New Kittens and Happy Halloweeeeen!!

Like my witch hat that I made? :) I had been waiting forever to find a good wire to put inside that wasn't TOO flimsy, or tooo hard. My boyfriend had gotten copper wire that they were stripping down, so I snagged some of that to use. 

Last night my cat Asa had kittens. Now before you go and say that she needs to be spayed, I know. I was slacking. The day I went to get her spayed, I was also getting her, her shots and tag. But alas, they said I couldn't get her spayed on weekends there. Not long after, she got pregnant, and than out popped two adorable healthy little kittens last night, the night before Halloween.
She came up to me meowing, and meowing, so I turned her around, lifted her tail, and saw that her water had broke. Dan ran to get the suitcase out of the room, covered it with some soft pants and a blanket, and than we sat. Not long after she started pushing. Saw the nose peaking through, and a few seconds later, the little guy popped out. :3
Than about an hour later the other one had popped out, but by than, we had transferred her into the closet, the safest place we could find that would allow her to go in and out, yet keep the dogs out. I went and finished up my witch hat, and came back to check on her, and there was yet another little kitten, gray and white. The first one looks like her. Her last litter all looked like her. I thought I felt another one, but I wasn't too sure, but I'm hoping we come home to one more kitten, born on Halloween. Dan wants to keep one of the kittens, but thats a lot of animals for one household. To have 3 cats and 2 dogs? Yea, a little much. So far he hasn't taken no for an answer.

Asa getting ready to have her kittens. 

First one out, and trying to feed.

The 2nd kitten. :) They are both super adorable and cute!

Upcoming Posts! Pumpkin Everything!

This last weekend I was taking photos of the making of a vegan pumpkin soup. Sadly, it didn't taste that great. I would have posted about making a pumpkin pie, but the first one got a little burnt. Someone forgot to check up on the pie while I was out. The second one, I woke up the next morning, to find that my cats have eaten it.

But! I will be making pumpkin dog treats!
As well as pumpkin essential oils that I am making for my etsy shop.

Be prepared!

In the mean time, here are some photos of Dan and myself.
-Krystalle

SmartShake protein shake

Hey guys, it's me again. Product review time. 

Today at the gym my boyfriend, Jon, and I found these cool protein shaker bottles. It's called a SmartShake bottle. It was only $10, and I'm not sure if it can be found at a regular store or not. Anyway, so, it has three compartments; the main shake compartment, a pill holder under it with a removable divider,  and the very bottom is just plain, for protein powders or preworkouts. (really you can put powder in both compartments since the divider in the pill compartment pops out) The shake compartment itself is 20 ounces.

They only had three colors at my gym, but you can mix and match parts to create a color block combo, and considering Jon bought one as well, we did.

The other compartments are very handy, and we didn't have any issues with it leaking either when we tried them out. The powder breaker apart thingy isn't a ball like the others, but more like a beehive patterned thing.So yesss, go check them out.

DIY chalkboard

Hey guys, Queen Of The Damned here. It's DIY time!
So, I've had this cool looking picture frame in my room forever, but never any cool pictures to out in it. While at the craft store for halloween stuff,  I saw some chalkboard paint. Bing bong! There was the idea. So, simple as can be, I read the paint instructions,  painted the plastic picture cover bit, done. I don't however have any chalk yet haha. Needless to say, I have a very cool reminder message board dealy thing now.

There you have it! Pretty easy, and super cool. Just go find a rad frame at a thrift store or something,  the paint was cheap too. Do get a semi decent brush though,  or it will leave streaks in the paint, which makes for a not so easy to write on chalkboard. Keep it as smooth as possible. 

Anyway, gym time and homework time. May goth be with you!

Hearty Muscle Building Easy Chili Recipe

Sunday evening in Colorado, it had started to snow, and what do you know, I was already in the middle of cooking up my first batch of chili. Great timing! It was simple, easy, and relaxing, as relaxing goes for cooking. Sadly my flash started dying out, but don't worry, I was still able to get some pictures.

I am going to warn  you now, the longer you cook it, the thicker it'll be, so plan to be cooking for about an hour or two. 

My roommate just came home from wendy's with a cup of chili and some other junk food, and I understand ground beef isn't always on the healthy scale, but for those of you who are trying to build muscle, or working out all the time, this is perfect for you! 

This recipe is loaded with protein and vegetables.  

What You'll Need:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs Ground Beef

2 Carrots
1 Green Bell Peper

1/2 - 1 Onion (I used 1/2 because I'm trying to save for tacos.)

2 Celery Sticks

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Can Corn (Optional, but is GREAT to add)

1 Can Kidney Beans

1 Can Pinto Beans

1 Can Ranch Style Beans (Optional)

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Packet Of Chili Powder

Olive Oil
Chili Powder for desired hotness

Salt & Peper

1 Tsp Cumin (For Taste)

What to do now:

Drizzle some olive oil in a pot, and put on medium heat. Chop up 1/4 of your onion, and garlic, and toss into the pot. Once onions become translucent, throw in the beef. Season with salt and pepper.

Now get the rest of your veggies, get them prepared and washed, and than cut them up into bite size pieces, or smaller. However you wish.

(Excuse my horrible face.)

Once your meat browns, you can drain out all of the fat, and add some water. However add just a little under how much fat you drained. Fat is thicker, and is flavorful, water is tasteless. OR!! Don't drain the fat at all. Just throw in your veggies, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Than add your corn. I used half the corn juice from the can. Its tasty! 

 Now it is time to add the tomatoes, and seasonings! Add a good amount of pepper, and don't add too much salt all at once. Just a little at a time, tasting each time you put some in. Stir it all together, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, turn it down to low, or med low, and simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile, watch your roommates run around killing flies. Or hide behind your boyfriend, because you don't want any flies to land on you, or drink some beer, a cocktail, or finish crocheting that Harry Potter scarf you've been slacking on.

Once an hour has passed, check the tenderness of your carrots, if they seem nice and soft, than add your beans. If you want to add more time to your veggies and meat,  than cover it back up, and cook some more. I wanted my chili to be super thick, so I added just a little bit of corn starch. 

Whenever you feel like your chili is about time to be done, open your cans of beans. Pour the ranch style beans straight into your pot, and stir around. Than add your kidney beans, and pinto beans into a strainer, and rinse. After that, throw those into the pot, stir, than bring your pot back to a simmer, and cover for 10 minutes. (Or longer for desired thickness.)

Now add your cheese if you'd like, and put in a good amount of chili powder from your cabinet to add your desired hotness. And there you have it! Nice easy relaxing super yummy chili!

Tips: Chili is even better after you put it in the fridge over night. Let your chili cool all the way, and put it in a tupperware container. Throw into the fridge and eat the next night.

skinny water

Hey guys! Today I went cruising around target just mainly for halloween stuff, but what I found sparked my memory of something I have wanted to have for a long time. I found one of those water pitchers with a removable fruit infuser. I've always seen these skinny water posts everywhere and while I'm skeptical about it helping with weight loss,  (I'm in the medical industry, show me the peer reviewed scientific research article first) its still a great idea for anyone who has a hard time drinking enough daily water. However, every time I had looked for one of these pitchers, they were all $30 or more. Wasn't worth it. The one I bought today at target... $15. Done. I rushed it home, washed it, then busted out my limes, lemons, and cucumber.

Simple enough, just slice thin and place them in. For those of you who aren't citrus fans, try different fruits. Strawberries, apples, mint, ginger, etc. It's hard to mess up. Anyway, im back on the grind of healthy living. It totally takes practice, just keep at it.
I have to go. Homework time. May goth be with you!

Healthier Homemade McDonalds Part 1 - Burgers

We ALL love McDonalds, right? And some of us go there EVERY SINGLE DAY!
No joke, I'm serious, and Dan is a victim; He is one that goes there everyday. But since we're low on money, he has cut down the past week, going only once every 1-4 days. He may not go there everyday to get a McMuffin, but he will at least go there everyday to get a soda.
But when we are stocked on money, he will go everyday. And though he looses more weight than he gains, it is still VERY UNHEALTHY!
So I decided to change that for him, and myself. Saving money, time, and days on his life.

Now making burgers everyday at home DOES NOT mean you are eating healthy, however, it does beat eating whatever unknown items they are putting in the McDouble.

------------------------

Lets say a McDouble is $1, and trust me, its small. Nothing like the pictures. So to feed 2 boys, and a girl, you'd have say 5 burgers. Thats $5 + Tax.
Each of those burgers with everything that comes on it:
Calories: 390  Calories from Fat 170 Total Fat 19g (29%) Saturated Fat 8g (42%) Trans Fat 1g Sugars 7g

Now a homemade burger can get a bit pricy... But thats if you decide to buy everything for a one time use only. When making burgers you'll want maybe a large or small tomato, 1/2 onion, 2-3 leaves of a lettuce head, maybe pickles, buns, and meat. Sounds like a lot, right? Well you can use ALL of that minus the meat and buns to make a salad, or tacos for another day, some of that you can add to spaghetti, or some of that can go towards a turkey sandwich. So in reality, you're still saving money. Because $5 and McDonalds can only feed you for one night. And only for 2-5 hours at that, till you get hungry again!!

Homemade Burger: 1lbs Ground Beef: $3.99 - $5 depending on where you buy it.
Tomatoes, Onion, Lettuce, Buns: Cost us $7.45
American Cheese which we had already: $3
Garlic: $0.58
I'm going to assume you already have ketchup and mustard.
$15.02 and that's if you don't already have garlic, and cheese, which most people already have in the house. Soo, in reality, your burgers CAN just cost $6 if you are always stocked on veggies, which you should be. ;)

Lets Get Started!

Ingredients:

1lbs premium lean beef Or if you want, regular ground beef.    

2 clove garlic, crushed    

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced (Or however much you want.)  

1/2 tsp (s) olive oil   

1/8 tsp (s) dried oregano   

Sliced singles reduced fat american cheese (Or whatever you like.)  

Wheat burger buns   

1 small/medium tomato, thinly sliced 

1/2 tsp rosemary

Other seasonings (as well as mustard, salt, and pepper for taste.)

 

Method:

You can use a skillet if its winter time, or even your oven. I used my stove top, on medium with a drizzle of olive oil.

OR Preheat a grill pan or barbeque over medium-high heat.

Combine beef, cut up rosemary, 1/4 onion and garlic in a bowl and season to taste with a little bit of mustard, other seasonings of your choice, oregano, salt and pepper. 

Form mixture into 4 x 1cm thick patties. Place patties in pan and cook for 4-6 minutes each side (or to whatever your meat cook preference is), then cheese ontop and cook until cheese has melted.

(I'm using gloves because I have long nails.)

Meanwhile, put a tiny bit of butter for taste, and a drizzle of olive oil into another pan. Melt, than add slices of onion, and sauté. For approximately 2-5 minutes, or until they become translucent. 

Lightly toast bread in toaster. Place patties on buns then top with onion lettuce, and tomato. Mustard and ketchup. 

Notes:

• The secret to a juicy, lean patty is to avoid pressing down on it while it cooks so it retains all its juices.
• This recipe was written by Weight Watchers as part of Kidspot's Positively Life Changing initiative, with my own little ad ins here and there.
  
  

The dogs like to stick their nose in EVERYTHING, even if its not meat.

Black, blue, and white hair

Hey guys. Queen Of The Damned here. I promised you pics of hair when I was done. Now, I will be totally honest and say doing your own hair is a risk, but I take it. My black I used is a blue based black. When I rinsed it, despite my efforts to keep it clean, it bled into my white, pretty in places. However,  that just made some of my hair navy blue...which I dig. Anyway, I parted it then dyed and bleached. I parted it so that when you have one side parted its black. Part on the other side and its white. You draw a box on the top of your head, using your receeding lines as a guide for going straight back. Then, section into triangles back and forth. One one side you will dye one color, the other triangles other color. Anyway, pictures, then I have to get back to work lol.