The next round, I added more coconut flour (didn't measure it, just sprinkled some until it looked right) to get a thicker texture. I used coconut flour because it is known to dry things out quite a bit. These cookies weren't as goopy, but they are still not structurally sound. I cannot pick these up. I'm hoping to freeze them and then maybe they'll be holdable to eat soon after being removed from the freezer. It's so disappointing though because the taste is truly so so good!

Changes I made:

• Instead of 2 tbsp of applesauce (which I didn't have), I used 1/4 of a very ripe banana. There are many alternatives to applesauce, substitutes are a Google search away :) The banana definitely added that flavor slightly to the cookie, but not in a bad way!
• Instead of regular (sugar free) chocolate chips, I had Lily's Sugar Free White Chocolate Chips. I also have Lily's strawberry flavored chocolate chips, which I think could be fun to use in a different batch!

Changes I made:

• Used 1.5 cups strawberries instead of 1 cup
• Used Truvia Baking Blend instead of Swerve Sweetener

When we got home I started the task of washing, coring, drying, chopping, and freezing the berries. First I had to sit down and make a list of the recipes I wanted to use the berries for, and what preparations they would need.

I decided on: Sugar Free Strawberry Sauce, Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars, Keto Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies, Keto Strawberry Cookies, Chewy Sugar Free Strawberry Cookies, Strawberry Cheesecake Cups, plus freezing some whole, and eating some fresh :)

I used my trusty Norwex Fresh Produce Wash, a strawberry corer, my PrepWorks Produce Keeper, and baking pans, to get through the work. I chopped up the amounts I needed for specific recipes, and put them in labeled bags, then I prepared some for freezing by using this guide. The fresh ones I placed in my produce keeper and put in the fridge!

The fresh ones we ate last night we probably the best berries I've ever tasted in my life. Will definitely return to Picha Farms to pick berries again, although, I don't think we'll be heading back this season, since we got SO MANY! :D

I set out, many months ago, to fix our ugly fireplace in our downstairs den. It seemed super easy, but don't most home projects? I guess it was pretty simple, it just wasn't as quick as I had anticipated!

So, the ugly part of it was not that it is brick (natural brick is lovely), but that some previous owner had decided that slapping some black and white paint on it with sponges would make it look nice. That was not the case. Want proof? Here's a before photo!

Some online guidance strongly advised cleaning the brick first, to rid it of oils and soot so that the paint can adhere properly. I ended up using Savogran brand Liquid TSP substitute (diluted properly in water) in a spray bottle, a sponge, and a wire brush (similar to this one).

After cleaning the brick really well, I could go ahead and prime it. You'll want to use something like Kilz 2 All Purpose White Interior/Exterior Multi-Surface Primer, Sealer, and Stain Blocker for priming. You'll also need a paint tray, mini roller, stiff paint brush, and painters' tape.

I ended up needing 3 coats of primer(!!) - remember that brick is porous and soaks up your paint, so you're going to need to let things dry and redo it a few times! Still though, 1 gallon of primer was more than enough for our fireplace. In the end, the primed product resulted in this:

After an entire afternoon of priming, I was done. Like, my body was done and I was "over" trying to DIY house projects! So... a couple months went by with the painters' tape and drop cloth still sitting on the floor, just tormenting me every day to finish the project already!!

Today was THE DAY!! After my father-in-law poked fun that I hadn't finished the project yet, I told myself to "pitter patter" ;)

The actual painting of the fireplace was so much easier! Once that priming is out of the way, all I needed was one coat of actual paint! I used Valspar Simplicity Interior + Primer Satin Interior paint in Ultra White.

I am incredibly happy with the "final" product! I say "final" because the plan is to install a dark wood beam as the mantel, and then it's complete!

Well, it's been about 4 months since starting my extreme keto diet (check out my post about it here) and...

I'm STILL doing it!!

I thought I would only go for 2 weeks, but I've formed habits that are totally sustainable. I have a couple cups of coffee in the morning with sugar-free syrup and heavy cream. For lunch I have a Keto Chow shake, and then I have a keto-approved dinner. I'm hitting closer to 1000 calories (instead of 800) Monday through Friday.

I've lost and consistently kept off 20 lbs, and I'd like to lose about 20 lbs more, and just need to increase my exercise to do that.

I think the biggest helper in all this has been Keto Chow!

One Keto Chow shake every day for lunch gives me all the nutrients and salt I need for a good keto diet. I mix each single serve packet with 4 tsp of heavy cream. Keto Chow does offer a few different ways to mix your shake, but this is the right mixture for me and my macros.

Thanks to Keto Chow, this round of keto, I've only had 1 day where I had some muscle cramps, compared to every few days the last time I attempted the diet. My ketones have been around the 1.0 mmoL mark on average, and while that's not super great ketosis levels, it's in the low range at least.

My favorite flavors of Keto Chow (that I keep buying) have been: Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Toffee, Eggnog (OMG I could drink this one EVERY DAY), Orange Cream, Raspberry Cheesecake, and Strawberry.

I personally did not love Banana, Cookies and Cream, Mocha, Root Beer, and S'mores. The issue with these flavors was just that they weren't strong enough! I couldn't really taste the flavors that they were supposed to be and that was a bit disappointing!

If you're interested in purchasing Keto Chow, please use my referral link!

This week I started a 2 week very low calorie keto diet (VLCKD) for medical purposes and under medical supervision. I may extend it for another 2 weeks after, but I personally find that doing something for a short time is easy, but if you commit to something for a full year (or whatever is a long time to you) that can be overwhelming and I'm bound to fail.

If this post intrigues you, please reach out to your healthcare provider before trying to use the same way of eating. I'm being monitored by a nurse and I'm aware of the side effects and I'm aware of things I should look out for.

Most of the week I've eaten this way:

Per day:

• 800 calories
• 30 grams fat (maximum)
• 10 grams carbs (maximum)
• 90 grams protein (minimum)

Then, I switch it up 2 days of the week (to trick the body):

Per day:

• 1300 calories
• 90 grams fat (maximum)
• 10 grams carbs (maximum)
• 90 grams protein (minimum)

How have I been accomplishing this?

My "breakfast" and "lunch" have each been a Keto Chow shake. I make 2 of these every night for the next day. Basically, you take a packet (or scoop, depending on what package you buy it in) of Keto Chow (referral link), add it to 4 tsp of heavy cream (you can use oil, or other options are offered on their website), and then add 14 oz of warm water. I put all this in a Blender Bottle & shake it up (been using these for years). In the morning, I add 2-6 oz of cold water, depending on the taste of that particular shake. Making the shakes in this way, they come out to about 250 calories a piece.

Keto Chow was suggested by my medical provider because they have the correct numbers of nutrients, compared to other shakes, needed to keep you healthy.

I've been eating dinner each night, but on my 800 calorie days, I only have 300 calories to work with. This has been the hardest part for me. I've done regular keto before, but it's always been done by ignoring calories and focusing solely on carb intake. To find low calorie, low carb options is pretty difficult (unless you are eating clean). I think this is where to clean keto/dirty keto ideas come in.

On 1300 calorie days I can add a different shake in, as a snack, and for that I've been using Syntrax Nectar shakes with almond milk, which come to about 150 calories. These are high in protein, but aren't as filling as the Keto Chow (as far as "meal replacements" go).

My dinners this week have been the following:

• Mongolian beef (just the beef)
• Ham and cheese omelette
• 2 Cod filets with romaine salad with Italian dressing and cheese
• Open faced cod filet sandwich (on Franz Keto bread) with parmesan cheese
• Steak with sauteed mushrooms and asparagus

I've found that dinners taste so good; I'm definitely savoring and appreciating what I'm eating now!

I've been drinking one coffee every morning, with either half and half, or a splash of heavy cream. I haven't had any negative side effects from drinking less caffeine. I have been drinking lots of water, and yes, some diet sodas (I just can't give them up)!

Day 3 was the hardest, I was sluggish, tired, and irritable. It was the only day that I was angry and resentful that I couldn't eat. I was also annoyed because the scale wasn't moving AT ALL. I was upset that I was putting myself through this craziness for no result.

**HOWEVER, on day 5, the scale showed a dropped of 3 lbs from the day before, and today, day 6, I have a further drop of 2 lbs. 5 lbs lost this week is pretty darn good! **

I have not felt any traditional 'keto flu' effects, but I'm technically not in ketosis yet either. I've been using the Keto Mojo ketone meter and I'm still averaging about 0.7mmol ketones. Ketosis is when you are getting readings around 1.5mmol and higher.

Another week to go before I reassess and decide if I'll continue!

After a pretty good sleep, we got ready, prepared for our first delicious NOLA meal! First up was Mothers Restaurant!

Being a weekend, there was a line out the door, which is apparently pretty normal for this place. We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes to enter the building, and then there was maybe another 10 minute wait inside. From reading online, we learned that you must be completely ready to order by the time you get to the front - no dilly-dallying! Tom ordered the Famous Ferdi Po Boy and Gumbo and I got the Egg & Meat Po Boy with Debris, and an order of turnip greens.

The greens were great, especially the big chunks of ham in it! The gumbo was good as well. Personally, I wasn't thrilled with my sandwich - it was completely bland and the bread turned to instant mush from the "debris". From the small taste of ham I had, I would strongly recommend you get their World's Best Baked Ham! If you're wondering, "debris" is, "the roast beef that falls into the au jus gravy in the pan while roasting in the oven".

After brunch, we had tickets for the St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery and French Quarter Carriage Tour. We walked through the French Quarter and it was awesome to look at all the beautiful colors and ironwork on the buildings.

We found our carriage company (there are a bunch of them lined up and it's a bit confusing) and waited for the tour to start. There were only 6 passengers, so it was a perfect tour size, in my opinion. We learned that all the carriage companies in New Orleans use mules instead of horses. Our mule was named Jelly Roll and he was a bit slow! There were a few times we were going down a one way street and cars behind us were completely laying on their horns. Another woman on our tour was flipping those people off, and yelling at them. Honestly, they were beeping at an animal - it was pretty disgusting that they couldn't have a bit of patience for him. The carriage tour was great, as it gave a good overview of the French Quarter and we were able to gain some insight into other places we would want to see up close. We did make a stop at Saint Louis Cemetery No.1 and we all walked through it with our guide as she told us some history about it.

After the carriage tour we had to find somewhere to use a bathroom. This is one of the problems I discovered about New Orleans (and honestly, most tourist cities) - there are virtually no public restrooms! Since we had a decent amount of time until our next tour, we went to PJ's coffee and had a drink and snack. The next item on the list was the Pirates of the Quarter tour and it was probably my favorite/most enjoyed event in New Orleans proper! Our tour Pirate had a hilariously dry sense of humor and that matched well with our small but all adult group. The group we were paired with were a big part of our tour being even more awesome - they were funny (their senses of humor matched ours very well) and super friendly. I highly recommend the Pirates of the Quarter tour, it was a great walking tour, with a stop for drinks, and the Pirate was very knowledgeable.

After the pirate tour, we had dinner at Coterie Nola - the food here was really good and I highly recommend it! We had the Boudin Balls (seasoned pork and rice, panko breaded and fried, served with sauce remoulade), seafood gumbo (amazing!), and a shrimp and beef Po Boy. Their mixed drinks were unique and delicious.

We had a nice walk back from the restaurant to the hotel. Half of the walk it was busy enough to not feel afraid, and the other half was just really quiet. I didn't feel unsafe at all, even though some things I read online suggested that it wasn't a good idea.

I guess vacation day 1 wasn't really day 1 - we didn't arrive in New Orleans until after midnight (Friday/Saturday).

We had a fairly relaxing morning before heading to the airport about 4 hours prior to our flight. We had booked First Class tickets (Tom's first time in First Class, and my second) and we wanted to hang out in the Alaska Lounge at SeaTac airport, to really get the full experience!

First hiccup - we found out that you cannot check your bags more than 4 hours before your flight departs! We were only off by about 10 minutes, so the agent at the First Class check-in/baggage drop booth let us stand at her booth and wait for the time to pass - there wasn't a line for that check-in, so it didn't really matter, but the gesture was nice!

Once we dropped bags we headed through security - we were able to skip the line, but once through the line up we had to go through regular security with everyone else - like peasants! Since we had used points to upgrade our flights to First Class, we had the only classification of First Class ticket that does not allow for "free" entry into the Alaska Lounges :( We first went to the Alaska Lounge near Concourse D, where we paid a discounted rate (because we are Alaska credit card holders) to enter the lounge. The concierge let us know that we could check out the other brand new lounge if we took our receipt when we left! We relaxed a bit and had some snacks.

After awhile we went over to the other lounge, near C gates; it was a lot smaller, but decorated nicely. The food and drink offerings were the same, so it seems that wherever you can find space in one of the lounges, it will compare to the other ones.

First Class was as awesome as it seems when you have to walk through it before every other flight! Drinks were free, there were plenty of snacks, and we were given a big hot meal with real metal utensils! Two meal options were given and Tom and I both chose the chicken with brussel sprouts and couscous, which came with a side salad and dinner roll. The flavor were pretty good and it was very filling!

Once we arrived in New Orleans, we didn't have to wait long for our bags, then we were off on the shuttle bus to our rental car. It takes about 15 minutes to drive to the rental car "station" where all the airport rental car companies are located. The person working at Hertz was super friendly and gave us a list of recommended restaurants, bars, and jazz spots! We loaded up the car and we were OFF to the hotel!

We booked our stay at Drury Plaza Hotel New Orleans, located in the Central Business District. I'm not a fan of crowds or noise, so it was better for us to stay outside of the French Quarter. Pricing was decent, and the hotel has great amenities! There's a free hot breakfast buffet, nightly Happy Hour with free alcohol and snacks/light dinner, a rooftop pool, and the staff are so friendly! We booked an upgraded jacuzzi room because for some reason, no hotels seem to think tubs are important anymore! I need to be able to have a bath to relax, especially on vacation! The room was pretty good, there was a separate living space from the bedroom, along with mini-fridge and microwave. The one downside was the only windows were in the living area and were tiny little prison windows set high up in the wall. Odd!

It was time to get some sleep and get ready for vacation to REALLY begin!

It's that time, vacation is over :( I'm writing this while sitting in the airport at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (airport code: MSY, which I'll explain shortly). I'm actually in the brand new (2 days since opening) The Club MSY, a brand new airport lounge in the $1B new addition to the airport (review of that shortly too)!

As I've discovered, MSY stands for Moisant Stock Yards. According to Wikipedia: "The airport was originally named Moisant Field after daredevil aviator John Moisant, who died in 1910 in an airplane crash on agricultural land where the airport is now located. Its IATA code MSY was derived from Moisant Stock Yards."

Back to The Club MSY: no membership to anything is required, there are some cards/memberships that will allow free entry, but you can pay $40 for a day pass if you don't have those. The first area you walk into is a work area, semi-quiet, plenty of chairs, although the middle section of chairs don't appear to have any outlets, only those along the wall do.

Off the left of the work area is a designated quiet area, with dim lighting. More conducive to napping, with higher backed chairs and ottomans.

Straight through the work area, is a bar and a dining area. Complimentary drinks at the bar offer a decent selection. The "hot and cold buffet" was a little less impressive than I had hoped for. At the time we came, the hot buffet consisted of soup (crawfish and corn chowder), and a soggy tomato penne. The cold buffet was a couple salads, 2 types of wraps (turkey & cranberry, and a vegetarian option), and some cookies.

There was also a few pop options, a few water options (infused and regular), a latte machine, and a number of jars of snacks (candy, pretzels, etc). After a short time, the soup was changed out to brocolli cheddar. The staff was friendly, however, they seemed overstaffed. I spoke with one woman who mentioned she was just wiping the same area over and over (we were joking around). I'm sure as the days wear on (and Mardi Gras kicks into full gear), they will need all the employees that they currently have (and maybe this is good training for that), but right now, they seem bored. My husband didn't love the seemingly-constant requests about whether we required anything else from them (every 5-10 minutes we were asked). This was quite different from the other lounges I've been in (only a few), where you help yourself, and the staff basically tidies things up and is there IF you need something from them (by request).

I'll post this as is for now, but over the (hopefully) next few days, before I forget all the details(!), I'll update this post with the links about each of our travel days (below). I'll be sharing reviews of restaurants, touristy things, as well as links to those reviewed businesses.

For now, I'm happy to be heading home, and then to drive up to BC tomorrow morning to pick up Barrett from my Mom's place (although, I know she's sad about that)!

Friday, January 24 - Vacation Day 1

Saturday, January 25 - Vacation Day 2

Sunday, January 26 - Vacation Day 3

Monday, January 27 - Vacation Day 4

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

This morning I've been sipping on a smoothie! Not much to this one:

1 cup Frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1.5 cups (approx.) Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1 tbsp Peanut Butter (no sugar)

Tastes like a PB&J, but without those pesky carbs!

The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links - as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I won my Nutri Ninja blender system at an Obesity Help conference a few years ago, and I absolutely love it! I highly recommend it!