It Has Been An Awesome Four Months!

Happy 4 month anniversary to Give It A Whirl Girl! I started up this blog four months ago on June 6th. I was recovering from a hernia operation when a lightbulb went off in my mind! I had to fire it up and get the ball rolling on starting up a blog! My number one passion in life is cooking and baking. It was also my new year’s resolution to get a blog up and running. It took me half a year of planning to finally take my first step. I am so incredibly grateful for my husband, my daughter, and my mother for holding my hand along the way!

Give It A Whirl Girl making paleo dark chocolate fudge cupcakes

I was tremendously nervous to start this new venture. It takes a lot of strength to write and put yourself out there for the world to see! In the beginning, I would have a little anxiety attack before hitting that publish button. Fast forward to four months later and now I am incredibly eager to hit that publish button and share my foodie venture with the world! When I discover a new food or a new recipe that I fall in love with I want to spread the word.

I have learned a TON and taken in a lot of information in these past four months. Starting up a blog is a lot harder than one would think. There is a lot of knowledge that needs to be fed to your brain so you have a clue on what the heck you are doing! I still have a lot to learn. Learning about things like SEO makes me feel dumb. Blogging is so complex! I am determined and committed to learning and embracing all of this knowledge so that when my one-year anniversary arrives I can look back on all of this and see how far I have come.

Give It A Whirl Girl with a loaf of bread for paleo French toast

Continue reading “It Has Been An Awesome Four Months!” →

September 6, 2018 4

Showcasing a little bit of my cooking skills

I figured that showcasing my cooking skills would be another great way to introduce myself here and what I am most passionate about. This is a part of the day that I often look forward to. I really do get so much happiness and joy cooking for my little family of 3. In my kitchen it is a new adventure every single day. I am always seeking out new recipes to crank out so we can have a taste of some new concoctions here. As you may already know I love to try out new things, hence the name~ Give It A Whirl Girl!

**photo of me with the new Circulon cookware my hubby bought me** Kimmy Ripley GIVE IT A WHIRL GIRL — **photo of me with the new Circulon cookware my hubby bought me**

I have been cooking for a few years now but I really did not fall in love with it until last year when I began my weight loss journey. For awhile there pretty much anything passed as a meal… processed foods, loads of carbs, etc. I started falling into the trap of blaming my medication for weight gain. Until I changed my eating habits I realized I was dead wrong. I was the one to blame for my weight gain. I had been a skinny girl my whole life and when I plumped up I felt like I was in a foreign body of some sort. I realized I needed to make changes and amp up my recipes to pave the way for a healthier lifestyle.

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As mentioned in my previous post I stated that I started out on a Mediterranean diet. It really did work and I saw results! I dropped quite a bit of weight but I will be honest that I got bored with the cuisine after while and needed something new.

I started looking into paleo (no grains, beans, soy, dairy, certain vegetable oils, and refined sugar). What I was left with was meats, fish, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and seeds. I was never strict with paleo and just tried my best to be as paleo-ish as possible.

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I also ventured into the world of grain-free paleo baking and nice-cream. I love paleo desserts so much and they satisfy my sweet tooth in a healthier way every single time I whip them up. I am aware that they are not totally healthier… keyword is “healthier” for you! Life just isn’t worth living if you can’t have a tasty dessert every now and then. I live for the sweets!

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Oooooh and let’s not forget Cheat Days! There are plenty of those around here when I just stuff my face with whatever my brain desires! I believe that life should be balanced. There is no way in hell I could ever be strict.

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Hoping you will stick around to see what I am capable of. I am having a very productive day and filling up my Erin Condren planner with all sorts of ideas for future posts. I have so much to learn and I really want nothing more than for this blog to be a great resource and an exciting spot to visit. I look forward to engaging with my new readers. Thank you to all for being a part of my dream.

June 9, 2018 1

I am Kimmy Ripley “believe it or not”! Welcome To Give It A Whirl Girl!

The Ripley Family - Kimmy Ripley, Chloe Ripley, Joe Ripley — The Ripley Family

Hello and welcome to my brand spankin’ new blog! I have been putting off doing this for quite awhile because it seems like a daunting task to get it started. I honestly have no idea how to start a blog BUT I am “giving it a whirl”! I am Kimmy Ripley. I am currently 37 years old. I am happily married to Joe. We have been together happily since 1999. We have one daughter, Chloe Pearl, who is my dream girl. All my life I wanted a daughter named Chloe and now I have her in my life. Let me tell you… this girl is sweet as sugar. She makes everyday worth living and she brings me so much happiness even on the darkest days. I am blessed to have my family of 3 and everyday is a new adventure for us!

A little bit about me…

I graduated from Wayne State University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. I wanted to be a photographer so bad. Once I got a taste of working in a studio it hit me over the head that it just was not for me. Photography is still a passion of mine but for the most part I have sadly dropped out of the art scene.

In 2009 my daughter was born and that is when my entire life changed! I got a new career and that was raising her as a stay at home mom. It is what has worked out for the best for our family.

Once she was born and started to eat solid foods I realized that something needed to change in my life. I needed to learn how to COOK! I used to think that throwing a jar of Ragu pasta sauce over a box of spaghetti noodles was cooking lol! When my daughter started eating those solids I wanted to do what was best for her and I prepared most of her foods for her myself. I rarely used any prepared baby or toddler foods. This is when my journey and passion for cooking began.

I started scouring the internet for tasty and nutritious recipes. I started checking labels on foods more to see if I wanted to feed those weird ingredients to my family. I became a lot more aware of what was healthy.

Last year I began my weight loss journey with a mostly Mediterranean diet. I introduced many interesting meals to my family and I was so pleased that they enjoyed them. In the end I started going more paleo with my diet. I am not strict paleo so I am just paleo-ish. I try my best to avoid processed foods and feed them more whole foods and organics. We still have plenty of cheat moments because hey… who doesn’t love an indulgent treat like a deep fried peanut butter and jelly?!?@!

Teriyaki chicken served in a pineapple with wild rice - Give It A Whirl Girl — Teriyaki chicken served in a pineapple with wild rice

The content of this blog will contain the following topics for now:

My passion for cooking! I try to cook new recipes as often as I can. Sometimes I get brave and create my own dish without a recipe.
My journey of trying out new foods and beverages. I am telling you that I live for trying out new products. Total foodie right over here. Food is completely on my mind all day long.
My new adventure with coupons and sampling because who doesn’t love a great deal? Am I right?

I am sure that over time things will change with my blog as it experiences growth. I would also love to host giveaways on my blog because I enjoy them too! I have discovered a vast array of new products by entering giveaways. I end up being a fan for life and new customer to these brands that I get lucky enough to win from.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stumble on over to my first post that I was nervous to whip up and then hit publish on! Anyone want to hold my hand LOL! This is a big step in my life. My goal and resolution for the year was to start up this blog and try my best to keep up with it. Being a SAHM during the day while everyone is away gets lonely and I am hoping to connect with people along the way. Thank you again for stopping by. I really truly appreciate any new fans I acquire here!