Ch...ch...ch...ch...changes

So, I've been MIA for a while. There's been a lot going on in my head! There's also been a lot going on in my business and my life!
Luke's friend visited this week. It's always nice to get to hang out and chat with him...and to have someone else around to entertain Luke ;)
We've had our Origami Owl Spring/Summer product launch!

Isn't our new catalog (a.k.a Take Out Menu) the cutest?!?! We've got so many new products that I am totally excited about...check them out here: kelsa.origamiowl.com We also have a new hostess program that is a-mazing and all the exciting new developments have kept me on my toes!

Now as for in my head, I can't promise it will make as much sense. I'm not sure anything in my head does. Haha! I'll share anyway. I've been brainstorming, thinking of ways to consolidate all my business/interests/outreach into one awesome online presence. I believe this will make it easier on me to market my businesses, and make it all more fun for me too.

Most of the changes are in my thought processes, if I hadn't brought it up it's possible no one would have noticed. There will be a few visible changes, the name of my blog being one of them. I'm not sure at this point if I will give it a new name or just my name. But this is really all about branding, people! So, over time you will also notice more streamlining between my blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. You may also notice some visual changes on my blog as I get my design tweaked to my liking! Finally, my content will be evolving...I'm working on making it more interesting, exciting, and informative!

So stay tuned, I think you will be impressed with the changes...subtle, but awesome!

Sugar Detox Update and Dressing Recipes

Well, I've made it through DAY 7 of my 21 Day Sugar Detox! The end of day 2 (Wed.) all the way through day 5 (Sat.) were pretty rough, I'm not gonna lie. I thought I was golden, figured the cravings would be WAY worse than any withdrawal symptoms. I was wrong. Very wrong. Let's just say, I know I wasn't the easiest person was probably the hardest person to live with for a few days there. My poor husband! Besides feeling extremely irritable, I was sorely lacking in energy and my body just ached all over! Saturday morning, with a very busy day staring me in the face, I pretty much had an emotional melt-down. As the day progressed I felt better and better. By Sunday morning I was feeling even better...and today I feel great!

Looking ahead at this week I decided I needed to do some major meal planning/food prep. The end of this week is going to be crazy (I'm starting to see a trend!) and a lot of time spent with family, while an excellent thing, means little food prep time! So at the suggestion of a friend I decided to try salad-in-a-jar! I'm super excited about this, and decided to make salads (and snacks) for not just the weekend but this whole week! I always do better at eating my vegetables when I have a plan in place and have things fixed ahead of time!

Salad-In-A-Jar

From what I've read, this method is supposed to keep your salad nice and crisp for up to a week in the refrigerator as long as you follow the basic method...dressing on the bottom, hearty veggies next (carrots, peppers, pea pods) and lettuce at the very top! I'm super excited to try these salads and see if they truly do stay crisp!

On the bottom row I have Bacon-Ranch salads (with homemade ranch dressing, recipe to follow)

The middle row are Fiesta Chicken salads (with homemade avocado dressing, recipe to follow)

On top is a simple salad with a balsamic vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

Snacks-In-A-Jar

I'm not exactly sure how my snacks-in-a-jar will work out. On the bottom row I have cottage cheese in the bottom, which I can eat with a spoon after I make my way through the veggies if need be. However, on top I have my ranch dressing in the one on the left, and my avocado dressing in the one on the right. These are meant for dipping, but I'm not quite sure how dipping will go...we will find out soon!

I love making my own dressings!

As I've progressed through my journey to healthier eating I've mostly cut out bottled dressings. I stuck to oil and vinegar for a while, but that got a little boring. So I decided to check out some recipes for homemade dressings. I figured they would be labor intensive and perhaps difficult, but likely worth it. Well, I was wrong! It is SUPER easy to make your own dressings (but I was right about it being worth it)! Once you have the basics down you can make SO many variations.

Pretty much everywhere I've read online has said that the ratio for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar(acid). I, however, like a more vinegar-y vinaigrette. So I usually do almost equal parts (still a little heavier on the oil). Here is a good in-depth tutorial on How To: Make a Vinaigrette 

Most of the time I just whip up a simple vinaigrette of oil, vinegar, and whatever spices I'm feeling that day. Today, however, I was craving creamy dressings. So I decided to do something a little more in-depth, still both super easy!

Kelsa's Homemade Ranch Dressing

1c. Plain yogurt

1 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (it's got to be Dukes!)

Salt, Pepper, Dill Weed, Garlic Powder, Mustard Powder, Cayenne Pepper-(optional) to taste

Place the yogurt in a paper-towel lined strainer over a bowl for 20 minutes. This will leave you with a nice, thick and creamy yogurt.

Mix all ingredients together, adding spices to taste. Add a dash or two of cayenne pepper for a little kick!

Kelsa's Homemade Avocado Dressing

1 very ripe avocado

Sour Cream

Plain Yogurt

Salsa

Whole Milk

Salt, Pepper, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Adobo-(optional) to taste

I honestly don't know the amounts of the dairy products I added to this. You could leave out the sour cream all together to cut down on some of the fat. Mix all the ingredients together until you have your desired flavor and consistency. 

I actually started off with some leftover guacamole I had made (with all the ingredients above except the milk). I added more yogurt, salsa, and the milk to thin it out.

Have you ever made salad-in-a-jar or made your own dressings?

Marriage Mondays: Supporting Each Other and The 21-Day Sugar Detox

So starting today...this is what I will be doing for the next three weeks. Go to http://www.21daysugardetox.com/ to find out more info. But in a nutshell I can eat any meat I want, full-fat dairy, almost any vegetable, 1 green apple or green-tipped banana a day, most nuts, 1/2 c of most beans per day...I think that's about it....no white sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no sweetened drinks, no bread or pasta. 

I really don't think it will be that hard...until my sugar cravings hit! I foresee the next few days being rough (two words...ice. cream.) But I really think after that I will ENJOY the foods I'll be eating. This is mostly the way I want to eat anyway (except after the detox I will eat fruit, POTATOES, and some bread). I AM on the blood sugar roller coaster, and I want off! I want to get my weight-loss back on track, but I like that this isn't open ended. It's enough time to detox and re-learn some eating habits, but with an end in sight it won't seem so daunting. 

One thing that has me really excited about this detox is that my dear sweet husband is going to be doing it with me! He's not willing to give up his crackers with lunch, but he's going to follow the plan with me at dinnertime. I'd for him to be all-in, but it's ok, if he went all-in he'd probably loose so much weight he'd blow me out of the water! 

It's wonderful to have support in your marriage. I don't think a lack of support is cause for divorce, ultimately God is Who I look to for my worth, but it is definitely a positive thing for any marriage! Even better, though, then having a cheerleader is having someone who will join with you. There's nothing quite like knowing you've got someone by your side who is going through what you are going through with you. 

So tonight I am thankful that I have a husband who is willing to join me, to go one step further in supporting me and suffer see results with me!

Why I love my husband (the ever-growing list):

11. Even when he's not joining me in my weight-loss or health effort (which I don't expect him to always do) he is supportive of me and reminds me of my goals.

12. He is better to me than I deserve!

13. He is very patient with me...his patience becomes especially evident on days when I do far less housework than I know I could have easily done!

14. He's so sweet with our little puppy Roscoe...I can only imagine how much sweeter he will be with our children someday!

15. He never gets annoyed with my questions about cars, or movies, etc...or at least he never shows it! 

Lessons from my life on the run

This has been a pretty sparse month for Kelsa On The Run. I have been truly on the run (not from the law or anything...just busy busy!) Oh how I have missed writing and posting on my little blog! The biggest reason my posts have been non-existent lately is this little guy right here...

Meet Roscoe...awwww...isn't he precious? Well, he's about twice that size now! Yes, he is still pretty cute though. We got little Roscoe almost a month ago now. I quickly found out that puppies are A LOT of work! I had been getting up trying to get up between 6 and 6:30 every morning...then this guy came along and that became pretty much mandatory (if not 5 or 5:30). He's gotten more used to us now, more on a schedule, and we've gotten more used to him. I've even slept till almost 8 some mornings (ooops...there goes my morning) That first week or two was HARD though! I kind of felt like I was loosing my mind at moments and I was freaking out a little realizing nothing would ever be exactly the same again. 

I don't do well with change. Or situations where I don't feel in control. I'm working on that. But things are feeling a little more normal now. I've got some ideas floating around in my head for posts. Once I pin them down I'll be sure to share :) But for now, I just wanted to share a picture of my cute little puppy and something I've been learning recently...

Until we learn to "let go and let God" life will feel out of control! The fact is, we can't control every situation, circumstance, or every person in our lives. We can, however, control our reaction when things don't go the way we want them to. We can choose to be thankful for what we have, realize that God is truly the one in control, and be content in all circumstances. Or we can continue to try to control, and continue to be miserable. The tighter we try to grab hold of control, in an attempt to feel stable, the more helpless we will feel! This is what God has been teaching me and I am working to put into action. Trying to fool yourself into thinking you're in control all the time is tiring! I'd much rather relax and trust God. I think that's what I'll do from now on!

Changed: A Fundraiser In Memory of My Aunt

I would like to announce a fundraiser I am hosting this month  in memory of my Aunt Sonja who lost her battle with leukemia in December of 2011. Her birthday was March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) so she's on my mind more than ever this month!

Sonja and I on Thanksgiving Day 2009

Proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society via Becki at Fighting For Wellness who is running a marathon on Memorial Day and has set a goal to raise $2,000! "Donations will be used to find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma."

Changed

So here's what's happening...in the month of March, for every limited edition CHANGED TAG + SINGLE DOWNLOAD ($16) or CHANGED TAG + DELUXE ALBUM ($28) purchased from my Origami Owl website (kelsa.origamiowl.com)  I will donate $5 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!!! Chains are sold separately  and you'll definitely want one to go with your tag. So in addition to the $5, I will donate 10% of anything else on that same order! 

You can also donate directly by going to Becki's fundraising page. Either way, please join with us as we honor the memory of a beautiful woman and help to provide hope to others!

In case you were wondering...

Here's my "why": My Aunt Sonja and I were very close, I spent much of my younger years by her side. I just took it for granted that she would be around for a long time, and though it was her second battle with cancer, I never dreamed she would be gone so soon. But at 47 years old, she left this earth to go home. Not long after I knew I would one day do something (maybe more than one something!) to honor her memory, something that would do some good.

Fast forward to January of this year. I got the chance to go to an east coast training event with Origami Owl. I knew the company's mission was to "Be a force for good" and it was at this event that I realized it's not just a catchy little phrase, this is something Origami Owl (as a company) does and encourages us as Independent Designers to do in their own unique way. It was also at this event that our partnership with Rascal Flatts and the limited edition Changed tag were announced. The whole thing really stood out to me, really touched my heart.

Then, the beginning of February, Becki (my cousin!) announced that she would be running a marathon on Memorial Day in honor of Sonja. What a beautiful beautiful thing!

So everything just kind of came together...all this, and Sonja's birthday in March....and here we are! This is one way I can "Be a force for good" so whether you purchase a tag or donate directly to Becki's fundraising page, I hope you will join us and "Be a force for good" yourself!  

Thriving Thursday: The Simple Things

As I've said before, my word for 2013 is "Thrive" and so Thriving Thursday was born! Thriving to me means watching my clientele at Rock Paper Scissors Salon grow. It means watching my Origami Owl business start to take off. It means watching myself grow and learn new things. Sometimes, though, "thriving" is found in the form of the simple things in life.

Today it's the simple things that are making me feel happy and excited, the simple things that are making me smile.

My new Erin Condren Life Planner 

I am *ahem* obsessed with planners...and this is like the ultimate one. It's so pretty and functional. It's helping me keep my days more organized. 

This lavender mint foot scrub made by my good friend Monica (who also creates and sells beautiful stationary - check out her website Red Press Co.)

We are using this scrub in our new essential oil pedicures (using Young Living Essential Oils) I am absolutely loving it! It smells amazing, and makes your feet FEEL amazing! All our clients are loving it too! 

Two words: Washi Tape

Image Source: RuthBleakly.com

Ok, so I've heard of this stuff before. I even own a roll. But until today I did not realize that you can get washi tape in pretty much ANY pattern you could imagine, and there are about a million different uses for it! I could feel my heart rate increasing as I looked through the Pinterest search. Do it, search washi tape, you won't be disappointed. You can check out my washi tape Pinterest board (yes I created a whole board for this stuff!) for all kinds of cool ideas!

Ok, that's my happy stuff for the day!

Fabulous You Friday: The Importance of Self-Care

I believe, as a woman, it is VERY important to take care of yourself! Whether you're single, married, a mom, a grandma, work outside of your home, or work solely at home, it is important. Why though? Because you are a woman, that's why! And not because it's your role as a woman, or anything like that, but because I believe it's part of being a woman. As women we get to dress up and look pretty, we get to pamper ourselves. Or at least we should!

I believe every woman should spend money on herself getting her hair and nails done at the very least, and massages/trips to the spa are ideal. I also believe every husband should be supportive of this! If you are a guy reading this...encourage your lady to spend money on pampering herself. She will feel more beautiful, and will therefore look more appealing. I don't pretend to understand how that works, but it does!

In this hectic life of, well, a lot to do, it's important to slow down, take a breath, and make sure you feel good! If you feel relaxed and beautiful you will be nicer to your family, and even to strangers. You will be filled up, and in turn will be able to give of yourself to others. That is one of the greatest feelings there is. So when it comes to taking care of yourself, don't look at it as selfish, look at it as filling yourself up, as renewal.

Think of how life-giving and refreshing it is to drink a nice cold glass of water. But once it's gone, it's gone, it has nothing more to give until it is filled again. Our love and life is a renewable resource...but we have to let it be renewed. We can't keep emptying our cup if we don't have it filled at some point.

I know in these times finances are tight for seemingly everyone, and perhaps money to go out and get pampered just can't be found in the budget. If it comes down to you getting your hair done or your children eating...well, duh. But you can still take care of yourself!

• Create your own spa experience - Take a nice long bath and while everything is nice and soft, push back your cuticles and pluck your brows. Take a small bowl of sugar and exfoliate away dry skin (use gentle circular motions. You want to remove dead skin, not the good skin!) Don't forget your lips! Sugar makes an excellent lip exfoliant...and it tastes nice too!
• Shave your legs - It's amazing how fresh this will make you feel!
• Give yourself a manicure - Clip and file your nails, then paint them a pretty color.
• Try a new hairstyle - Try your hand at braiding. Or wear your hair down and curled if you normally throw it up in a ponytail. If your hair is short, part it to the opposite side or wear a cute headband. 
• Dress nicely - You don't have to walk around in business-casual all the time, but a simple outfit of jeans, a stylish top, and some accessories will make you look put together. Bonus: people in public treat you differently (better) when you are wearing a put together outfit than when you're wearing sweats or something sloppy...I can attest to that personally!

There are many things you can do to take care of yourself whether you go to the salon once a week, once a month, or once a year (I definitely recommend a minimum of twice a year for a trim if at all possible for you). The most life-giving thing you can do to be filled, however, is spend time with God quietly meditating and praying, this will fill you up faster and better than anything, and will leave you glowing!    

Thriving Thursday: One For The Record Books!

Do you ever have those days where you wake up and just have this feeling that it is going to be one of those days? Well, that was how I felt this morning...and today was crazy!!! It really wasn't all bad, but whew, I'm glad it's over!

This will not accurately describe my day, trust me. But here's the run down...just add in lots of driving all over town and LOTS of emotion and you'll get the idea...

• Woke up feeling "bleh" and with that feeling
• Soon after found out my husband had a flat tire and he needed me to go to the auto parts store to get him a tire plug kit (which is one direction from my house) and then take it to him at work (which is the other direction from my house)
• In the process I decided to take my youngest sisters to lunch...due to a lack of communication I couldn't find them and had a total breakdown which resulted in me having to hunt them down. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me the full story wouldn't make it sound any less crazy. Plus I'm not quite ready to re-live it because it was seriously scary to me! Now, though, it is a little bit funny (shhhh...don't tell anybody I said that!)

• This song came on the radio! It seriously gives me chills. I suppose my love for it is also tied to the fact that Origami Owl is partnering with Rascal Flatts through this song (how exciting is that??) If you haven't gotten your Changed tag yet, you can get it here
• Ran some errands
• I did some hair...though I didn't get in to work until like 1pm (having to chase down my sisters and deliver tire repair equipment took the whole morning!) I always love doing hair!
• I picked up an order from one of my dear Origami Owl customers and we talked about her signing up to start her own Origami Owl business...I am SO excited for her!
• THEN, just as I got home I got a message from another beautiful lady who is starting her own Origami Owl business as well. My little team is growing and I couldn't be happier!
• Went to dinner with my hubby and had some yummy veggie pad thai. And here I sit. Working and writing...LOVE IT!

And now, for my new Thursday tradition (and in continuation from last week)....

 

6. He brings me treats while I'm on my Origami Owl training webinars!

7. He's mature and responsible

8. Even though I tease him about it, it's hard not to love the big smile on his face when he comes home with a big box of toys. Boys and their toys.

9. He's starting to appreciate my natural remedies, and when he's getting sick asks for colloidal silver and essential oils :)

10. He pays attention. He remembers my preferences, the things I like and dislike. Sometimes he surprises me by the things he remembers, things that most people would overlook!

I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband! I thank God for him everyday.

What I Ate Wednesday: around the world and back

This is my first What I Ate Wednesday post! Finally! This is actually what I ate this past Monday (lots of people post what they ate on a day other than wednesday, just post it ON wednesday)

Monday I had to leave the house a little earlier than usual to take my Mom to the airport. Of course we had to make a shopping stop on the way :) and then I came back a different direction and took my little sisters to their dance classes. So basically I made a big circle, and it felt like around the world, but it was fun! On to the food...

This day included lots of coffee! Not pictured: half a millet and flax bagel with roasted red pepper hummus and a V8 juice

Welcome to Moe's! Yummy veg burrito bowl

Spicy Veggie Zinger Recipe

Today is the last day of the #plantPOWER challenge hosted by Heather at For The Love Of Kale and Kasey Powercakes. If you have never checked out these blogs I highly recommend you do!

I have so loved being a part of this challenge! Every day has been represented by a letter of the alphabet...

It has been so fun to come up with a plant based food to correlate with each days letter and post fun pictures to Instagram. Though, admittedly, I did miss quite a few of the days...11 to be exact. My eating is by no means "perfect" but even on the days I missed, my belief in eating more plants didn't change! Some of the days were a little more challenging than others and sometimes I had to get REALLY creative. But that's been the good thing, I've had to think outside of the box, and try some things I might not have otherwise.

Even though the challenge is ending, my desire is to keep the #plantPOWER going, to fill my diet with a rainbow of colors, and hopefully be able to inspire other people to do the same!

Now, on to my newest concoction, my letter Z creation....

Spicy Veggie Zinger

Please ignore the mess in the background!

Ingredients

• 1c. water
• 1 1/2c. grape tomatoes
• 1c. loosely packed white mushrooms
• 1/3c. matchstick carrots
• 4 mini red, yellow, or orange sweet peppers
• Handful fresh cilantro
• Two handfuls kale
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
•  2 tsp hot sauce of choice
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Dash of cumin
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the water and tomatoes in your blender. Start with the "chop" setting, then increase to the "liquefy" setting when no more large chunks remain. Continue with this process with each ingredient before adding the next. Add cilantro and kale (one at a time) very last, after called-for seasonings. Taste. Add more seasonings as needed.

You can use a tea towel and a strainer to strain out the pulp if you want more of a juice, however, I decided to drink it all, as the pulp is where all the fiber is at!

This will make quite a bit, so I filled a small jar first (fill it to the top so there is litlte air inside to oxidize the veggies)

This will keep in the refrigerator for about 24 hours (and I've heard that leaving the pulp in will actually help it keep better). I poured what remained over ice, it was about 1/3 of the batch, but that was kind of a good thing...

Now it's time to get really real

This recipe probably needs some tweaking. It was my first attempt at it, and like any recipe, over time it will get better and better. I hope. It was...I wouldn't say gross, just very different. 

They say it takes about 15 exposures to a food before the newness of the taste/texture wears away and you can decide whether you like it or not. So 14 more to go. Haha. I really didn't mind the taste...but then again I like the taste of Kale, and I like a lot of "weird" foods. But as my first experience with an all-veggie smoothie it wasn't so bad.

This is probably not something I would want to have everyday, at least not right now. But there has been sickness in my house, and I'm trying to fight it off! Plus, this is a great way to get LOTS of veggies in! If you can't stand the overpowering flavor of Kale then you can surely sub it for spinach. But the spiciness of this is great to boost your metabolism, and it definitely opened up my sinuses! 

So yes, I had a little difficulty downing this...and it gave me some gas (cilantro doesn't taste so great the second time around) but I'm getting ready to go get my jar out of the fridge and finish it, if that tells you anything! YAY for GREEN :)