I don't know how my life can sometimes be so boring and hectic at the same time, but it is.
That being said, I am not the greatest at remembering to blog about the things that I mean to, and have the best intentions to, so I give up.
Not on the blogging world as a whole, but on set deadlined topics.
You get what you get when you get it. AND YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO LIKE IT!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Comfort Without the Calories
I think I have probably bored you all to death with my cheerful optimism lately, but I AM happy.
If I had to pick one problem that comes with being happy it is that you also start to get a little too comfortable. I have seen it happen all too many times, same scenario different friend or acquaintence. Let me break the equation down for you: happy relationship= fatty foods=FAT newlywed/girlfriend or boyfriend.
It's only natural to want to lavish your best(read: worst for you) creations on your significant other and pair that with dinner date nights and popcorn at the movies and your normal 1,500-2,000 calorie diet just exploded. Couple this "new love cooking" style with the desire to do nothing but cuddle in your new house and the pounds basically jump onto your body. I'm not saying that I have merely seen this, I admit I have been there too.
However, I have also learned how to get the same comfort without the calories. You don't have to add sour cream, cream soup, shredded cheese, butter, mayo or any other Paula Dean endorsed food to every meal. It can taste just as good if you make an effort to find alternatives and expand your culinary point of view.
I LOVE to cook. I would cook even if no one was there to eat it. Even after a long day I still go home and make dinner, not because I feel obligated, but because I honestly enjoy it. Therefore, I wanted a way to document and share my healthier versions of classic comforting meals.
This week's menu: They are easy!
Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with wedge salad
Tuesday: Salmon Croquettes with roasted ranch potatoes and 7-layer salad
Wednesday: Roast Chicken with fried green beans and praline sweet potato
Thursday: Chicken salad and zuchhini cakes
Friday: Homemade calzones
Saturday: Buffalo wings with bleu cheese dipping sauce
As you can see, we are not restricted to celery and water in our home. We love food and we like to eat, but even the seemingly calorie laden dishes are tricksters.
Stay tuned for the recipes!
If I had to pick one problem that comes with being happy it is that you also start to get a little too comfortable. I have seen it happen all too many times, same scenario different friend or acquaintence. Let me break the equation down for you: happy relationship= fatty foods=FAT newlywed/girlfriend or boyfriend.
It's only natural to want to lavish your best(read: worst for you) creations on your significant other and pair that with dinner date nights and popcorn at the movies and your normal 1,500-2,000 calorie diet just exploded. Couple this "new love cooking" style with the desire to do nothing but cuddle in your new house and the pounds basically jump onto your body. I'm not saying that I have merely seen this, I admit I have been there too.
However, I have also learned how to get the same comfort without the calories. You don't have to add sour cream, cream soup, shredded cheese, butter, mayo or any other Paula Dean endorsed food to every meal. It can taste just as good if you make an effort to find alternatives and expand your culinary point of view.
I LOVE to cook. I would cook even if no one was there to eat it. Even after a long day I still go home and make dinner, not because I feel obligated, but because I honestly enjoy it. Therefore, I wanted a way to document and share my healthier versions of classic comforting meals.
This week's menu: They are easy!
Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with wedge salad
Tuesday: Salmon Croquettes with roasted ranch potatoes and 7-layer salad
Wednesday: Roast Chicken with fried green beans and praline sweet potato
Thursday: Chicken salad and zuchhini cakes
Friday: Homemade calzones
Saturday: Buffalo wings with bleu cheese dipping sauce
As you can see, we are not restricted to celery and water in our home. We love food and we like to eat, but even the seemingly calorie laden dishes are tricksters.
Stay tuned for the recipes!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
On the wagon.
So, I'm not much of a bandwagon person. In fact, I am pretty much the opposite. If I notice that something is becoming increasingly popular I tend to stray from joining in. Thus was the reason I intentionally did not join in on the "things I am thankful for" daily posts on Facebook or my blog. I don't discredit the idea, in fact I think it is an amazing way for people to step back and actually find the things that are good in their lives instead of always dwelling on the negative.
Bringing me to my point...I give in, on this one. I suppose if you truly believe in what you are doing it shouldn't and doesn't matter if the whole world (or no one else) is doing it. Instead of making a daily list, I promise to post 10 things every 10 days 3 times in November.
Ten Thanks God Things
1. Thank you for my life. In the most true sense, I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful that I have lived 26 years on this Earth. I am reminded daily that not every child gets to grow up to experience all other things that one could be thankful for, but I have.
2. Thank you for my family. My mother and father chose to bring me into this world and then chose to raise me to be the person I am today. I have been blessed with 3 built-in best friends as siblings and I love each one with every fiber of my body and soul. I am thankful for the unconditional love that I receive daily from all of them.
3. Thank you for my education. I am blessed with knowledge and that knowledge has led me down the path that I am meant to be.
4. Thank you for love. I was never one to really dream about Prince Charming. Don't get me wrong, I dreamed about the perfect life as a wife and mother, but never about the man in particular. Never-the-less, I have been given a man that most of the time I don't deserve. I am admittedly difficult but he loves me anyway and always tries his best to give me what I want and make me happy. His love makes me a better person.
5. Thank you for giving me friends who get me. Looking back I cannot imagine my life without them in it. I did not know as I went through all of grade school and high school that there were actually REAL friends waiting for me in college, but I am eternally grateful.
6. Thank you for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I am amazed daily that this place exists and that I am a part of it. For anyone operating on the belief that it is just another really great charity, I BEG you to read the story of its founding, read the stories of its patients, and then realize that it is a place that is completely unique. The dream, the vision, and the promise all began in a church, so I dare you to argue that it was not some kind of divine intervention that created the place I am lucky enough to call my professional home.
7. Just to lighten the list...Thank you for food. Food is my outlet for creativity and my means of expressing myself. It gives me pleasure to be able to create something that brings others joy.
8. Thank you for making me stubborn. As funny as it is I love that I am stubborn. Some may view it as difficult, but I am who I am and sometimes I want what I want. This trait may get me in trouble in some situations, but it has also gotten me to where I am today and today is where I am happy.
9. Thank you for my struggles and sadness. Without them I would have no reference point to feel true joy or accomplishment. The road has not been easy, I have felt real pain in my life but I have also felt real love and joy and I could not have had one without the other.
10. Thank you for giving me something greater than myself to believe in. I need that more than I let on.
So, a little introspective reflection goes a long way. I am happy to share my thoughts and blessings. It makes them real, gives credit where credit is due, and allows me to remember, not just today, but whenever I need a reminder that my life is blessed.
Bringing me to my point...I give in, on this one. I suppose if you truly believe in what you are doing it shouldn't and doesn't matter if the whole world (or no one else) is doing it. Instead of making a daily list, I promise to post 10 things every 10 days 3 times in November.
Ten Thanks God Things
1. Thank you for my life. In the most true sense, I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful that I have lived 26 years on this Earth. I am reminded daily that not every child gets to grow up to experience all other things that one could be thankful for, but I have.
2. Thank you for my family. My mother and father chose to bring me into this world and then chose to raise me to be the person I am today. I have been blessed with 3 built-in best friends as siblings and I love each one with every fiber of my body and soul. I am thankful for the unconditional love that I receive daily from all of them.
3. Thank you for my education. I am blessed with knowledge and that knowledge has led me down the path that I am meant to be.
4. Thank you for love. I was never one to really dream about Prince Charming. Don't get me wrong, I dreamed about the perfect life as a wife and mother, but never about the man in particular. Never-the-less, I have been given a man that most of the time I don't deserve. I am admittedly difficult but he loves me anyway and always tries his best to give me what I want and make me happy. His love makes me a better person.
5. Thank you for giving me friends who get me. Looking back I cannot imagine my life without them in it. I did not know as I went through all of grade school and high school that there were actually REAL friends waiting for me in college, but I am eternally grateful.
6. Thank you for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I am amazed daily that this place exists and that I am a part of it. For anyone operating on the belief that it is just another really great charity, I BEG you to read the story of its founding, read the stories of its patients, and then realize that it is a place that is completely unique. The dream, the vision, and the promise all began in a church, so I dare you to argue that it was not some kind of divine intervention that created the place I am lucky enough to call my professional home.
7. Just to lighten the list...Thank you for food. Food is my outlet for creativity and my means of expressing myself. It gives me pleasure to be able to create something that brings others joy.
8. Thank you for making me stubborn. As funny as it is I love that I am stubborn. Some may view it as difficult, but I am who I am and sometimes I want what I want. This trait may get me in trouble in some situations, but it has also gotten me to where I am today and today is where I am happy.
9. Thank you for my struggles and sadness. Without them I would have no reference point to feel true joy or accomplishment. The road has not been easy, I have felt real pain in my life but I have also felt real love and joy and I could not have had one without the other.
10. Thank you for giving me something greater than myself to believe in. I need that more than I let on.
So, a little introspective reflection goes a long way. I am happy to share my thoughts and blessings. It makes them real, gives credit where credit is due, and allows me to remember, not just today, but whenever I need a reminder that my life is blessed.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Slacker............I know
Don't worry folks, I'm not dead in a gutter somewhere. I actually have some reasons(excuses) for having abandoned you these past few weeks.
First, I have written some posts and not published them because they need the pictures to accompany them. I have had the best of intentions to upload the pictures every night, but somehow I never actually make it so far as to plug in chord and do it. So, hopefully, I will do that soon and I can update you on all that has been going on.
Bringing me to my second "reason". I have been moving at the speed of light lately. I feel like 2 weeks have flown by and I didn't even realize it. It was my birthday, Halloween, and Bri's wedding, all while also being crazy, busy at work. So, my focus has not been on all of you and updating...sorry kids.
Keep an eye out, you may just get 3 billion posts at once.
Lots of love to you all from the not-as-pretty-as-Chattanooga western side of the state.
First, I have written some posts and not published them because they need the pictures to accompany them. I have had the best of intentions to upload the pictures every night, but somehow I never actually make it so far as to plug in chord and do it. So, hopefully, I will do that soon and I can update you on all that has been going on.
Bringing me to my second "reason". I have been moving at the speed of light lately. I feel like 2 weeks have flown by and I didn't even realize it. It was my birthday, Halloween, and Bri's wedding, all while also being crazy, busy at work. So, my focus has not been on all of you and updating...sorry kids.
Keep an eye out, you may just get 3 billion posts at once.
Lots of love to you all from the not-as-pretty-as-Chattanooga western side of the state.
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