Tag Archives: #LifeStyle

#FallEssentials/Favorites

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No, I am not a lifestyle blogger, and this isn’t a lifestyle blog. However, I do enjoy writing a favorites/essentials post every once in a while. I have nothing against lifestyle blogs, lifestyle blogging isn’t for me. Without further ado here are my fall favorites:

Reading- There is nothing better than cozying up with a good book in the fall, or an entire list of  books.

Baseball- If I could watch baseball all year, I would, it’s definitely my favorite sport to watch. I love watching baseball in the spring and summer, but there’s just more excitement in the fall because of the post season.

Tea- Some of my favorites are Pumpkin Chai, and Honeycrisp Apple from David’s tea and Teavana’s Rooibos Chai is always a staple.

Leggings/yoga pants/skinny jeans- These are definite fall staples, all three can easily be dressed up or dressed down.

Sweaters and hoodies- there is nothing better than a cozy sweater or sweatshirt

Footwear- Due to where I live, there are times when I can still wear flip flops late into October, but when it is time for the flip flops to be put away, I turn to my Chuck Taylor’s, Uggs and Beans (those are the classic LL Bean Bean Boots for non-New Englanders).

Flannels- The ultimate fall wardrobe staple

Pumpkin- Like I mentioned above, I love pumpkin tea, pumpkin spice scented oil, and I recently made Pumpkin Pie Frozen Yoghurt and it is delicious. You can find the recipe below.

To make the frozen yoghurt I used the following recipe from the Cuisinart Recipe Booklet:
Simple Vanilla Ice Cream
*1 cup whole milk- I used Fairlife 2% lactose-free milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
*2 cups heavy cream- I used 2 cups of Chobani Plain Vanilla Greek Yoghurt
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the pumpkin, I used one can of pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin pie spice. You don’t have to use a full can, you can use as much or as little as you like.

1. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk to combine the milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the yoghurt and vanilla, pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin pie spice. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.

2. Turn on the Cuisinart® ice cream maker; pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Goals

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At the beginning of the year, I try to set goals for myself, whether it be blogging goals, reading goals or lifestyle goals. However, the only goals that I usually end up keeping are my reading goals, those are just the easiest ones for me to keep for some reason. Although this year, I have done a somewhat okay of keeping my lifestyle goal of being more active, I started doing yoga. I don’t remember setting any blogging goals this year, in previous years I set them, but never kept them. In my opinion, it is important to set goals even if you don’t keep them, they still give you something to work for.

Minor lifestyle changes

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After Christmas I bought myself a FitBit, one of the things that intrigued me about the FitBit was that it tracks my sleep.  I love my sleep, and I usually get at least 8 hours every night.  Another reason why I bought a FitBit was to motivate me to be more active.  When I was younger, I was active.  I did ballet, jazz,  and from 8-16 I did gymnastics.  In fourth and fifth grade, I played softball, while still doing gymnastics, and in seventh grade while still doing gymnastics, I ran track.  In high school I did jazz again, and in my last semester of college, just for fun I took a ballet class.  I quit gymnastics when I was 16, I didn’t have a choice.  Gymnastics started taking a huge toll on my body.  In seventh grade, I started having problems with my knees, and then when I was 16 it was my shoulders.  I went to an orthopedic surgeon to find out what was wrong with them, and they were both hyper extensive, but my left one was subluxive.  I was in constant pain and asked for surgery.  Every once in a while I get back spasms, and I have a pinched nerve in my neck.

To be more active, I was looking for something that would still be a workout, yet not as strenuous on my problem areas.  Through FitBit I found this app called FitStar, and saw that there was a yoga app too.  I downloaded both apps, however, it is the yoga app that has been my favorite.  What I love about the yoga app, besides the fact that it is free, is that the yoga workouts are tailored to me, they are easy to follow and I’m still getting an awesome workout without putting any stress on my problem areas.  I have fallen in love with doing yoga, it makes me feel good and energized.

Lacking Lactase

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Recently, I was diagnosed as lactose intolerant, which means I either don’t have the enzyme lactase, or I do have it just not enough to digest lactose. Lactose is the sugar found in almost all dairy products.  Some dairy products naturally don’t have it, while others were filtered and the lactose was removed. I can’t eat ice cream, frozen yoghurt or drink regular milk without getting sick. I can eat yoghurt, some cheeses and I can drink milk as long as there isn’t any lactose in it. Some cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan are naturally extremely low in lactose, which makes them safe for me to eat.   The only yoghurt I eat is Greek yoghurt, it has a higher concentration of probiotics, and while it may have a high lactose content, I am able to digest it because of the probiotics. I also just bought myself an ice cream maker so I can make my own ice cream and not have to worry about whether or not I can enjoy it. Being lactose intolerant isn’t the worst thing in the world, it just means I have to watch what I eat for dairy products, and learn what I can and can’t tolerate.