Getting Personal

I'm sure you've all noticed lately that I haven't been posting much. Part of that has to do with the holidays, part of it has do to with not having much to say, but there's also part of me that has been struggling to share life's recent events. There's nothing to freak out about. It's pretty minor in the grand scheme of life, but it's difficult and trying for me personally. As many of you already know, Hans and I have been seeing a fertility specialist for the past year because I have PCOS and we are ready to start a family.


February of this year I put myself on a 1200 calorie diet, and lost about 35 pounds. Then we flew back to the US for a month and things went downhill a bit from there. I was unable to stay on my diet and even quit logging everything I ate. Fast forward to November. I was still 'off track' but thankfully hadn't gained any of the weight back. I was eating fairly healthy, but still not logging my calories. For the past several months, my fertility specialist had been trying to 'jump start' my hormones into taking control. The attempt was futile.


In the beginning it appeared to be working, but as the months went on it, the results dwindled. Unsure of what would come next, I e-mailed my doctor as he'd asked and received a reply that absolutely broke my heart.

Dear Laina,

I suggest you continue with weight loss and more exercise. You may also take the p-pill for some time on, but probably this will need more direct hormone treatment and we will not commence on that at your present BMI.

You are welcome for a scan in a weeks time, to see if the follicles might be developing.

With kind regards

Jørn Rolighed 

I moped around for a few days feeling sorry for myself. I felt like my own doctor thought I was a lost cause. He was giving up on me. Nothing like that sort of news to make you feel pretty hopeless/useless/worthless.


After the moping subsided I decided to start over again. I suppose sometimes it's a good thing I am so damn stubborn. I've begun tracking my calories again, and have been toying, for months, with the thought of going raw. I'm not sure if raw is something I can handle yet, so for now I will stick to tracking my calories.


All of this will likely bring about a change here as well. I will do my best to post only healthy, low calories foods. I will include the calories of the meals, dishes, desserts I post. If any of you follow me on Pinterest I have a new board. I will post every healthy/low-calorie recipe I come across and if there is nutritional information I will add that when pinning.


I am also looking in to meal planning. It's hard to eat healthy, but planning ahead helps, and will save us some money. Hopefully, it will prevent my husband from buying 6 packages of butter like he did the other day, as well!


Right now, my main goal is to make it through the holidays and still lose weight. This might be hard since I am making my Grandma's Dressing to go along with a big Turkey...and maybe a pecan pie.


If any of you have any tips or tricks they are willing to share, I'd love to hear them!


(If you are concerned about my caloric intake, don't be. I began my journey working with a nutritionist who approved of the 1200 calories, and the foods I was consuming. When the day comes that I reach my goal weight and add a significant amount of exercise to what I currently do, I will be contacting her again to find out what kind of caloric intake I will require for maintenance.)

Giveaway from Joanniel Creations

Jo has asked me if I would be interested in hosting another giveaway. 

Of course I said yes!

I just love all of her jewelry, and always love sharing Jo's creations with everyone I can! 

Here's just a few of the items in her shop.

Now, up for grabs is this beautiful pair of earrings

Shiny gold tone metal drop earrings. Orchid trio. Three lovely charms attached together. They have a loop to attach something at the bottom but they look so lovely without it.

Gold tone metal charms, large, 17mm

Gold tone metal charms, medium, 14mm

Gold tone metal charms, small, 11mm

Real gold plated ear wires

Earrings measure 1 3/4 inches in length.

Retail value: $22.99

To Enter:

1. Publicly follow Vibrant Serenity via GFC.

2. Leave a comment telling me what item is your favorite in Jo's shop.

3. Follow Joanniel's Blog.

4. ♥ Joanniel Creations on Etsy.

5. Like Vibrant Serenity on Facebook.

6. Like Joanniel Creations on Facebook.

7. Follow Vibrant Serenity on Twitter.

8. Purchase an item in Jo's shop for 3 extra entries

That's a possible 10 entries!

This giveaway will run until Sunday, December 11th. 

I will announce the random winner (and email that person) on Monday, December 12th. The winner will have 24 hours to get in touch with me before a new winner is chosen.

*Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry, and include your email in the comment (unless it's visible on your profile).

As always, this giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide!

Good Luck!

Linked here:

Like crack, only better...

My friend Sarah dropped by on Tuesday, but I needed some sort of dessert to share with her. I thought about it for a bit and decided to try my hand at making blondies. Yes, it's true, I'd never made blondies before! I honestly don't know if I've even eaten a blondie before. I never realized what I was missing out on! These things were like crack, only better!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Blondies with Molasses Cream Cheese Frosting

Batter:
2 1/4 cups (224 grams) flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (175 grams) margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup (200 grams) pumpkin puree
1 bar (usually 100-200 grams) dark chocolate (I used 83%), crushed into small pieces

Frosting:
1 package (6 oz. or 200 grams) low fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups (260 grams) powdered sugar (less if you don't like super-sweet frosting, but it won't be thick)
1 -2 teaspoons dark syrup or molasses


Preheat oven to 350F/177C.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth making sure to scrape the sides of bowl in the process.

Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each.

Add the pumpkin and blend well.

With your mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture just until well blended.

Finish by adding the chocolate pieces and incorporating them with a spoon.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared dish, it will be thick.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely.


For the frosting:

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add enough syrup or molasses for desired flavor and spreading consistency, mixing well, and frost the cooled blondies.

Cut into squares and try to resist the temptation to eat the entire batch in 5 minutes.

Linking up here:
Positively Splendid
Be Different Act Normal
I ♥ Naptime

Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze

Yesterday, I awoke with an insane craving for doughnuts. Naturally, I had to make a batch.

 I remember when my mom used to open up a can of biscuits and cut holes out of the center of each one, and then fry them up. To this day, I think those are by far my favorite doughnuts. Now that I live in Denmark, I don't have access to refrigerator biscuits, nor do I fry anything. So, I decided to bake some.

Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze
Makes about 30 small doughnuts and 30 holes

For the Dough
3/4 cups (177mL) Warm Skim Milk, divided
1 packet Active Dry Yeast
1 tbsp. (14 grams) Margarine
1/3 cup (58 grams) Sugar or (5.8 grams) Splenda - I mixed the two
1 Egg
2 1/2 cups (250 grams) All Purpose Flour + extra
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Salt


Place 1/4 cup of the warm milk in a mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk, and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of milk with the sugar and butter.

Add to the yeast mixture, and mix to combine, using a stand or hand mixer.

Add the egg and mix again until incorporated.

Now add flour, nutmeg, and salt and mix until the dough starts to form.

Once the dough begins to form, change to your dough hook and 'knead' until the dough becomes smooth, if it's too sticky, slowly add more flour until it's no longer sticky.

Transfer to the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and has formed a ball.

Place the dough ball in a large lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

Let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.

When the dough has risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 1/2 inch thick.

Using a doughnut cutter or 2 biscuit cutters (I used a large cutter that was about 3 inches in diameter and the smaller was about 1 inch.), cut out the doughnuts until you have no dough left.

Gather up the scraps into a ball and roll it out and cut out more doughnuts, Try to avoid kneading the dough much further in this step, or your dough will be tough.

Place the doughnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart - they don't spread much.

Cover with a clean towel and let rest again for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.

Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for about 7 minutes, until lightly golden brown, Taking care to not over-bake.  

Let the doughnuts cool for about 5 minutes until ready to glaze.

While the doughnuts are cooling make the glaze

For the Chocolate Glaze
2 tbsp. Skim Milk
1-2 tsp. Margarine
1 Chocolate Bar, broken into small pieces (I used 83%)
about 1/4 cup (32 grams) Vanilla Sugar (Confectioners Sugar + 1/2-1 tsp. Vanilla)- depending on your taste, I used about 3 tablespoons.
Boiling water to thin.

Combine the milk, margarine, and the chocolate bar in a small bowl. Microwave on high for about 1 minute, checking and stirring every 15-30 seconds.

When mostly melted slowly stir in the vanilla sugar sugar.

Once combined, add slowly mix in boiling water to thin. - I used about 2 tablespoons. whisk until the mixture is smooth.

To glaze, dip doughnuts halfway into the glaze and place back onto parchment paper.

Sprinkle or decorate any way you wish. I lightly dusted mine with vanilla sugar.

Let set for about 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Linking up here:
Craft-O-Maniac
Not Just A Housewife
Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy
Chef In Training
Sugar Bee Crafts

Christmas Market and Nativity Exhibits

Today, I am going to attempt to post in both Danish and English. I will keep things short because my Danish isn't so good.
I aften vil jeg prøve at skrive på både dansk og engelsk. Jeg vil fatte mig i korthed, da mit dansk ikke er særlig godt.

Because tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent, the town is getting ready for Christmas. The big Christmas tree is in place and is covered in white lights. The shopping street is full of Christmas decorations, trees, and people, and the Holstebro Church is preparing to celebrate. Da det er første søndag i advent i morgen er byen ved at blive forberedt til jul. Det store juletræ er på plads og er dækket med hvide lys. Gågaden er fuld af juledekorationer, træer og mennesker, og Holstebro kirke gør sig klar til at feste.


This morning, Hans and I met up with his mom at the Christmas Market. We looked at all the homemade gifts for sale and had rolls and coffee. The Holstebro Church hosted an opening of Nativity Exhibits, where Hans sang in a small ensemble to kick things off.
I morges mødtes Hans og jeg med hans mor til julemarked. Vi kiggede på alle de hjemmelavede julegaver der var til salg og fik rundstykker og kaffe. Holstebro kirke afholdt åbning af julekrybbeudstillingen, hvor Hans sang i et mindre ensemble for at fejre åbningen.


Here they sing "Baby Jesus Lay in a Manger" Her de synger "Barn Jesus i en krybbe lå"






This song is "Away in a Manger". Denne sang hedder "En stald og en krybbe"








There were 29 different interpretations of the Christmas Nativity. Some were painted, some knitted, and some sculpted. All of them were unique. Here are pictures of a few.
Der var 29 forskellige fortolkninger af julenat. Nogle var malet, nogle var strikket, og nogle var skulpturer. De var alle unikke. Her er et par billeder af dem.

Linking up here:
I ♥ Naptime

Happy Thanksgiving

Christmas on a VERY tight budget

Last year was my very first Danish Christmas. Our Christmas tree was actually, a tree branch. 

Our ornaments were all thrifted, many were faded or made of cheap plastic. 

I made a few felt trees to decorate our entertainment center, as well as some paper snowflakes.

To finish off my decorations, I found a tablecloth and bowl for the kitchen.

It was a difficult change for me. Not only was I away from my friends and family, but I had very few things that felt like home. 

This year, I was able to get a few more things. It feels like a mishmash of colors and styles, which plagues my OCD, but I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it all into something that is pleasing to the eye.

Here in Denmark, you can't pop over to the dollar store and spend $20 or $30 on everything you possibly need for a cheap Christmas. Christmas lights come in strands with anywhere between 20 and 100 LED lights. A single strand of 80 lights cost us $15! The small (120cm/3'11''- including the base) Christmas tree we bought this year was about $32. Thankfully, the small glass ornaments were fairly inexpensive. 

It's still nothing compared to Christmas back home, but maybe next year we will be able to afford more lights, and maybe even some garland. 

Linking up here:
Organize and Decorate Everything
While He Was Napping
delicateConstruction
Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo
I ♥ Naptime
My Crazy Beautiful Life
Craft-O-Maniac
Not Just A Housewife
Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy
Chef In Training
Sugar Bee Crafts
Postively Splendid