2011 February|Chia Seed Me

Feb 26, 2011 Posted by candice on Feb 26, 2011 in Uncategorized | 9 comments

it’s never easy saying goodbye

It has been a little quiet over here the last couple of days. On Thursday my mom came and helped me pack all day long…we were super productive and got all the big rooms finished. I don’t know what I would have done without all the help from our moms…such a blessing.

Wednesday and Friday were days full of goodbyes as I tutored Bomi for the last time, taught my last PiYo class and had my last tutoring appointment with Hye kyoung.

Bomi and I

It’s never easy saying goodbye. Friday morning there were many tears and promises that it’s only goodbye for now. But in the end I just had to walk away as Hye kyoung cried, closing her office door behind me for the last time. I came home and had a cry fest/ pity party for myself for about thirty minutes, and then the tears ran dry. And then I just laid, staring up at the ceiling, promising myself that this move is going to last. This time we aren’t going to have to say goodbye after such a short time. It seems like just yesterday that we were saying goodbye to our Thai friend, P’Dew, as we stood crying and waving in the middle of our street in Chiang Mai. It’s amazing how time flies.

Next up on the list: goodbye house and goodbye baby Olive.

The house I can handle. Yes I will miss it. And I will cry and reminisce about the first day we walked in and all the good memories here. But in the end I will remember that it is just a house. And we will make our home wherever we go.

On the other hand, I honestly do not know how I will say goodbye to my little dog. The reality is that she will only be ten minutes away, but it just will not be the same. She won’t be there to kiss my face in the morning, welcome me when I come home from the day or lay on my lap as I work in the evening. After a day full of high emotions, it’s more than I can bear to think about right now, leaving her. There are moments where I really do not know if I can do it. Today as I laid on the bed, feeling so downtrodden about leaving Hye kyoung, I held my baby close and after awhile the distress of missing Hye kyoung and the sadness that has already set in from missing O began to melt together and I could no longer tell them apart. Thankfully we still have a couple of days left as we will move all of our stuff out of the house tomorrow, but the husband and I will sleep here on an air mattress Saturday and Sunday night with Olive in tow. And then Monday morning we will close, and off we’ll go – him to work and me to our new town to leave Olive at my grandma’s.

Unfortunately I don’t have any food to show you this morning. Since Thursday afternoon we’ve been eating leftovers, Amy’s frozen dinners and meals out. With all the craziness I honestly haven’t missed cooking, but it will be really nice to get back into the swing of things come Monday.

Thank you all so much for sticking around during this crazy time of transition. Things will soon be closer to normal around here, and every post won’t be a sappy, sad story. I appreciate all your comments, encouragement and advice – you give life to my blog, and I’m so thankful!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend! On a more exciting and positive note, tomorrow is the husband’s 28th birthday, and even thought we’ll be loading boxes all day, I’m going to make it as special as I can. I’ll be back with more about that tomorrow.

What is a situation you can remember where you had to say goodbye to someone important to you?

it’s going to be an epic day

You know they always say it must get worse before it gets better…

I slightly cannot believe that I posted pictures of our house in this kind of state for the whole world to see. Don’t judge.

This morning I was back to not feeling the green smoothie, so I went with the quickest breakfast food I could think of – pb toast (natural peanut butter on ezekiel toast), eaten on a paper plate atop a box. The LBD of breakfast foods if you will.

Today is going to be an epic day. I really was about to write “today is going to be overwhelming and sad” but I decided to go with that self fulfilling prophecy theory. Does it still count even though I told you that?

Anyway. Today is going to be an epic day. I have my last tutoring appointment with one of my favorite Korean students, Bomi. She is the cutest thing ever, and I’m really going to miss her so much. Her husband (also my student) makes fun of us because every single time he walks up during our appointments we are always laughing. I think he probably wonders why he’s paying me:)

I also have my last yoga class tonight. I’m planning to start teaching a new class once we get moved, but as of now I don’t have anything lined up. I’m quite proud of how my class has gone. I was so afraid that when I took over the class, people might stop coming. But they didn’t. They kept coming, and the attendance has done nothing but go up over the last six months. I love all of the ladies (and man) that come, and my Wednesday nights just won’t be the same.

Anyway, judging by the picture above other than tutoring and yoga I’ll be spending the day procrastinating organizing and packing as much as I can before my mom comes tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought I’d leave you with a couple of my favorite blogs as of late. I have a million of course…and these in particular are not even food blogs. But they always put a smile on my face or inspire me in some way, so maybe they’ll do the same for you! Honestly, I haven’t had time to even look at a blog in the last several days and I know it probably won’t get any better for another week or so…but I promise I’ll try to drop in to see you guys as much as I can. If I don’t comment, just know it’s not because I don’t love you…more because I’m buried in boxes! I will be back!

I’m sure a lot of you have heard of these because they’re uber popular…but just in case you haven’t – go check them out!

Aura Joon – Aura takes the most beautiful pictures and always has inspiring words to go with them. She writes about everything from decorating to traveling to welcoming her new little baby girl in just a couple of weeks.

Kendi Everyday – Kendi writes an amazing style blog and offers tons of inspiration about what to wear. But honestly, I go there for the laughs as much as the style – this girl is hilarious:)

Happy Wednesday!

What is one of your favorite blogs that just brings a smile to your face?

greens are back!

Hello!

This morning I started the day off with a trip to the gym for a run. I ended up knocking out 3.6 miles before doing some stretching and push-ups, and then heading home. For the last couple of months my workouts have been pretty irregular, so I’ve been trying to get back into some sort of routine. Which is comical because the word routine really doesn’t have a place in my life right now.

Something else I’ve come back to after a 5 day hiatus is green smoothies!

I had to start taking some medication last week, and it completely robbed me of my appetite! There were certain things I could tolerate to eat, but one food group in particular was OUT. And that would be vegetables. A tragedy.

But now they’re back in full swing praise the Lord.

As predicted, this past weekend was so sweet despite the busyness. On Friday night we met with our house superintendent and our builder to finalize the house plans. We went through every single area of the house – inside and out – deciding on everything from doorway arches to outlets. It was a really fun meeting, and we’re hoping to be able to get our foundation poured in the next week. Fingers crossed!

We had been warned that our superintendent was….a little rough around the edges. One of those “shoot it to you straight” kind of guys. And he was. But I really liked him. His best line of the night said when the husband asked him what is normal as far as matching exterior colors: “Don’t even ask me about normal. Nothing about this house is normal, so let’s not even go there.”

The husband and I tend to like sort of a unique style…and I don’t think Doug is used to working with our type. It’ll be good for him though. hah.

After out meeting we celebrated by eating out some mexican food and then went shopping for some birthday shoes for the husband. His big 2-8 is coming up this weekend, on moving day nonetheless. Poor husband.

Saturday morning we enjoyed the beautiful weather by going for a drive…taking the long way to our favorite bagel shop.

And after filling up with an everything bagel + Tofutti cream cheese, we set out on a walk to campus. I really needed the fresh air, sunshine and endorphins, and it felt so good to just get out of the house after all the cold weather as of late. Olive had a banner day, obviously.

less than thrilled to have his picture taken

Later in the morning my mother-in-law came into town to help us pack, and thank the heavens she did. She cracked down on us and our procrastination, and we all three packed for about 10 hours total between Saturday and Sunday. We were so productive and got so much done, but it really made me realize how much we have left to do! I’m so glad she came because otherwise I’d be in a bad place at this point.

update: I decided for the time being I am growing my hair out, but the resulting poofiness is about to send me running to the salon

Sunday we stayed home from church in lieu of maximizing time packing with MIL, but the husband and I did rise early and go for a 4 mile run. Aside from the 30 mile an hour gusts of wind, the run wasn’t half bad. You know how you just have on days and off days? Well, this was an on day for me. No amount of wind could have kept me from rocking that run. I love days like that! By about hour four of packing, my legs were really feeling it, though.

This week will be a bit sparse as far as good food because I currently am finishing packing up my entire kitchen. Last night I made vegan enchiladas for dinner, and I made enough to have leftovers one night this week. Other than that we’ll probably be eating veggie wraps, Amy’s, or cereal for the rest of our meals. It’s only for a week though! I just keep reminding myself of that.

In other news, I still need to share a couple of tasty raw (ish) meals I made last week before the aversion to veggies took over. I initially found both of these in Crazy Sexy Diet, and they’re so good they’re even husband approved! Typically I don’t have a hard time keeping it raw until lunch, but when dinner comes this girl needs some cooked (read: hot!) food. This is an example of a meal I had for dinner a couple of times.

I filled a plate up with a massaged kale avocado salad.

With it I had a smaller portion of quinoa with slightly stir-fried veggies.

For the salad, I tore up a whole bunch of kale into bite sized pieces. Then I added about 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 small avocado, and I got my hands in there and massaged away. The dressing turned into a creamy coating over all the leaves that softened the kale, both texture and flavor wise. The husband commented that it tasted quite similar to a ceasar salad, and I would have to agree!

Next, I very lightly sauteed various veggies (zucchini, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, onions etc) in a wok and then sprayed them with Braggs several times. Just before it was done, I added the chick peas and stir friend until they were heated through. Meanwhile, I had a pot of quinoa cooking on the stove, and when it was all done I poured the veggies over the quinoa, plated it, and that was it!

This meal was so easy and delicious! I had the salad again the next day for lunch, and still had leftovers after that. So if you’re eating alone, you may want to half the recipe.

I’m getting in some extra tutoring hours with my students this week as they all have some really important events coming up. Works out for me too because I’ve got some important events coming up that need some money! Otherwise, the husband and I are just trying to keep our heads above water with work and packing. It’s a crazy time for sure!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

happy weekend

Happy Friday, ya’ll!

I’m currently sitting at Panera eating the best sandwich ever created. Not a bad start to the weekend for sure.

The husband and I met with our lender a couple hours ago, and we’re going to meet with our builder in another couple hours to finalize the plans for our house. yay!

I promise one day soon I’ll stop talking about packing and moving. Actually, let’s be real. I’ll probably be talking about packing and moving off and on for the next four months until the glorious day when we move into our house. But I do promise to try and minimize it.

So anyway, there is only one precious week left in our house. Only one week left with my students. Only one week left with Olive:( That’s right, we decided to go with the option of living with my mom and step-dad, despite the fact that Olive will have to live somewhere else. It has been a brutal decision making process. And I still cry every time I think about it. But for various reasons it seems that it’s the decision we have to make. I keep telling myself that I’m strong enough to be mature and make the best of the decision. We shall see.

So, we will spend the weekend packing like our lives depend on it! And soaking in every moment as a family of three in our very first house.

What will you be doing this weekend? I hope it’s a lovely one:)

hello, spring

Hey!

What a beautiful week it has been so far – I am loving this weather. Do you have great weather where you are? Sorry to rub it in if not.

Yesterday it was so nice that I got a sunburn! Hello, spring. I had a break between tutoring appointments, so I decided to sit out on the lawn of our campus library to eat lunch. Forty-five minutes later my chest was red – glad I had on long sleeves. I’m not sure why campus looks deserted in these pictures, there were people all around me.

greens topped with leftover stir-fry veggies/chickpeas + quinoa + lightly steamed brussel sprouts + tahini dressing

I got to feeling a bit nostalgic sitting there – I’ve spent many days on library lawn from walking to classes in college to long walks with the husband and Olive. So many good memories. I even buried a baby chicken on that lawn during my freshman year of college. Don’t ask.

I also got up this morning and went for a 3 mile run outside. In a tank top and shorts! I was planning on wearing a jacket, but when I stepped outside I realized it was way too warm for a jacket, so off I went. It definitely felt like spring and almost like summer. There was also a nice strong wind, which made for a tough run. But I made it through with the addition of a few walk breaks. It was so much more refreshing than the treadmill – my vitamin D levels must be sky high after yesterday and today!

I’m going to have to keep this post short, but I’ll be back soon with a couple of tasty raw meals I’ve been enjoying the last couple of days. I made them for dinner a couple of nights ago, and even the husband was a huge fan. Score. Also coming up soon is another product review! I love trying out new cooking (or not! – hint) tools, so I’m excited to work with CSN again. Remember when I reviewed the spiralizer last fall? This time will be similar, but with a new and just as fun product. If you haven’t checked out CSN sites yet, head over there if you get the chance. They really do have every item you can imagine…everything from swing sets to…well, spiralizers. You can’t get much more widespread than that!

With that I’m off to a tutoring appointment – I’ll see you later!

Hope your having a lovely Thursday…only one more day ’till the weekend!

What’s your favorite nice weather activity?
I think mine is just sitting in the sun, feeling the breeze and soaking it all up!

let’s talk raw – juices and smoothies

Yesterday was a big day for green smoothies in our house. The husband drank his first one.

While he’s had sips of mine before, he didn’t really like it and has never shown any real interest in drinking them himself. For starters he doesn’t like banana, and since that’s the main ingredient in mine every day, it’s no wonder he sort of turned his nose up at them. But in the spirit of wanting to up the health factor in his diet, he decided to give them a go. And he’s actually really liking them! He obviously knows the way to my heart:)

Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic, but I ended up buying a bag of mixed fruit – peaches, pineapple and strawberries – and using that for sweetness instead of banana. I also added a big handful of spinach, soymilk, 1/2 scoop of Amazing Grass and ice.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m currently reading Kris Carr’s new book, Crazy Sexy Diet, and I’m loving it. As a wellness warrior, she advocates eating only raw food, preferably liquids (juices or smoothies) until lunch.

According to Kris that means “green juice, green smoothies, purified water, and teas.” But this doesn’t mean that you have to starve as you can have as many servings of them as you need. And “if that’s not enough for you, no worries, solid foods are definitely an option.” I’m not one to jump on unrealistic fad diets, but as I’m learning more about the benefits of raw food, juices and smoothies, I am becoming more and more of a believer that the more raw foods you can incorporate into your diet the better. I feel overwhelmed (in a good way) by all the information I’ve absorbed, and while I want to share it all right here right now there’s just too much!

For now, I will say that one of the best things about starting the day off with green juice or a green smoothie (after a big glass of purified water with lemon of course) is that it gives the body an instant shot of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein and oxygen, plus a major hydration boost. And the body barely has to do anything to digest it! Little work + lots of healthy stuff = pure energy and vibrance.

One thing to remember though is that when our bodies are used to digesting and storing more acidic foods, it will take a sort of short detox phase to adjust as the body gets rid of toxins. During that time you may in fact feel less energetic…but just give it a few days to a week and you’ll be so glad you did. It took about 3 days for me, and this morning I felt noticeably more energetic than previous days.

There was a time when I didn’t understand how juicing was so good for you. Doesn’t it remove all the good fiber? Won’t it raise my blood sugar if the fiber isn’t there to balance out the natural sugar in fruit? While it may raise blood sugar a bit, it won’t be a big deal as long as the overall ratio of veggies to fruit is about 3:1, as fruit has more natural sugars. And make sure they are vegetables that are low on the GI scale – like cucumber instead of carrots. A great one to start off with is 1 whole organic (or peeled if it’s not organic) cucumber, several stalks of organic celery and a small apple. But have fun playing around with different combinations!

Coming full-circle now, let’s talk smoothies again. Smoothies are almost just as amazing for the body as juices…and they also keep you full longer. The body does have to work a bit to digest them, but still not nearly as much as with solid food, and the fiber provides longer lasting fullness and energy. Plus, they’re easier to make.

As Kris explains, “the difference between a juice and a smoothie is that a smoothie leaves no pulp behind – it contains all the fantastic fiber of the ingredients. The tough cellulose structure of the produce is broken into tiny pieces that are easy for your body to digest and assimilate. Think of it as a pre-chewed blast of optimum nutrition.”

My green smoothie was just a smidge different than usual this morning. In an effort to keep it 100% raw, I subbed in water for my usual almond milk. I was kind of concerned that it would loose it’s delicious creamy factor, but I could hardly tell a difference!

2 big handfuls of organic spinach + 1 banana + 1 cup water + 1 scoop of Amazing Grass (with a side of folded towels:)

As I talk more about raw/vegan food, I want to make it clear (as always) that whatever each individual can do that improves their health and quality of life is like gold. If that means introducing green juice or green smoothies once a week or eating three raw meals a week, then that’s great! The fact is that no one is perfect and the more we put pressure on ourselves to be perfect – in any area of our lives- the more we’re setting ourselves up to fail. I’m currently trying to eliminate sugar from my diet as much as possible, but yesterday afternoon I got a serious craving and nothing but the vegan peanut butter cookies I’d made for the husband would do. So I ate one. And it was delicious. It didn’t lessen the healthiness of my morning and I can definitely tell you it improved the healthiness of my mind because it reminded me that perfection is overrated and food is to be enjoyed. The thing I’m realizing though, is that the more I use food to take care of my body and promote energy and vitality, the more I do enjoy it.

Amen?

This morning I’m spending some time going through my yoga class for tonight. I only have two classes left! I’m really going to miss teaching and am hoping I can get a new position asap. Also on the schedule for today is three tutoring appointments and of course…packing. I probably don’t even have to say that anymore, huh? It’s kind of a given that there will be packing going on here during any down time for the next week and a half. Crazy times.

Hope you all have a great Wednesday – the week is almost halfway over!

*Note that I’m only talking about food intake up until noon. Kris doesn’t necessarily advocate eating a 100% raw diet.
**I also want to add that while I am really enjoying Crazy Sexy Diet, and I feel like I’m learning a lot of valuable information, Kris writing style is very forward. At times she uses language that could be a bit offensive to some, and while I personally don’t like it, I choose to look past it because for me the information is worth it. Just an FYI if you’re considering reading the book.

valentine’s day + the weekend

Hello!

Happy late Valentine’s Day to all my lovely readers! I took Sunday and yesterday off from the internet to love on the husband and pack. In that order.

But today I’m back at it…and I’ve got lots to catch up on.

On Saturday we met the husband’s parents in the city to show them our lot and take them through a house that has our floor plan. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of driving over to see our little piece of land, although if signs of an actual house don’t start to appear soon I may change my tune. Ha. We should be breaking ground any day now, though, so it won’t be long!

Also on Saturday, we stopped by Jonathan’s new office to check it out. Got to enjoy a pretty sunset while we were at it!

The husband surprised me with Valentine’s Day plans on Sunday. Our weekdays are just impossible now between Jon commuting to the city and back and working two extra jobs in the evening. Add on packing and we basically have no life outside of it all.

So our little celebratory day started off at a quaint little coffee shop in downtown where we shared some dessert and sipped on dark French press coffee. We enjoyed the atmosphere almost as much as the food, lounging back on a modern couch with the sun streaming in the windows. Love coffee shops. And good conversation.

Afterwards, we set out in the Mini to explore around town a little bit – what we do best. With the weather a nice 70 degrees, we cruised around with the sunroof down, admiring big old houses and taking pictures of color schemes that called out to us. We drove and drove and drove. A perfect sunny afternoon, just the two of us. And of course, before it was all over we ended up sitting in front of our lot daydreaming.

Jonathan had made reservations for us for dinner, so after a few hours had passed and our hunger had returned, we headed to the restaurant. It had a modern and somewhat eclectic décor that made us smile the minute we walked in.

We started off with the vegan nachos – cashew cheese (first time for this!), black beans and roasted veggies. I’ve been wanting to try cashew cheese for ages, and it was just as tasty as I expected. I got so excited about the vegan items on the menu as it’s a rarity here in OK. So nice to just order something and not have to make a million changes and then be disappointed when it comes out wrong.

We then moved on to the main course – chicken sandwich for him and veggie burger with sweet potato fries for m.e This was my first time to have sweet potato fries at a restaurant, and I was stoked. They were so delicious, and the veggie burger did not disappoint.

While dessert looked very tempting, we were quite full already so we passed on ordering anything. But it wasn’t just a few minutes and out came our server with a bowl full of cotton candy.

sorry – kind of creepy

One of the most random things I’ve ever seen in a restaurant – so unexpected as it didn’t really match the feel of everything else. But also so fun! I love little randomocities like that. I don’t even like cotton candy, but it was really fun to look at and play with. And I didn’t take a few courtesy bites, so our server wouldn’t think us to be too high maintenance. Sadly, my camera battery died right in the middle of dinner, so the rest of the night I had to use the iPhone.

By the time we chatted over the cotton candy for another half hour or so, we decided to head out. There was still one last place on the list for the night.

105 Degrees.

One of the coolest places in OKC, at least for a health foodie. I’ve wanted to go there for so long, but somehow had never made it. 105 Degrees is a raw restaurant, shop, juice/smoothie bar and raw culinary academy all in one. It has a great, quirky modern vibe, and the service and food were excellent.

We sat at the bar and ordered dessert – one green smoothie and one green juice, yes please!

the Thai Green – mango, lime, young coconut, Thai chili, lemon grass, spirulina

Best green smoothie and juice I’ve ever had, hands down. I don’t know how they did it, but it was divine. We hung around, chatting with the bar tender for quite awhile and exploring the little shop there before deciding to head back home.

I’ll be so happy the day that we don’t have to drive an hour to get back home from the city. It was well worth it, though. A great night to celebrate our fifth Valentine’s Day as husband and wife – couldn’t have been better. I know a lot of people think Valentine’s Day is silly and too hyped up, and I somewhat agree. But there’s no way I can complain about an entire afternoon and evening being set aside for just us. No distractions, no talk about work (well, almost)…just sweet time hanging out.

What was your Valentine’s like? Did you celebrate? What was the best part of your weekend?

This week I’ll be back to talk about some of the raw/mostly raw meals I’ve been enjoying (thanks, Kris Carr) and how I’m feeling as a result!

ice cream and oats – a perfect combination

Happy Friday, friends!

This week has flown by so fast…and leaves us with only two weeks until we move. Two!! And I’m probably about one one-hundreth of the way through packing. I’m in trouble.

So, I realize I’ve been writing some heavy posts lately, and while I usually like to keep things light on a Friday, I’m going to shamelessly bombard you with more deep thoughts. Because that’s how I roll these days, folks.

I think all this uprooting and moving business has gotten me all worked up over what I’m doing with my life. I’ve caught myself trying to plan so many years into the future I might as well have my grand-children’s names picked out (exaggeration). I feel like I have all these ideas, aspirations and concerns that in turn leave me with endless confusing decisions; every outcome affects other decisions and those outcomes affect more…and so on. You see what I mean?

So the other day as I was pondering what my next steps should be, I had an epiphany. Are you ready for this?

I do not have to plan out my future or know exactly where I want to be in x number of years.

I do not have to know how my next job will affect my future children or how it will look on my resume in 20 years.

I do not. I do not. I do not.

While I know it’s good/responsible to plan for the future as much as is reasonable, I also know that there are things that will happen in my future that are unplanned or that I have no control over. If you had told me when I was a freshman in college that four years later I’d be living in Thailand, I would have called you crazy and laughed in your face. And I certainly did not plan that the husband and I would be moving out of Stillwater right now. As I’ve said many times before, God’s plans for me don’t necessarily match up with the plans I have for myself. And when it comes down to it, that’s what makes life so fun and interesting. Embracing the unknown and being willing to change directions at the drop of a hat if that’s where my heart is leading me.

We must focus on making the best decision we can in the present moment…with the information we have. And then make the most of it. Each turn we take in life is a stepping stone to the next place. And I truly believe that as long as we’re willing to take risks and step out into the unknown, we will achieve our goals…they may not pan out exactly how we imagined them, but they’ll be even better because they’re real. And because we made difficult choices each day based on our own intuition, desires and guidance found through prayer. What can be better than that?

So, here’s to not putting pressure on ourselves to have everything figured out. Here’s to embracing the unknown and living in the present moment!

Thoughts? I’d love to hear your input on this topic.

Aside from spending waaay too much time thinking (if you’re like me it’s very difficult to shut down your mind - hello savasana), I’ve also been dying over this amazing breakfast the last two mornings.

I think the idea of overnight oats mixed with banana soft serve was originally Angela’s, but I could be wrong.

First, mix together 1/3 cup of raw oats and 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with just under a cup of water. Set it aside in the fridge for overnight (preferably) or at least a half hour.

After it has set, place one frozen banana (cut into half at least, if not slices) in your food processor or blender and blend until it achieves a creamy, soft serve like consistency. You may have to stop it a couple times and scrape down the sides. After it is about half way done blending, add one tablespoon of natural peanut butter and blend until smooth.

Now pour your creamy, cold peanut butter banana soft serve over the (still cold) oats, admire it for several seconds and then mix it all up!

The absolute best part of this breakfast, in my humble opinion, is how the textures work together. The creamy cold oats weave together with the frozen banana “ice cream” so with each bite you get a combination of smooth oats with a little bit of icy cold peanut buttery goodness.

Now, let’s just say (hypothetically of course) that when you reached into the fridge to pull out your oats, an entire container of salsa fell out and busted on the floor, throwing bits of tomato all over the floors and walls. Well, in that case you might just need a little added craziness in the form of chocolaty indulgence. Go ahead and add crumbles from the leftover chocolate brownies that are wrapped in foil on the counter. There, that’s even better.

Now be prepared because your husband or your roommate might look at you like you’ve lost your mind, mixing cold oatmeal with blended frozen bananas…but it will all be worth it. In fact, my sweet husband commented that he “couldn’t think of any worse combination.” Now honey, that simply can’t be true. Let’s not be crazy.

This morning I taught an earlyish PiYo class and then tutored Hye kyoung. I’ll be spending the rest of the day trying to make our house appear as though humans live her and not animals…and desperately trying to avoid laying down for a nap. I was up late last night busy having epiphany’s about planning out my future…and my eyes are paying the consequences. So tired. All the more reason to celebrate the fact that it’s Friday!

Any big plans for the weekend ya’ll? Will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day or just laying low?
The husband has some plan up his sleeve for Sunday…but he won’t tell me what it is.

a few thoughts + vegan brownies

You all left some really great comments here yesterday, and I loved reading through every one of them. I really enjoyed hearing your perspectives on dealing with tough habits and emotional struggles. Thanks so much for sharing:)

This morning we woke up to another thick layer of snowy white…and once again the whole state is pretty much shut down. No complaints here, though. I was really happy that the husband was able to work from home today rather than commute to the city…I would have been a nervous wreck.

Yesterday was a great day of working from home. I was able to get a lot accomplished and even pack a few things along the way. I’m really focusing my energy on living fully in every moment more than ever these days, as my time with my students (both tutoring and yoga) and time working from our house is drawing to a close. Have you ever been in a moment and thought to yourself – I just want to live in this moment forever? I had a lot of those yesterday from taking a break to water our little plants to making a new healthy lunch to giving the husband a little massage on the couch last night.

I read a book recently that talked about how we all forget so much of our life…there is so much we just don’t remember. It’s like only the big milestones – graduating, getting married, having kids – are what we most remember. But what about the sweet little things that make up the majority of our time? I want to remember those things too, and I think one reason we don’t really remember many of them is because we don’t fully live them. We’re always focusing on and pressing toward the next big thing. And while it’s good to be working toward big goals and accomplishments, if we don’t really see and experience the mundane moments of the day-to-day, then we’re missing out on a large part of this life we’ve been given.

Lunch yesterday was that meal I mentioned a couple of days ago that I’ve been craving. One day it just popped into my head, and I thought to myself – why have I never made this before??

Prepare a nice big bed of fresh spinach

Pick your pasta and cook it – I used veggie shells that I got as a sample at HLS, but you can use any kind

Mix together about 2 tbsp hummus, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast and water to thin

After mixing pasta and the creamy sauce together, pour mixture over spinach. The heat will cause the leaves to wilt just slightly. Perfect.

This meal was every bit as tasty as I imagined it would be. I loved the combination of the creamy soft texture of the pasta with the slight crunch of the spinach leaves. And there was plenty of protein built right into the sauce.

In other food news, the husband surprised me last night by bringing home my absolute favorite meal from my favorite restaurant in the city – Pei Wei. It was a little cold by the time we got here, but a quick round in the microwave and it was as good as new!

And what made it even better is that while we were savoring every bite, the thick, mouth-watering smell of brownies was filling the air. I’ve been craving brownies for days, and all I needed was a good, cold snow day to do me in. I found this recipe and then used a few of the suggested tweaks plus a couple tricks of my own. They came out so delicious!

Chocolate Chocolate Vegan Brownies
adapted from here

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dairy free mini chocolate chips (or chips of your choice:)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 inch baking dish
Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and sea salt in a large mixing bowl
Add in water, oil, applesauce and vanilla extract
Mix until well combined
Pour batter into baking dish and then sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top
Bake for about 26 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Serve warm with a glass of almond milk. Or if you really want to go crazy, serve with a dollop of banana soft serve on top.

I’m planning on packing some today, editing some papers for my students and maybe doing a little job searching online. I’m still as confused as ever about what I’m going to do as far as a job, but I’m trusting that it will work out and trying not to waste too much time worrying over it.

Happy Wednesday to you!

What is something you hope you never forget as time goes on, be it little or big?!
I hope I never forget the way the creaky wood floors sound as I walk through our house or the way the windows shutter just slightly when the heat comes on:)

let’s talk about food

Thanks so much for all the sweet well wishes for the husband’s first day on the new job. Ya’ll are so sweet. I texted him mid-day to see how it was going and he texted back “it’s going really well. A great company to work for…and so much to learn!” Today and tomorrow are basically just orientation days, and then Wednesday will be his first day in the office. That is, unless the predicted 6-10 inches of snow keeps him home (fingers crossed:). Anyway, I’ve always been so thankful that he has a job he loves, and I feel that way even more now. Every time I ask him about how he’s feeling regarding the change, he just starts talking about how great he feels about this company and the difference they’re making in people’s lives. Yay.

Now let’s just see if I can get a job as well!

I started off yesterday morning with a serious craving for yogurt and raw oatmeal.

1/3 cup raw oats, whole soy yogurt, chia seeds, dried cranberries and cinnamon

Totally hit the spot. Sometimes I feel myself getting tired of foods that I’ve been eating a lot of, and all it takes is scrolling back through my blog a little bit to find inspiration. I can almost always find a basic meal that I haven’t had in awhile to bring back all fresh and new! This oldie was definitely a highlight to start the day.

Other highlights for the day included but were not limited to the following:

painting my nails mint green

spending a little extra time with God this morning

making my green smoothie with a scoop of natural peanut butter and chocolate almond milk for lunch

having a really great conversation with my mom on the phone this afternoon

eating yet another leftover cinnamon roll for a snack this afternoon (I know). One a day does = moderation. It does!

I have had two tasty meals in my head all day today, but I’ve been on kind of a weird schedule (hence the green smoothie for lunch), so I haven’t been able to make either one of them. One is the veggie chili I made for the husband’s work party a couple of months ago, and the other is a really simple lunch idea that I just can’t get out of my mind. I’m thinking I’ll be enjoying it for lunch today, and if so then I’ll share it later on! As far as the chili goes, I think it’ll be the perfect meal for Wednesday when we’re all snowed in again. mmmm.

The last part of this post has been pretty much all about food, ha! Food is where it’s at, though. Even Mr. Squirrel agrees.

He sits right outside our kitchen window almost every morning, munching on all kinds of nuts and seeds. Gives me a hankering for nuts and seeds myself, just watching him.

But really food is such a big part of life, you know? We need it for fuel and nourishment…but it also affects us in psychological ways. We celebrate with it. We comfort with it during times of loss. We have memories attached to it.

I’m not encouraging emotional eating in the sense of eating to hide or cover up emotions, but we’d be crazy to say that food isn’t tied to something besides a physical need.

I’ve never really talked about this on the blog before, but in the past I’ve had issues with emotional eating, and it wasn’t in a positive way. Sometimes, whether I’d be feeling stressed, sad or just plain tired, I would go straight to the pantry and just eat mindlessly. And then when I would finish, I’d feel guilty and even more stressed, not to mention physically kind of sick. I remember at times feeling like I’d never be able to break the cycle. I ate healthy enough all the rest of the time and exercised enough that I never really put on any visible weight, but the emotional weight it was adding on was not a good thing. It was a bad habit…and I needed to break it.

It has been a long time since this last happened. I still get carried away with the chips and salsa occasionally (okay, often;), but it’s not the same kind of destructive behavior. It’s no longer me trying to cover up an emotion…it’s more just about liking blue corn tortilla chips a little too much. ha. I think the point that I really was able to gain control of what I was doing was when I recognized the true issue behind the behavior. After a lot of prayer and internal processing, I realized that I was eating at these times in an effort to relieve the negative emotions I was feeling inside. Food was a way to cover those emotions up by doing something that felt good right at that moment.

Besides identifying the root of the problem, another thing that helped a LOT was realizing that just because I disappointed myself by doing this didn’t mean that I should punish myself afterwards. When I treated my body that way I needed to do something really nice for my body in turn…rather than beating myself up about it. So, I started going for a long, slow walk, taking a bubble bath, or just cuddling with Olive for a bit. I also spent some time identifying the specific reasons why I would eat, and then made an alternative plan for each negative emotion, such as laying down for a twenty minute nap, getting into downward dog and holding it for 20-30 seconds or spending some time in prayer. Basically, I was ready to tackle the problem itself, whatever problem it was, rather than trying to put a band-aide over it.

After so many weeks of implementing my new plan, it became a habit, and now I don’t even think about it. I’m not saying it was an easy process, and I definitely had my fair share of set-backs, but in the end it was so worth it. Every time I would fall back into the behavior, I would take time to really process through what I had really been feeling in the moment, work through that emotion (if it was anxiety over my job, I would take 30 minutes and problem solve or call my teacher friend and ask for advice). And through the whole process, not only have I gained confidence in my ability to eat in a healthy way, but I’ve also become more confident in handling conflict and anxiety.

I don’t know if I’m the only one that has ever dealt with us, but somehow I doubt it. Just the other day I was talking to the husband, and it suddenly hit me that I hadn’t eaten in this way in a long long time. I realized that I’d totally forgotten what it was like and is totally out of character for me to do something like now. I know there’s a possibility that I could fall back into the habit someday, but it feels good to know that making slow progress toward a healthier way of dealing with negative emotions has brought me to a place where I feel much more confident in my relationship with food. Isn’t that how it should be?

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I’d been pondering lately, and I thought I’d share them. I used to think this issue was something I was ashamed of and wanted to hide. I’m still not proud that I struggled with it, but I realize now that we all have battles such as this and the best way to overcome those struggles is to bring them out into the light.

What is something you’ve overcome through a lot of time and hard work? How does it feel to be in a place where you feel confident and at peace in regard to that issue? Or are you still working through something and trying to get to that place?

go get ‘em husband

Good morning!

I honestly cannot believe how quickly the weekend flew by…seems like it just started.

On Saturday things warmed up a bit around here, and some of the snow started to melt off. By late in the day, many of the streets were almost clear…but there’s still tons of white everywhere else! Apparently (I never watch the weather) there is more snow headed this way in the next few days, but we shall see!

I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but Saturday and Sunday we spent a lot of time organizing and packing. The story of our life these days. I have to admit it feels sooo good to get it done, though. We are still a long ways from being packed, but I think we did finally finish the office for the most part after being buried in boxes and files for the last few days.

Saturday night I got inspired to make a stir-fry. When I asked the husband what he wanted for dinner, he said something I thought I would never hear him say: “How about something besides mexican?”

I thought I was dreaming. Did he just say he didn’t want mexican food?!

So stir-fry it was!

I chopped up bell pepper, onion, broccoli, carrots and cabbage and stir-fried it in about one tablespoon of olive oil until it was tender. Then I tossed in some frozen edamame (did you know edamame has the same amount of protein as roasted turkey?) for protein.

After it had cooked for a little bit, I mixed together about two tablespoons natural peanut butter, two tablespoons tamari, a couple teaspoons rice wine vinegar and some water to thin it out. Honestly, I just kind of guessed at the proportions and tasted as I went. I poured the sauce over the veggie mixture and continued to cook them for another 5-10 minutes.

In the meantime I cooked some buckwheat (soba) noodles, and when it was all done I poured a big spoonful of veggies over the noodles….and that was it! Easiest stir-fry ever.

Stir-fry reminds me of Thailand so much. During the last few months we lived there, I literally ate stir-fried veggies in some form every. single. night. No exaggeration. Always on top of brown rice. Granted I wasn’t a vegetarian then, and I used fish and oyster sauce (Thai style) for flavoring, but it was still so good. Really takes me back:)

cooking with friends in Thailand

Anyway, on Sunday the husband and I went to lunch with some dear friends of ours from our college days. They are several years older than us and have three of the cutest little kids. During our time in Campus Crusade for Christ at OSU, Dan discipled Jonathan, and Debbie discipled me. They have always meant so much to us and have walked with us through some of the most important decisions in our life. It was so nice today to catch up and spend time with them…we’re really going to miss them when we move.

Debbie and I / Dan and Jon – about five years ago

Other than packing throughout the afternoon, I also made some Super Charge Me cookies for the husband. While he ate cookies, I enjoyed a leftover vegan cinnamon roll. This morning someone brought cinnamon rolls to Sunday School, and ever since then I’ve been craving one. I can honestly say that these rolls are one of the best vegan baked goods I’ve made yet. The day after I made them, I realized that unless I wanted to turn into a giant cinnamon roll, I needed to put them away for awhile. So into the freezer they went. A couple of times since then I’ve pulled one out and heated it in the microwave for about a minute and a half…and it’s always just as good as when it was fresh out of the oven.

You really must make these if you’re a cinnamon roll fan!

So that’s the weekend in nutshell – only two more weekends left until moving weekend!

Last thing – I have to give a shout-out to my better half. Today is the husband’s first day at his new job, and I am so dang proud of him. I’m so thankful for all the hard work he has put in over the last several years to get us where we are. This is just one more step we get to take along the path of our life. I’m going to miss him now that he’s leaving earlier, getting home later and not coming home for lunch (tear), but I know he’s going to love his new role…and he’s totally going to rock it! Go get ‘em husband:) I love you!

Did you have a good weekend?
What’s your favorite vegetable?
I think mine would have to be spinach…or maybe snap peas. It’s really hard to narrow it down, though!

no cabin fever here

The last few days have been full of so much time. Time to slow down for once and enjoy just being. My love for snow days runs deep for this very reason. There are only a few times a year that one can hole up indoors with their favorite person (and dog) and have every excuse to stay there. There’s something about the beauty of the cold and white outside that makes it perfectly okay to lack productivity and busyness. While almost all you see on Facebook is people remarking about how stir crazy they are and how ready they are for the snow to head out, I can’t help but feel just the opposite…and cuddle up a little deeper with the husband.

We’ve had lots of naps, good food eaten while curled up on the couch, watched many episodes of Lost and actually have accomplished a small amount of packing and organizing for the big move.

mixed greens, chick peas, chia seeds, dried cranberries, chopped bell peppers and onions and tahini dressing

baked kale chips seasoned with cumin, sea salt and garlic powder + sweet potato, black beans, salsa and broccoli

Thursday night I decided to whip up this dish I’d seen several days ago. It looked so delicious, and considering the husband and I’s love for avocado, I figured it simply couldn’t go wrong. I mixed the avocado, fresh basil and lemon juice in the Vitamix while the husband cooked some quinoa pasta.

One of the things I adore about my husband is the way that he spends time with me. Whether it’s cooking dinner each night, running a few errands or cleaning the bathrooms, he is usually there right alongside me. I will never forget a comment he made last year when I was so consumed with lesson planning and grading each night that I couldn’t even leave the house. As he headed out the door to run to Walmart one night I asked him “does it make you sad that we aren’t able to do most things together these days?” His reply: “Yeah, usually when I’m on my way to the store I look over at the passenger’s seat and it makes me sad that you aren’t there.”

I love that we do everything together. Not that we never do our own thing or have time apart…because there’s a place for that as well. But we’re a team and most everything is more fun when we’re together.

I digress.

So, once we each finished our task, I poured the avocado sauce over the pasta and mixed it all up before spooning a portion out on each or our plates.

Antsy to bite into what would be one of my favorite dishes ever, I carried our plates to the table. We prayed for the food and then wound a big bite of noodles around our forks and….

It was not good. My only idea about why it went wrong is that the husband and I didn’t communicate very well about portion sizes of noodles to sauce. The sauce was just really gooey and overpowering. I tried to keep eating it, but after a few bites was really feeling like I might be sick. Weird, right? The husband, being not quite as adventurous as I when it comes to food, quit after the first bite. We were so hungry by this point and didn’t feel like taking the time to create an entirely new meal, so we resorted to a couple of Amy’s burritos jazzed up with a bit of enchilada sauce.

Not exactly what I had planned, but sometimes you just have to roll with it, eh?

Based on the comments from the recipe’s post, I feel pretty sure that we are the ones that screwed this one up. I’m thinking I’d really like to try it again one of these days…maybe with a little more pasta and a little less sauce.

Last night we had our traditional Friday night date night. We made our classic enchiladas and guacamole…all ready in about 20 minutes and so delicious. I have been feeling so nostalgic lately; I’m a very sentimental person, so while packing and having “lasts” in our house, I get probably a little dramatic. But along with the drama, I try to really savor every moment, remembering exactly what it feels like and ingraining it in my memory, so I can keep it with me forever.

We’ve had so many memories in this house, and I’m happy that before we leave it for good we were able to spend a lot of time just being together and doing our favorite things at home. The other night I was packing some boxes in the office, and as I loaded another armload of books I noticed that the boxes was labeled “books – office” in thick black marker. I mused aloud “it really was just like yesterday that we were packing to move here.” It just really took me back to the excitement we both felt over moving into our first house together and how in love with it we were the first time we laid eyes on the shiny wood floors. I always imagined that we would be in this house for many years. That we’d bring our first baby up the steps of our porch and fill the second bedroom with a crib and rocking chair, placed right between the two corner windows.

But now we’re moving on sooner than we thought because God’s plan wasn’t quite what we had envisioned for ourselves. And sprinkled throughout my sad moments about leaving, I feel so excited over where we’re going and so thankful that He is taking us there. Since the day we got married, the husband and I have thrived on adventure – moving to Thailand for a year, exploring NYC, Europe, starting new jobs and then leaving when we feel a pull toward something different. Sometimes the adventures bring fear and struggles, but always at the end we are closer, wiser and more in love.

So yay for new opportunities in life and yay for doing it all together! I’m off now to help the husband – he’s currently buried in boxes and paperwork, attempting to get our office under control.

I hope you all have enjoyed your snow days if you had any…and happy weekend!

Are you a person who likes change? What is a big change that you experienced in your life that had a big impact on you?

random musings on a snow day

As promised, we got quite the snowfall overnight, and today the husband and I both got a snow day! I love snow days because they’re the perfect excuse to stay home with the husband all day and be lazy get lots of stuff done! We’ve now found out that we’ll be having another snow day tomorrow. On my agenda: pack pack pack. We have three weeks left in our house, and I haven’t boxed up one thing. eek.

Unfortunately I really wasn’t too productive today…but I don’t really feel bad about it. We slept in about an hour later than usual and then got up and made some amazing breakfast.

I used a whole wheat boxed mix and then spread natural peanut butter on one half and Earth Balance on the other. Topped with pure maple syrup and banana slices. So gooooood.

After breakfast we got a little bit of work done in the office and then layered up and spent some time out in the snow!

This was the most snow we’ve had this year by far, and it was so pretty.

Olive is the funniest thing – she isn’t a big fan of the snow and acts like she’s going to die if she has to be in it for more than about 5 seconds. We took her out with us for about 10 minutes and she was trembling all over in her little coat. Poor baby. At one point, she and the husband were on the porch and I was out in the yard, so I started calling to her, trying to get her to come to me. She minds us so well that when I started calling her she kept thinking about coming, but really didn’t want to get in the snow. Finally I won her over.

She lasted about four seconds. But it sure was cute.

We spent the rest of the afternoon napping, cuddling, watching movies, eating…and now at 11pm we’re finally getting some work done. That’s the way we roll I guess.

In other news, I know I talked about this a little bit already, but I’ve decided to try and get a full-time job. I figure the husband and I could really use the money as we’re moving into our new house, and seeing as how we’re becoming “live-ins” with one of our sets of parents, I don’t think I want to be home all the time! I’m really struggling with what to do during this transition period. I really want to keep doing what I’ve been doing – tutoring, yoga, working on the biz – but I think it would be beneficial for me to branch out and try something new (full-time) for awhile. Once we have little ones, I want to be a stay-at-home mom, so now’s the time if I want to work again.

Some of the ideas so far (some far better than others): zoo worker, Starbucks shift manager, emergency dispatcher, and the one that I’ve actually applied for and am somewhat excited about – supervisor for a children’s program at a hospital. I’ve also considered going back to teaching, but I really need something right now.

If you guys have any great ideas – send them my way!!

And now for some random thoughts to end the evenings:

I am missing Thailand so much lately! I can’t stop thinking about it.
It’s always a bad idea go out in foot deep snow wearing ankle socks
Splitting a 1lb bag of peanut m&m’s with your husband over the course of 2 days is not wise
Never wait until the night before a snowstorm to hit up Walmart
If you are on city water and you lose electricity, you WILL still have water
Old houses = cold

I’m off now to get some sleep – my eyes are getting very heavy. Hope you all had a great Tuesday!

Did you get any snow? What kind of job do you do (if you don’t mind sharing!)?

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