currently under way in the Gulf, as well as interest in additional exploration.”

Well, it’s probably more accurate to say the Gulf is getting back. Unfortunately, just returning to 2010 levels of activity (rig counts, etc.) concedes that two years of production were negatively affected by the administration’s policies – the 2010 deepwater drilling moratorium and the slow pace of permitting when the ban was lifted. Given that context, sure, industry was enthusiastic about Wednesday’s sale. National Ocean Industries Association President Randall Luthi:

“A sale of this size signals a strong industry commitment to the Gulf of Mexico and to our nation’s energy future and to more domestic jobs.”

More context: The areas opened for bidding this week have been considered before, which is what Milito emphasized on Tuesday. The central Gulf was not a new area for development. So, instead of restricting opportunity to these areas, the government should be expanding it to new ones. As Luthi suggests, industry is willing and able to do more. Just imagine the robustness of the bidding if the lease areas were in the Eastern Gulf or off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts – areas with undiscovered, technically recoverable reserves estimated at 1.40 billion, 10.37 billion and 3.82 billion barrels, respectively (see map).

Milito from Tuesday:

“Exploration is what leads to production. And it is important to understand that it is critical to maintain a robust leasing program to allow companies to explore new prospects and replace the production that is coming from existing wells. Maintaining the status quo won’t work.”

Opening up more U.S. resources for development (onshore as well) is the real path to expanding domestic oil and natural gas production – which is fundamental to a true, all-of-the-above energy approach. It’s critical to an American-made energy strategy that will create jobs, expand the economy and help us be more energy secure in the future.

View the original article here

Cooking With Gas–And Loathing It?

The intersection of a recent anti-natural gas fundraiser at the trendy Brooklyn Winery – featuring fabulous culinary delights prepared by a group of talented chefs – and the natural gas that made the evening possible was, well, simply mouth-watering.

New York Daily News columnist Bill Hammond writes that the “Taste of the Marcellus” event last week was hosted by a group called Chefs for the Marcellus, to showcase the kinds of foods they say could be jeopardized if New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo OKs hydraulic fracturing in that state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale. Hammond:

"Guests were treated to eggplant-stuffed okra, smoked lamb belly with fermented tofu and whipped ricotta jewel on toast — along with wines from the Finger Lakes and beers from Cooperstown’s Ommegang brewery. The only thing more delicious than the menu was the irony, because many if not most of those dishes were cooked over the bright blue flame of natural gas. That’s right, the Chefs for the Marcellus saw nothing wrong with using the very same fuel they portray as a dire threat to the upstate countryside."

He writes that even stuff that wasn’t simmered or seared over a gas flame was chilled in refrigerators running on electricity, much of which no doubt was generated at natural gas-fired power plants. Same thing for the restaurant AC that kept the guests comfortable. Every cubic foot of gas used, he notes, came from a hole in the ground – a quarter of it (based on national averages) from the same hydraulic fracturing process the group opposes.

Then there’s this quote Hammond got from Chefs for the Marcellus organizer Hilary Baum – as tantalizing as the sungold tomato gazpacho with smoked trout that was part of the featured fare:

“We all cook with gas. We all use gas. But we have to be looking at developing alternative energy sources and not be so stuck on fossil fuels.”

To ice the cake, Hammond quotes the Manhattan Institute’s Robert Bryce:

“It’s easy to demonize the oil and gas industry. But getting along without the fuels they provide takes us back to the Stone Age.”

Amen. Pass the trout.

View the original article here