Photo Dump

I've been pretty busy lately, working, and spending a lot of time outside. Here are a few photos from the past week.

Feeling a little domestic...but now that Nathan is gone for work all week I have to eat these by myself. Not the best move.

Bella peed her bed when she was being doggie sat the last time, which is totally weird, but here she is in her new comfy nest.

 Ahhh the feeling of the sun and the water. Tan me!

Pool party for Nathan's robotics kids.

Nathan doing what he does best, cooking up some tasty grub.

I had to capture this nastiness in all its glory. Its love bug season here in Florida, this year seems to be the worst I've ever seen it. Solid pile of bugs right there. yeah. Vomit.

 

 It's been a while since I've been to a High School graduation. Nathan is a mentor for the Cocoa High Robotics club, we came to cheer them on as they walked across the stage.

We were really saving this thing for the next pool party, but we couldn't wait to blow it up to see how big it actually was. Biggest. Beach ball. Ever!

Right before the 90º weather came our way, we had a cool 70º day. It has been 2.5 years since we've gone mountain biking. Ever since I had my last major seizure to be exact. It was wonderful to get back out on the trails and feel the breeze. What an adrenalin rush, not to mention a total body workout. I wish we lived closer to some trails and didn't have to drive and hour to get there.

So yeah, there you go....a day in the life I guess. I'm not good at telling amazing stories, or writing beautiful poetry, but I love to take pictures of random moments in time. I think photos tell their own sort of story.

-Kat

Random Photos

Here are a couple random photos uploaded with my phone, you can tell because the quality totally blows.

Cuddles with my best friend. Apparently her best friend is her stuffed flea.

Pissed.

This is the most AMAZING jewelry holder thing I've ever found. It was at ROSS for $14!

It's about 3ft tall and can hold a butt-load of earrings. Most that you see are earrings that I've made myself. I hung the figure right above my dresser so now its a functional piece of art!

A close up. I dressed her up with a belt, and fringe on her dress with my earrings. Oh and my hair clip flower for her broach, she's so hot.

Bella Monster

I just have to post this picture of my Bella. Insane cuteness here!

Someone's Been Busy

 In between all my graphic design projects, I always find time to keep my hands busy. Yesterday
I decided to try some wire-wrapping around beads, so I made a couple of those, and was surprised at how cute they actually came out. They are wrapped around resin beads that my mom gave me, they look like tasty little gumdrops.

Omg, then I got this CrAzY idea, that since it was cooler yesterday morning...I got into the "Fall" season that is coming up..I thought I would make acorn earrings! So I took the bella monster outside to dig for old acorns by our big oak. We have 3 huuuuge live oak trees in our yard..we got lucky...but anyway, we dug around for acorns for a while and found a bunch. I drilled holes in the tops and voila! Acorn earrings! The perfect fall accessory. I plan on making a bunch of these to sell in my etsy shop.

The last picture is Bella monster's new necklace. I've been making them for me, and she suggested that I make her one too. It's just made out of felt. Dorky I know...but at least I don't dress her up. (Don't be offended if you're one of those people, I'm just not into it)

What do you think about the acorns?
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
-Kat

Beach in Jupiter

I've been real busy lately working on my professional design life, so I haven't had much time to post anything new. I completely re-designed my branding including: my website, my resume, my business card, and my art. I have built two websites to add to my portfolio to hopefully bring more business in.

If you'd like to see what I've been working on in the design world goto: www.katrinagelino.com

On another note...this weekend was pretty busy. Nathan and Dustin went down south to Jupiter for some scuba-diving. I drove down there the next day to check out a new dog beach for bella and I. She always has such a good time there.  Digging enormous holes, chasing birds, sniffing butts, running with doggie friends. I didn't get too many pictures, because of the sand issue, but I did capture a few moments.

I just love the one of her paw in the sand. Its so funny. The top picture is at the Square Grouper..a wonderful little place on the beach where we got some lunch. A great relaxed atmosphere there. We'll be back for sure. What did you do this weekend?

Weekend Happenings

Friday was a great night, Laura and I attended Nathan & Dustin's last softball game, they ended up being second in the league. It's always fun to go on a Friday and sit in the dugout with the guys and my girl Laura & drink a couple beers. We met up at Shuttles afterwards, (one of our favorite places in North Merritt island) to celebrate the end of the season with the team. Several people from our neighborhood are on the team so we get to catch up with them too. Next flag football season starts, but not until the fall. It will be much nicer to sit outside and not sweat our butts off.

On another note, here's a picture of our new cactus. A friend of our neighbor gave them a clipping of their plant, and they gave it to us. We're not sure if it's going to make it, but only time will tell. It will look really nice as it grows. I love how bright green cactus' are.

I also kicked Nathan's but in darts for the first time. I had to document this occasion, because it isn't very often I beat him in any type of sport or game. I was very proud.

Saturday morning we headed off to the St. Pete area to help my step-brother & sister-in-law pack up to move back to Michigan. We had a great time on Saturday night, we went to this great restaurant..I forget its name, but its totally rad. Live music, water, tiki & great drink prices. Ladies got a little tipsy, but it was a great night. We also went to the dog beach one last time with the dogs. Let me just say...this is the best beach I've ever been to where you can bring your dog. I just love watching all the dogs play, they're all so happy. Bella and Penny spent a good amount of time fetching the ball in the water, swimming, digging holes, and making dog friends. Its a great place to bond with your dog, and give them your full attention. They need that you know.

 

Steph was kind enough to offer her Elliptical Machine as they were packing up their stuff. I couldn't be more ecstatic! This is seriously something that I've wanted so badly. I'm not really a gym membership kind of person, it just isn't for me. But I'm going to use this thing every day! I started today, and did 40 minutes. The trick is..to put your laptop/TV on in front of it and watch a good show so you aren't thinking about how your legs feel like marshmallows. I'm proud of myself today, because I haven't exercised in a long time, and hopefully it will help me sleep better at night.

My goal in this daily exercising routine is not exactly to lose weight per say, but to tone up, keep my heart healthy, and get rid of that loose skin that makes my cellulite show. Yes even little skinny people get cellulite. I hope I'm not viewed as vain, I just want to keep my body healthy and trim. I get self-conscious about my body as everyone else does. I took some pictures today of my torso from the front view and the side view, no you can't see...but I think I will start posting pics as I progress. I think after I start seeing results I will become even more motivated.

I need sleep, so this is where we part ways. Goodnight!

Need a Good Laugh?

Any dog owner/lover can appreciate the humor in this!

Holiday Weekend

Its been a while since my last post, so I thought I would share what's in store for the weekend. We never plan ahead for the 4th of July, it always just turns out that we find something fun to do. Last year we spent the day on our friends boat which LOTS of people do all holiday weekend.  I think this year we will probably just spend our day at the beach, and watch fireworks from there with friends, I'm sure all along the beach line people will be lighting them up. What do you usually do?

Last weekend we went to a Wine & Cheese party which turned out to be pretty fun. The crowd was mainly from Nathans leadership program, and their significant others. I even got to wear my new dress!

The photo is crappy, it was taken with photo booth (my web cam for you non-mac users). But you get the idea. Alloy.com was having a sale, and I couldn't resist. I spend most of my summers in dresses or skirts, because it's so hot here. I haven't worn jeans since April! haha.

Here is another cute photo of my Bella, whenever I'm in my art room she's always tagging along behind me, usually laying on the floor or looking out the window for lizards.

Most people post pictures of their kids and brag about how they have the "cutest baby in the whole world" and of course believe it to be true. Well, I'm posting pics of my dog baby, and she is the cutest dog in the whole world. It bothers me that Pit Bulls have such a negative label, and especially when someone asks me what she is and I tell them she's a pit mix, and people proceed to tell me how violent, and mean they are.  Bella is such a gentle sweet girl. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. All she wants out of the world is to be cuddled, and to play with her neighborhood doggies. Oh and chase lizards. She would never hurt anyone. I'm so lucky we found each other, she's my best friend.


On another note, I bought my tickets to fly up north to Michigan today. My best guy friend Ed is getting married, so we are going to be there for him. I am leaving a week earlier than Nathan so I can spend some time at home with my Mom too. I am very excited to be home with her and make a mess of her craft room. She is also letting me take some of her beads, which I am SUPER excited about, because she has a great collection, and I can't buy them as often as I'd like, due to how much they cost! I'm also looking forward to just chilling on the porch, and picking fresh veggies from her new garden. There's no place like home, or should I say there's no place like being with my mom.

I will leave you with this....my new flowers for the week. Purple Spider Mums!!!! Mums are my favorite, i was ecstatic when I found this bundle. Have a Great 4th Bloggers!

Confessions of an Unliked Green Monster

There's a Green Monster Movement, did you know? Yesterday I decided it was time I finally give a green smoothie a shot...

Into the blender went 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach, 1 frozen banana, 4 frozen strawberries and...

 

...1 cup skim milk, agave nectar and honey. About 1 1/2 tsp of each.

  

 I got out my dizzy glass (that's what Crate and Barrel calls them anyways), and was pumped to enjoy my Green Monster!!

 

However, it tasted like spinach. And I love spinach, but not in liquid form.

So, Lily got the Green Monster....and loved it. Thank goodness husband doesn't read my blog, it'd be off with my head!!

I'm really disappointed I didn't love my first Green Monster. Especially after yesterday's post about increasing fruits and vegetables!!! I felt ashamed like I should've liked it. I went on to make a fruit smoothie (one of my claims to fame should there ever be one, haha) and had a spinach salad for diner.

Regretfully, I am not on board with the Green Monster Movement as of trial #1. But I'm willing to give it another go, most definitely! Does anyone have a Green Monster recipe they LOVE? Did anyone else not enjoy their first Green Monster?

No gym, no workout? Psh!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Oklahoma yesterday – 72 and sunny! I was looking for something new to do for exercise to get a break from running…so, I headed to the local high school football stadium. Let’s just say, I kicked my own butt!

I started my workout with stadium stairs…running…up and down, up and down. And let’s just say high school football in the south is a big thing, so this is no small stadium stair feat. I next moved on to suicides. While I’ve done suicides on hockey rinks, the football field is a whole new beast (I later calculated that the football suicide is 0.625 miles!). After my suicide, I moved on to crunches and a pyramid of push-ups (10..rest..9..rest…8…rest…you get it). Water break and repeat.

Today, my calves feel like bricks. Luckily, my home nor work place require me to go down stairs…but I’m sure that would be far from pleasant as walking is painful enough. Let’s just say that 1) working out sans a gym is completely possible, 2) workouts outside a gym can be more difficult than workouts inside the gym, and 3) when you can FEEL lactic acid building in your muscles as you perform your workout, chances are you’re gunna be sore and you’re getting one CHALLENGING workout.

This morning I copied the breakfast of Meredith, writer of Pursuing Balance, and added fresh MANGO (mmm!) to my steel cut oats! I used a packet of PureVia and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

It was VERY good! Though, I have to say, I’m not convinced that steel cut oats increase satiety. While I did have an early breakfast (6am), I was hungry by 10:30am…at which time I had…

…a Pumpkin Muffin I made last night with Southaven Farms’ Ginger Spice mix. They are sooo good, and SUPER easy! Don’t they look delicious?!

And I had my little helper for dish duty...

And on a random note, the Natural Twist Zevia is officially my favorite flavor. It has a bit of a citrus bitterness to it that I just love. Mmm!

P.S. Vita Top Promo! Get 6 FREE Deep Chocolate Vita Tops with the purchase of a 24-pack of Vitas. Enter coupon code EFBYY7Q9 at checkout to take advantage! Yumm! I LOVE Vita Tops!

Thirty-ONE Days of Diabetes

I decided not to be a cop-out and to complete the full month of diabetic meal pattern eating -- thirty-ONE days versus my proposed thirty days. So, my last day, Halloween...wasn't a complete bust for being what it was: Halloween. I ended the day with something like this...

Breakfast:

1/4 cup steel cut oats, uncooked (2 carbs)

1 Tbsp brown sugar Splenda (1 carb)

coffee with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight (0 carbs)

1 kiwi (1 carb)

     Total: 4 carbs

Lunch:

1 servings of Terra Chips (1 1/2 carbs)

2 Nutridel cookies (1 1/2 carbs)

1 mini Butterfinger (1 carb)

     Total: 4 carbs

Evening (between 6 and 11pm):

fajitas - chicken and shrimp and all the veggies (0 carbs) - I didn't eat any tortillas!

1/2 cup beans (1 carb)

1/2 cup rice (1 carb)

1 cup salad and salsa (0 carbs)

handful of tortilla chips with salsa and a bit of queso (1 carb)

2 beers (1 1/2 carbs)

3 fun-size Kit Kats (2 carbs)

     Total: 6 1/2 carbs

TOO MUCH! AHHH! Darn candy! So my last day and meal was my worst day and meal of all 31 days. If it is any consolation for my actions, my stomach punished me for my sugary gluttony!!!

All-in-all, diabetic dieting was not difficult...it simply required some planning and self-control at times (which I often times lacked). As a dietitian, those managing their diabetes through oral medications such Metformin, Glipizide, Actos, and Glyburide are at high risk for elevated blood sugars. While many patients want to avoid insulin at all costs, insulin therapy actually creates a greater degree of control for the patient. A sliding-scale insulin regimen allows for fluctuating carbohydrate intake (and quite a bit of it, at that!), while the oral meds are not so forgiving. This was a very rewarding experience, and also very humbling. I do feel like I have a better understanding of the difficulties of diabetic meal patterning and the effort it takes to balance meals and control portion sizes. Any clinician working with a diabetic population should consider putting themselves up to this challenge in order to better relate to their patients and provide them with the insight, empathy, and care that diabetes self-management requires.

It's been a few days since I graced the blog world with some research and I booked marked this interesting study earlier in the week. And all too appropriately, it's related to diabetes. A meta-analysis showed that meat intake is linked to diabetes. Specifically, high intake of processed meat may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by get this...40%! This study was conducted in the US and Norway and included 12 cohort studies [1].

In addition to processed meats, red meat was linked to an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. And along the same lines, high intake of both processed and red meats increases one's risk of colorectal cancer up to 20% [1]. 

Since the outpouring of research against the safety of processed meats, we have drastically reduced and nearly eliminated our intake. While luncheon meat is inexpensive (relatively) and handy, the health risks is poses are not worth the convenience to me. Opt for all-natural peanut butter or almond butter sandwiches, tuna, chicken, or egg salad. Light on the mayonnaise, always! 

 

And...my team finally did it. GO ILLINI!!!!!!!!!!!!! While the season is obviously a wash, watching my team whomp yesterday gave me goosebumps of excitement! SO happy for them!


This morning in our living was a picture epitomizing fall (at least to me)....

Puppy laying on a warm bed in front of the fire...chewing on an old-fashioned oats container!

I used the last of the old-fashioned oats in making my new FAVORITE breakfast (ever?)...

YUMMMM!!!

Happy November 1st! Enjoy a beautiful Sunday. Lily and I are off to go crazy at the dog park! Ciao!

[1]. Daniells, Stephen. Meat Linked to Increased Diabetes Risk: Meta-Analysis. Food Navigator. October 28, 2009.

PureVia vs. Truvia

Good morning! Husband is sick in bed -- I think I might've brought something home from work on Friday. Though, I am currently asymptomatic. Good thing with back-to-back hockey games this evening. On an unrelated note, let me re-visit stevia-based sweeteners: Truvia and PureVia.

If you read yesterday's blog, I deemed Truvia #1 to my taste-buds. Someone helpfully pointed out that they're made from the same plant -- the stevia plant. Stevia is native to Paraguay and Peru (depending on which source you reference). It is approximately 30 times sweeter than natural sugar, and is calorie free! Stevia-based sweeteners were approved for use by the FDA in December of 2008. Though they are 2-3x more expensive than saccharin (Sweet'n Low), aspartame (Equal) and sucralose (Splenda), they are gaining popularity quickly. "Truvia" is Coke's version of the stevia-based sweetener, while "PureVia" is Pepsi's version [1].

Both Truvia and PureVia are calorie-free, kosher products. One packet of commercially sold Truvia equates to the sweetness of 2 teaspoons of sugar. On the Truvia website there is a Q&A section and one of the questions is: What makes Truvia natural sweetener better than other stevia-based sweeteners? So, the research goes on [1].

The stevia plant has over 200 varieties. The quality of the "sweetness" depends on the extracted sweet compound that the leaves yield [2]. To me this reads "some parts of the plant are sweeter than others." We move on to PureVia's site where they give away the answer.

The sweeteners are made from Reb A (or Rebiana) -- the SWEETEST part of the plant. PureVia is ethanol-purified and the Reb A is blended with other "natural ingredients" for flavor. The bulking agents in PureVia include erythritol and isomaltulose [3]. Truvia does not purify with ethanol, according to what I've found thus far. Truvia also mentions no use of isomaltulose as a bulking agent [4]. Erythritol sounds bad, but it is a natural sweetener. It's found in fruits such as grapes and pears and is extracted naturally [4].

So in a nut shell, the stevia plant's sweetness varies a lot. Though both products are derived from the Reb A portion of the plant, the bulking agents and proportions of stevia vary...creating a different taste. There ya have it. Is there ANYTHING more anyone could ever want to know about stevia? : )

Last night I used some of my new calorie-containing sweeteners and made crock pot oatmeal. It was delicious. I threw into my crock pot:

2 cups of old fashioned oats
6 cups water
3 Tbsp cinnamon (I like a lot!)
2 Tbsp turbinado
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1/3 cup dates, diced

Cook on low 8-9 hours and enjoy! It was creamy and delicious! It needed no more sugar and has leftovers ready for 3 breakfasts this week! If you think I'm crock pot obsessed, you are correct!

On a completely unrelated note...no more football-less Saturdays! It should be a good year for the Fighting Illini (#25) and Oklahoma Sooners (#2). The two teams play back-to-back next weekend on ESPN and I couldn't be more excited! I'm saving my first hoodie reveal for Saturday. Crock pot vegetarian chili will be involved, as well. What college football team are you a #1 fan of?

Lily and I are off to the dog park...have a wonderful day!

[1]. McCay, Betsy. FDA Clears Use of Herb as Sweetener. The Wall Street Journal. December 18, 2008.
[2]. Stevia-based Sweetener Truvia Gets FDA Nod. Stevia Cafe.
[3]. PureVia website.
[4]. Truvia website.

Buffets aren’t good for doggies

Lily visited her sister this weekend, it was a blast. Our little bundle of joy weighs in at 23lbs at 18 weeks of age…a moderate number when compared to her sister of 28lbs. Only 5lbs difference, right? Really, though, that would be an added 22% of body weight packed on our wrinkle butt. The difference is that Tammy Faye, Lily’s sister, has her food left out 24/7 while we feed Lily the recommended 1 ½-2 cups each day. And let’s be honest, it’s more like 2 cups…always.


When the puppies were playing, Lily was always in charge. Bigger isn’t better even in puppy play. Additionally, Lily gets 3 walks a day most days of the week. Nothing long and excessive in the Oklahoma heat, but she’s active none-the-less. She’s got quite the bull baby physique and it’s helping Mark and I get out and walk more, as well. Remember that article I reviewed a few weeks back about dog ownership increasing activity? It’s definitely true…plus it’s given me the opportunity to meet a lot of our neighbors! Go figure! Anyone else a dog owner and find their activity heightened due to their fur baby?

Admittedly, she’s still a piglet. When we arrived yesterday for the play date, Lily proceeded to inhale both bowls of food left out for her sister and mom. So much for a dainty appetite – psh.

Tonight at our household was chicken fajitas! Yumm! Look at those delicious, colorful bell peppers!

And my favorite ingredient...ONION!

Delicious! We went sans the tortillas because 1) we didn't have them, 2) I didn't want to stop to get any (grocery store at 5pm...I'll pass), and 3) you just don't need them! Salsa and light sour cream go great!

6 legs are better than 2

If you want to boost your activity level, lose weight, and have a great time doing it…a dog may be your answer.

Robert Kushner, professor of medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, co-authored a study looking into the effects of dog ownership on activity level...and subsequently, weight loss. Two groups were observed: one group of obese adults with obese dogs and one group of obese adults without dogs. After a year, those with dogs had lost weight -- 4.7% of their body weight, or roughly 11 pounds. Similarly, the dogs shed (pun intended) 12 pounds, accounting for an average loss of 15% of their body weight [1].

Those dogs participating in the study were fed a calorie-controlled diet while their owners received dietary counseling and were encouraged to walk at least three times a week for 30 minutes [1]. An easy goal to reach with a 4-legger around, I’d say.

Most importantly, however, is the sustainability of activity that goes along with dog ownership. Dogs can be used for not only great companionship, but also motivation to stick with a diet and exercise plan long-term. Plus, it’s more enjoyable than going alone – all huge keys to permanent lifestyle behavior changes such as the incorporation of exercise.

On a side note: Bulldogs may not be your best bet when looking for a weight-loss companion. Our Lily (AKA “Wrinkle Butt”) made it to the end of the block last night with just enough energy reserves left to watch Molly, the black lab mix, run guns-a-blazin’ after her ball…incessantly….for the better part of a half-hour. And somehow the walk home was still taxing on our little bundle of laziness. Must be that Oklahoma heat, right? Guess I’ll need to utilize that YMCA membership as my companion needs as much help as I do to maintain an exercise regimen!

[1]. Need a Walking Partner? Try a Dog. Medline Plus. June 11, 2009.