Walk for a Dog!

Just a little public service announcement...

Walk for a Dog by Wooftrax is an incredible app that will donate to your local animal shelter based on how many miles you walk your dog (or yourself if you don't have a canine companion!)

It's free and available for Android and Iphone users. You simply download the app, designate which shelter you want to walk for and then turn it on whenever you are walking/running/bicycling. The rate they donate varies based on how many people have chosen the same shelter, but usually is between 11-25 cents per mile.

I will say that the app does occasionally time out or fail to record a walk...but it is completely free and the miles quickly add up! They have released some updates, so it is becoming more reliable...but it's still a great way to give back (and gives you an incentive to become more active!)

For more info, visit the Wooftrax website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

*I am not affiliated with Wooftrax and have received no compensation to promote them. I just really like and believe in their cause!

Ventures in Juicing

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and bought a juicer. Like most people, I know that I don't eat enough vegetables so I figured I would attempt to sneak more into my diet. My first juice mixture includes 3 small Yellow Delicious apples and 1 large cucumber. It's pretty tasty if I do say so myself!
*Note: Juicing should not be used as a meal replacement!

Cinnamon Sugar Crumb Topping

Since I mentioned it in my Zucchini Bread / Zucchini Muffin Recipe, I thought I'd also share my favorite Cinnamon Sugar Crumb Topping.

1 1/4 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled.

1. Mix all ingredients together until a crumbly texture. I usually use a fork to be able to mash and stir with the same utensil.

2. Sprinkle on any muffin or bread before baking.

* If you forget to do it ahead of time, it worked out just fine to melt the butter in the microwave and then put it in the freezer to cool down last time I added this to Blueberry Muffins.

** While it isn't quite the same as my grandma's Fruit Crisp Recipe, you could easily use this topping to cover a tray of sliced fruit to get the same effect (apples, peaches, blueberries or cherries work well for this!)

Zucchini Bread & Zucchini Muffins

I'm the third generation of my family to use nearly this recipe, so it's definitely been tried and tested and is always a hit! If you're wondering, my favorite version has an extra half cup of raisins and I added the applesauce so that I could cut down on the amount of oil in them. The original recipe has one cup of vegetable oil. I have also tried substituting coconut oil, but it didn't absorb the sugar very well and the texture of the finished bread was a bit off.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Grated Zucchini (remove the seeds, leave the skin on)
3 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1 1/2 Cups of Raisins
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1. Thoroughly mix Zucchini, Eggs, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Oil, and Applesauce together.

2. Mix in Raisins and Vanilla.

3. Add Flour, Pepper, Salt, Baking Soda, and Cinnamon.Technically, you should sift the dry ingredients in to prevent lumps, but I like shortcuts so I just make sure to mix it really well.

4. Pour into greased and floured pans - For this size of recipe, you can use 1 Bundt Pan or 2 Loaf Pans or make about 24 Muffins. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45-60 minutes for loaves of bread or around 30 minutes for muffins. As always, ovens vary so you may need to adjust the cooking time, but you'll know the bread is done when you can stick a toothpick in it and the toothpick comes out clean.

* For extra impact when you serve them, sift confectioner's sugar over the top!
** Before baking, you could also add a Crumb Topping.

Perseid Meteor Shower

Photo borrowed from http://www.fredsullivan.com/uncategorized/perseid-peak-is-coming/

My husband and I have only been married for a few years, but since we've lived together for nearly 10 years, we're always on the lookout for new and interesting things to do. That goal can be difficult since neither of our careers is exactly flourishing, so there is really no budget for entertainment. I would guess there are a lot of other couples in the same boat, so here's your first installment in a series of cheap (but fun!) date ideas.

Every time I read that there is a meteor shower coming up, I tell myself I should check it out, but then something else would come up or I'd forget. So while Jack and I were bored last night and debating what else we could watch on TV, I mentioned the meteor shower and wondered if he was interested in checking it out. At first he was fairly indifferent to the idea, but he figured it would get us out of the house and give us something to do.

Since we live in a fairly well-lit city, we could barely see any stars when we took a walk around our neighborhood about 11:00pm and didn't think we would have much luck seeing meteors unless we drove to my parents' farm or out to our local observatory/planetarium. Neither one of us really cared for that plan, but luckily we thought of a nearby football field that is near a woodsy area and thought that would be a much easier plan. While we were already on our walk, we went to the field and within a few minutes we had seen two meteors and had sore necks.

We quickly decided to walk the couple hundred yards home, grab a few blankets, some hot cocoa and come back out with our supplies. By the time we headed back out, it was after midnight. After we laid out a couple blankets to keep the wet grass from soaking through and waited for our eyes to adjust.

Quickly enough, we started spotting the fleeting streaks of light across the sky. There were some very big, vibrant shooting stars, but we spent more time laughing as we tried to point them out to each other just in time for them to disappear. If anyone overheard us, they probably thought we were a little goofy as we oohed over the best ones and joked about how the distracting airplane lights kept making me miss them. It reminded me of when I was really impressed by good 4th of July displays growing up. Despite our extra layers of clothing, it began to get quite a bit colder, so we decided to pack up and head back inside at almost 3a.m. just as the moon was rising. I think we were both surprised by how late it was when we decided to call it a night, which I'd like to think shows that we had a great time, just chatting and laughing, away from all of our electronic distractions, enjoying the natural variety of fireworks.

If you'd like a bit more info before checking them out for yourself, we found the NASA Science page very helpful and if you'd be willing to help NASA collect data, there's actually an app for that.

Life Beyond Imagined

Life Beyond Imagined...why did I create this blog and what does the name mean?

I've been meaning to get serious about starting a blog for some time for several reasons. I enjoy writing and feel like it helps me to analyze and better understand the world around me. I feel like there are an overwhelming number of blogs directed at and written by mothers, as well as plenty that cover all the drama and hilarity of being single...so what about the rest of us? While I certainly don't want to exclude anyone from reading this blog if they enjoy it, I have found very few blogs written for those of us in long term relationships or married (and even fewer that are written in an intelligent and interesting manner), so that is my aim with this blog. I have procrastinated long enough, finally picked a name and am going to run with it.

As for the name, it's actually based on a misquote of Thoreau featured in The Life You've Imagined by Kristina Riggle. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined," was displayed throughout the novel and while it's a beautiful sentiment, I personally find that as my 30th birthday creeps closer that I'm amazed at how much better my life is than I ever could have imagined. It's by no means perfect, particularly in the career and personal finance areas, but much more fulfilling than I would have thought possible just ten years ago. So the name of this blog acknowledges the wisdom in seizing the day and pursuing what you truly want in life, but also that you're already living it. We can waste our time on this Earth complaining and being depressed about the negative things in life...or we can make the conscious decision to focus on what we love about our lives and the small details in each day that make us truly content. I'm afraid that may be a bit cheesy sounding and it's something I struggle with myself, but I'm trying to live for today, rather than just passing time worrying or waiting anxiously for the future.