THANKS A LOT

Remember way back in February when I posted about my run in with a jerk at Kelsey's?  I wrote a complaint to Kelsey's and about a week after that, I received a call from a customer service rep. He apologized for the lack of wait staff on the floor and promised to send something in the mail to make up for the unpleasant experience.  Do you know what I got in the mail? Nothing...zilch...nada... and that's exactly about the same amount of business they will be getting from me.

HOW SWEET IT IS

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... I haven't eaten refined sugar in over two months... two months people... do you know how hard that is?   Well to be honest, after a couple of weeks of my sugar fast it wasn't that difficult but still...

Before you go thinking I am diabetic or something, I'm not,  I just decided one day that it was't good for me and I didn't want to have it anymore. When I do get a craving for something sweet I use maple syrup or honey (did you know it is the only food that will never go bad... unless of course you count McDonalds?).  Here are some of the surprising and not so surprising effects of my no refined sugar diet.

1. I lost weight...not a ton but it was effortless. Win!
2. I no longer need deodorant.  This was unexpected and don't ask me how I came to that conclusion because I can't remember.  As long as I wash first thing in the morning, I am odor free all day.
3. My cuts and bruises heal faster.  That kind of makes me sound like a klutz which I am not..well maybe.
4. While Ian has suffered from a couple of nasty colds, I have remained immune.
5. I have more energy.

I wanted to make myself a sweet treat to have at Brittany's baby shower so I didn't feel left out while everyone else was enjoying the cookies and cake.  I made some maple caramel popcorn that was absolutely delicious and lucky you I am going to share the recipe.  There are only four ingredients and it is super simple to make.

MAPLE CARAMEL POPCORN

8-10 cups popped corn (about 1 cup un-popped) 

1/2 cup butter

1 cup pure maple syrup (medium - dark)

pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Pop corn and put in large roasting dish.  In a medium saucepan bring maple syrup, butter, and salt to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour syrup mixture over popped corn, stirring until popcorn is evenly coated.  Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes stirring every ten minutes. Remove from oven and spread on a cookie sheet.  It will crisp up as it cools.  

I MIGHT AS WELL FACE IT I'M ADDICTED TO...

Pinterest.  Don't know what Pinterest is? Well in a word it's...AWESOME!!!  It makes me look like a creative genius (I'm not, I just pretend to be one). I could go into great detail about what Pintrest is and how it works but if you don't already know about it then you probably wouldn't be that interested anyway.   Just trust me when I say that countless hours can pass in what seems like minutes when you are under its spell.
My daughter in law Emily was giving me a hard time the other day about not having nearly as many pins (pinterest lingo) as she had.  I shot her a dirty look and put her in her place when I reminded her that I will only pin a project that I actually plan on doing. This seems to set me apart from most Pinterest users.
So Pinterest is the reason I haven't written a blogpost for two whole weeks.  I have been busy making, baking, and sewing up a storm and when I'm not creating, I'm perusing Pinterest to see what new and exciting things I can make next.  Check out what kind of awesome parties you can throw when you have Pinterest for a BFF.

Jungle Theme Party (Kere is trying to figure out how to convince William that he wants a Jungle theme for his birthday next year.)

Maple Caramel Popcorn

I have to post the recipe for this stuff.  It's almost as addictive as Pinterest.

Even the drinking glasses were Jungle theme.

I love the dollar store.  I got the vines, grass skirt, and the greenery there. cheap!

You will either think this is awesome or you'll be considering gathering all of my family and close friends for a pintervention.