A few weeks ago I saw this recipe for braided bread on Christina’s blog! It looked so simple and easy to make…and totally delicious!

I knew I had to try it! A few weeks and eight breads later, I figured I just had to share this with you all! This braided bread is perfect for taking to your family’s house on family night, your boyfriend’s parent’s house for the steelers game, your friend’s dinner party, or simply for enjoying yourself!

This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread and you don’t even need a kitchen mixer to make it…

Ingredients:

1/4 cup warm water
2 ½ tsp yeast (or one yeast packet)
1 Tbl sugar
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl butter
2 ½ cups flour
1 egg
1 ¾-2 cups more flour

1. In a drinking glass, coffee cup, or bowl, stir together the 1/4 cup warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set this mixture to the side for 10 minutes to set.

2. In your mixer or in a large bowl, combine the 1 cup of hot water, salt, 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter. Mix all of these ingredients together.

3. Once the yeast has risen, add 2 ½ cups flour, 1 egg and the yeast mixture to your large bowl from above. Mix all together with your mixing paddle arm or hands!

4. Add 1 ¾ cups more flour and mix until a smooth ball forms. If the dough is still too soft, add more flour until the dough feels like play-dough. Take the paddle arm off your mixer and put the hook arm on. Turn mixer on to the number “2” setting (if you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer) and let machine knead the dough for 7 minutes. OR knead the dough by hand for 5-6 minutes on a hard surface.

5. Spray a large clean bowl with cooking spray. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with a hand towel or cloth to keep the dough from drying out. Place the bowl in a warm place. My mom taught me that the oven with the light turned on works really well!

6. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.

While you wait you can…

7. Go for a little walk with your sister and dog…

8. Let your indoor cat hang out on your patio because he secretly wishes he was an outdoor one…

9. Do everything you can to get your indoor cat back inside after a while…

10. Punch the dough down and let it sit for 10 minutes.

11. Divide the dough in half.

12. Starting with the first half, divide into three equal pieces. Roll each one into a rope of about 14 inches.

13. Pinch the ropes together at the top and braid. Pinch the rope again at the other end. Squish together slightly and place sideways on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed.

14. Do this again with dough ball number two.

If you want to make cinnamon bread instead of just the plain bread (both are amazing and I usually make on of each!) simply do the following..

Divide the dough into two halves like we did above. Take one of the halves and form the three 14 inch ropes.

Roll each rope out..

Fill each rope with some cinnamon mixture which includes:

1 tablespoon of melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
(it helps to melt the butter in the microwave and then add the sugar and cinnamon and mix together)

Pinch the whole thing together so it forms a long rope.

Try to keep as much of the mixture as possible inside of each rope.

Braid the three ropes together and place the loaf on the same baking sheet as your other loaf.

15. Cover the baking sheet with a cloth and let both loaves rise for an hour.

16. In a bowl, whisk one egg with a teaspoon of water.

17. Use the egg wash to coat the tops and sides of your loaves. You can use a paper towel or a paint brush to do this. Just be sure not to press too hard!

18. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and cook for 14-18 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown. Let the loaves sit for 5-10 minutes.

19. Enjoy!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!!

This morning was absolutely beautiful!

I am very blessed to live by some really nice trails! I will definitely be taking advantage of them more and more for my marathon training as the weather gets a little warmer!

One of the trails even leads to a park here in town where people can fly their own model air planes! There is a runway and everything! There was even one person out this morning at 9 flying one! I am not sure if you can see it in the picture…but it is that tiny dot in the upper left corner!

They are so neat to watch!

Mitsy and I walked for about 2 miles this morning. It is technically my “off” day of training but a nice walk was really nice today! And walks are always perfect times to call your mom or simply reflect! I have found during the past two weeks that if I take my “off” days completely off it is quite difficult to run the next day. But if I do some light exercise on them it helps a lot!

It was absolutely beautiful today!

After walking with Mitsy, I came home to straighten and clean a little bit….

I love to start my weekends with a clean house! It’s always nice to have less chores over the weekend and more time to spend with family and friends!

In other exciting news, you all might remember a few of the times that I teamed up with CSN to offer you awesome readers a giveaway! Well, Alexandra from CSN contacted me again and asked if I would be interested in doing a review of one of their products! I immediately said yes! In the CSN stores, you can find everything from a  laptop messenger bag to pet products to fitness and cooking equipment! I debated upon which product to review for a while until I decided to review…a FOAM ROLLER!

I have read about these on several of your blogs and with the marathon training, I can’t wait to try it out! I will keep ya’ll updated for sure!

I hope you all have a great day!

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Have any of you all tried a foam roller? Has it helped you?

Do any of you all have nice walking trails by your houses too?

I hope you all had a wonderful day today! The snow never came…but I was totally prepared nonetheless!

This lunch was so tasty!

And there were a few of these…

….I totally couldn’t let my emergency snow day chocolate go to waste! Hehe

I have some exciting news tonight that I wanted to share with yall!

A lot has happened over the course of the past year…from graduating college to realizing exactly how inspirational my mom is as she underwent her cancer treatments and stayed so positive and so strong, I can honestly say that 2010 brought many new challenges and taught me so much about life, myself, and the person I hope to someday be.

As the door to 2011 opens and as I realize exactly how blessed I am to have the family, friends, and opportunities I have had in my life, I knew that I wanted to do something special to celebrate the life God gave me and the blessings I have all around me.

I wanted to do something challenging. Something that would push me beyond what I am accustomed to and something that would make me stronger both physically and mentally. I debated for a while what I was going to do. I wasn’t sure where to begin.

I did some research and prayed and thought about it long and hard and realized that the challenge I wanted to face was running my first marathon! I have competed in a few 5ks and a mini-triathalon, but nothing quite like this! I will definitely be pushing my body farther than I ever have!

I looked up various marathons that were located somewhat near Wichita Falls and ones that would give me ample time to prepare and train. I finally found the perfect one: The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon! This marathon in in honor of those who were impacted by the Oklahoma City Bombing. I am so excited to be involved in it!

Even more exciting is that when I told my sister Michelle about it, she said she wanted to do it with me!

I am so, so excited! My sisters and I have always been really close and I know if Katy was old enough (you have to be 16 to sign up) she would totally join too!

I am so excited about this journey! Michelle and I have already been training hard for a few weeks and are hoping to be fully prepared come May 1, 2010!

I hope you all have a wonderful night! I am about to watch the office online and play fetch with Mitsy in our living room. We play fetch every night. She totally looks forward to this all day I think. And due to the fact that she ate the cover of a school book today, I think she was ready a long time ago. Hehe!

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Have YOU ever completed a marathon, half marathon, 10k, 5k, triathlon, or other type of race?

I hope you are all having a fantastic night so far! The weatherman said that there is a chance of snow/sleet tonight and tomorrow night…so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry! Last time we had snow in Wichita Falls was Christmas 2009 and it was so bad that people were stuck inside for a few days! Because our city rarely has snow, there aren’t exactly snow plows or anything in case of emergency. It was definitely a little scary last time, but it was also a lot of fun to be snowed in at my parents over Christmas and get to spend a few extra days with them because of the road closures and everything. We were really blessed to have everything we needed under one roof!

So just to be prepared…I did a late night Wal Mart run tonight after my class!I definitely needed to quickly stock up on the necessities just in case I am snowed in tomorrow! I am totally a kid at heart though..and am secretly hoping for a fresh blanket of snow tomorrow!

The animals agreed completely!

And I was really excited because there were a few new products that I found at WalMart! I found some new wraps…

These looked so awesome! Whole wheat, flax, & oat bran all in one wrap!

And Casey found THIS:

He never ceases to amaze me! I can’t wait to try this! Totally necessary for a snow storm!

I just sat down with an orange and a few squares of Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt and am about to catch up on all of your wonderful blogs!

Hope everyone has a great night

Even though it has been a few months since I first adopted her, I am not quite sure if poor Mitsy has gotten accustomed to waking up early with me yet! I absolutely love waking up early to take advantage of as much of the day that I can! She usually waddles downstairs with me and immediately hops up on the couch to take advantage of a few more minutes of sleep! She is such a cutie! I think this picture says it all….

As Mitsy took a few minutes to get a little extra sleep, I made a super healthified bowl of oatmeal!

Sorry this picture is a little rough….I used my phone to take it..

In the bowl was…

1/2 cup oats

3/4 banana

1 cup water

1 tbs flax seed

1 tbs wheat germ

1 tbs peanut butter

& a little cinnamon!

It was DELICIOUS and has kept me going full force all morning! I already took Mitsy to the groomer, cleaned the house, and completely pruned my plants in the front yard Now that’s a serious bowl of oats!

I am about to meet Casey and my sister at the gym to work out before I head to work! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible.’” -Audrey Hepburn

Hello readers! Today has been absolutely filled with joy and love! I can’t believe I am saying this…but I am officially graduated from college! Yay! And I am so blessed to have had family and friends there to share it with today! I will most definitely never forget today or the past several years of my life!

I definitely owe today to my wonderful family and friends who have kept me grounded and focused on what is truly important in life. My aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, sisters, boyfriend, friends, and teachers have all impacted me in so many ways! They have never given up on me and have always been there for me no matter what. My dad has always shown me what it means to work hard and have courage and strength. He has shown me the importance of family and he has always supported me no matter what. My mom inspires me each and every day by showing me her strong faith. She is exactly the mom I hope to be someday. Her strength, courage, love, and never ending support have truly guided me.  My sisters have been there with me through the good times and bad and have shown me what it means to truly laugh and enjoy life. Casey has shown me unconditional support and love always. He has always accepted me for exactly who I am. He always helps me to be the best possible person I can be. Sarah has always been the bestest friend anyone could ever ask for and has always helped me to laugh and enjoy life. She has been there for me no matter what. I am definitely blessed to have such a close family and parents who have helped direct me in this path. I love them with my entire heart and would not have walked across the stage if it wasn’t for them! I am thankful for the wonderful life God has given me!

Also, on a different note, the winner of the Oh Nuts giveaway was number 12….Victoria Lester! If you email me your email address I will get you your gift card ASAP! Congrats

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

As I took Mitzy for our morning walk today, Fall was all around!

Sometimes, I love to just take in the scenery around me. I feel so blessed that I am able able to experience seasons changing each year! Mitzy is pretty happy about the cooler weather too I think

When we came back home, I decided that in the spirit of fall, I would try a new twist on my oats! So I added 1/2 cup of pumpkin at the end! It was absolutely delicious! I have seen pictures of pumpkin oats on several different blogs, and honestly, I am not quite sure why I waited to so long to finally try it! It is quite good!

In the bowl was…

1/2 cup of oats

1 cup of water

1 tsp wheat germ

1 tsp white chocolate dream pb

1 tsp nutella (this one is totally necessary!)

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/2 banana

a dash of cinamon

It was very tasty and I highly recommend this mix! It was also very filling!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! Be sure to enter the Oh Nuts giveaway if you haven’t already! There are only 3 days left!

Hello readers! I hope you are all having a wonderful evening! There are only three days of finals left until graduation! I simply cannot believe how quickly these past several years have gone by! In celebration of starting new chapters in life, I thought I would make something today that I have never tried before!

When my family was sitting around the Thanksgiving table, everyone kept talking about how amazing Oreo balls were! I had never tried them, but Oreos are always really good, so I knew these had to be delicious! So, after asking several people how to make them, I was able to put together a little recipe for a truly amazing treat! These would be perfect for a party, celebration, holiday treat, or just because! They are kind of addictive though, so moderation is definitely key!

All you need for success is….

1. 1 Package Normal Oreos

or/and

2. 1 Package of Golden Oreos

3. Cream Cheese (1) pack per pack of Oreos

4. Some Baking Chocolate

5. Some White Chocolate

These are so simple to make! All you have to do is…

1. Grind up your Oreos! The consistency should look something like this…

2. Mix in the cream cheese! Don’t be afraid to get those hands dirty!

3. Roll into little balls and place on plate!

4. Put them in the refrigerator for 1 hour

5. Take a few moments to clean your kitchen while you wait…

6.Take a little time to enter my Oh Nuts giveaway…

7. Take the oreo balls out of the fridge

8. At this stage, you can either eat them as they are, or dip them into melted white and dark chocolates and put them back in the fridge!

9. My favorite combination is the chocolate oreo with a white chocolate outer covering!

These are absolutely wonderful and perfect for the Holiday season! They would make a perfect gift for your neighbors, family, or just for fun! I hope you all have a wonderful night