On my birthday we crossed off one of my 101 items, we visited The Living Planet Aquarium. Here is one of their star residents, the sea turtle. It was a tricky video to get, everyone was there trying to catch a glimpse:

More about the turtle (source): “The 40lb Green Sea Turtle was severely bitten by a large shark and then hit by a boat, and shortly thereafter was rescued by The Turtle Hospital in Florida. It has a large semi-circular wound (approx 12 inches in diameter) on its right side. After a year of care it is still unable to fully submerge and therefore would not survive in the wild on its own, causing it to be non-releasable. In order to assist the turtle with buoyancy, custom made lead weights have been applied to its shell with marine epoxy and Velcro. All turtles float differently and at different angles, therefore the appropriate weight is placed on the back and sides of the shell.”

Aside from celebrating holidays and birthdays, our summer has been full of yard work, and lazy nights.

What do you do in the summertime? Do you get summer brain too?

We have been trying to be a lot healthier all around, but every so often a person still needs something sweet! I thought it would be a perfect time to try this low calorie “shake”. We even ate it outside, which helped beat the heat. The recipe is called the HG’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp Puddin’ Shake, and you can find the recipe by clicking that link if you want to make your own. However, the recipe in the book is different from the site in that the chocolate almond breeze isn’t listed in the book. It’s just listed as chocolate soy milk.

It was interesting. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since I hadn’t eaten Cookie Crisp cereal before. The “shake” doesn’t really have the texture of a milk shake, but it was still yummy. The one tip I have is to blend it really well, and to make the individual servings. I made a double batch, which seemed easier, but it didn’t blend as well so my portion was a lot thicker and more cereal flavored than Heath’s was.

Not a bad way to have something sweet while not loading up on calories though!