Macro Monday - {Tampa Bay Photographer}

It's a new year and with that comes new year's resolutions!  I am not immune to the standard resolution of getting in shape and dieting.    I've always struggled to maintain my ideal body weight.  I've lost and gained the same 20-30 pounds more times than I care to count.  Exercise, or lack there of, is the biggest culprit, that and portion control.  Even too much of healthy food is, well, too much.

I'm on the back end of my 40's and my husband and I have talked about juicing for a while now.  Well, a couple Christmas gift cards later and a really, really great deal (timing is everything) on Amazon, we have our first real juicer!  We did a lot of research on which juicer is the "best" juicer and found that the "best" juicer really means the best juicer for YOU!    Some juicers are better for leafy veggies and some are better if you are only ever going to juice fruit.  The one thing that we did find is that the lower speed juicers are better because they don't heat up the juice, breaking down the nutrients/enzymes.  There's a wealth of information on line and if you decide to take the plunge, be sure and read up before making your purchase.  If $$ is a factor, it was for us and I suspect many, there are a few ways to save (some of these machines go for over $1,000!).  If you aren't afraid of used - there's craigslist and ebay.  If you want new - stalk Amazon.  The prices go up and down there faster than a kid on a pogo stick!  We had been pricing the Omega 8006 and were looking at the upper $280's and higher.  Just about as we were ready to pull the trigger at a local retailer (more on that in a second), we did a double check on Amazon and there it was for $209 with free shipping!   A couple of days later it was up to $286.    Don't be afraid to ask your local retailer either for a discount.   And don't forget that BB&B has great coupons that never expire - well they expire, but the store always honors them!

Okay!  On to our second juicing effort.  You'll see a lot of veggies and fruit, but mind you it was for my husband, daughter and me.  This little beauty does a good job of getting A LOT of the juice out.  The pulp that is ejected is surprisingly dry.     For this concoction, we used: carrots, cucumber, celery, red kale, parsley, beets, 2 apples and 2 oranges.  Oh and a knuckle of ginger (no pic of the ginger, sorry).  Delicious!

 Remember when the Pom Juice came in glass??  They are such a great size!  We were sad when they went to plastic.   I've also discovered that we have a lot of water spots from the dishwasher!  Yikes

Happy New Year! - {Tampa Bay Family Photographer}

This time of year is always so hectic and we, err...I, often get behind in doing things that I want to get done.  Our Christmas card was one of them.   Since it didn't get to go out until this past Saturday, it became more of a "Holiday/New Years" card.    We had fun making it and I wanted to share it with you all along with my wishes for a safe, happy and wonderful New Year!

This is a variation of the back of what the card looked like.  There were a few more items in the "To Do List," letting our friends and family know a few things that the upcoming year has in store for us with the last item being the most important.   :)