We love our vegetables.

I was talking with a friend today about making dinner and different things that she and I like to cook. She was amazed at the amount of fresh veggies I use in a week.

When Jerad and I started dating, potatoes and the occasional broccoli were about the extent of what he was willing to eat. Over time that has drastically changed. These are (most of) the vegetables/vegetable like things that we ate since last Sunday:

Tomatoes:
Tomatillos:
Jalapenos:
Yellow Chile's:
Serano Peppers:
Poblano Peppers:

Cilantro:
Lettuce:
Radicchio:
Other Mixed Greens:
Asparagus:
Green Beans:
Yellow Squash:
Red Potatoes:
Holland Potatoes:
3 Onions:
5 Bulbs of Garlic:
And... all that in only 4 dinners. I think so many people *think* they hate vegetables, but really they just hate the way that they are prepared. Seriously, I had never met anyone who detested eating green things more than Jerad, and now he gobbles them up!

Most people (and restaurants) severely overcook veggies.

When cooking a veggie for a side dish, I almost always just warm a few tablespoons of water in a pan, add garlic, add the veggie just long enough to heat it all the way through, then turn off the heat and add pepper and dill.

If its something we can eat raw, we do.

I also steam a lot.

When I make tuna, we stuff it in poblano or bell peppers instead of putting it on bread.

Instead of fries, we have green beans.

Frying, battering, and cooking the holy hell out of something in oil takes out most of the nutrients rendering it pointless. Vegetables have so many natural juices, they just taste better without much added.

Here is what is on the menu for the next few days:

Rutabaga:
Zucchini:

Cauliflower:
Broccoli:
Artichokes:
Eggplant:
Then of course more lettuces, garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

Another way to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet is to add them to your salad. We put in things like eggplant, apples, cranberries, bell peppers, jicama, mushrooms, beets, squash... whatever. Throw on some olive oil and balsamic, and its a party in your mouth!

What veggies do you love or hate?

Weirdo Wednesdays

Now that I've been using Google Analytics I get to see all of the, erm interesting, search terms that people use to find my blog.

Here is a few that have made me laugh so far:

5. Coworker thanks though.
-You're welcome?

4. I think I might be alright?
-That's a relief?!?

3. I'm a sahm + chipclip
-mmk...

2. load my mouth stephanie renee
-Sooo creepy that that brought up my blog haha.

1. redneck boobs
-and I love that this brought up my blog! Maybe I'll have that tattooed on my chest. Too much?

*****

People can type such weird things into google... my work nickname is "The Googler" because I use google to answer any weird question people have. I still remember the time I thought I could find a "hump day" image. Ewe....

Case of the Moan-days...

I hate Monday. Today is Tuesday, but somehow it feels like a Monday... Ugh. After having a three day weekend, it is always so hard to get back in the swing of things. Plus, I had such a great weekend that it makes it even harder to go work a 10 hour day!

Friday, Jerad was sick so he didn't go to work (the second time in 2 years haha). We slept in and then later he took me on my favorite date EVER. We just went to Starbucks, had coffee and read books for about 3 hours.

That was more fun that any Disneyland/out of state/romantic dinner ever.

I love love love reading (and coffee). Him? Not so much.... it was so fun to just read books and then talk about our perceptions of what we had just read. He got so into his book that he didn't realize we had been there over 3 hours.

We also took the pups out to the country and let them frolic around to burn off some pent up energy:




That night, we made a super yummy dinner, and invited Melinda and Larry over for Mexican Train Dominoes. Of as Mel calls it, "Mexican Line Dominoes."





Saturday we read some more, cleaned the house, and played a game over at Melinda and Larry's house. Its so nice that they live next door now!

Sunday we went to the early service at Paso Robles Calvary Chapel. Its the second week we've gone there and so far like it. When we got home, we read some more, then his parents came over. Jerad's mom and I worked on scrap booking the whole afternoon, and Jerad and his dad worked on the plumbing for our shower. I am soooo excited that the back shower will [hopefully] be finished soon. We sort of dropped it after my birthday just because all of the other construction had been so labor intensive and expensive. The bathroom was done so it was easy enough to put close the shower curtain and pretend like it was finished too:)

We are hope hope hopeing to have it finished within a week or two. Also Jerad is going to install heating/AC in the remodeled bathroom and laundryroom which it has never had. Our house is so old, 1953, that there is no insulation in any of the walls. So, it will be very nice to be able to heat those rooms since they connect to our bedroom and it has been chilly in the morning!

Lastly, I'll leave you with a picture of me and my bestie Tina, at her mom's wedding a week ago. We got to wear veils on our heads and eat amazing Mexican food. Mmmm!

S, I love how I'm wearing heals and she still has to bend down to be at my height:)

Pants pants pants

When it comes to buying clothes, I'm cheap. I could care less where they come from, and if you ask me where I got my top, chances are it will be from Goodwill or Ross.

Pants are trickier. I mean, nicer pants really do fit better. Which poses a conundrum for someone who doesn't want to spend more than $30.

Last year when I lost a bunch of weight, I didn't want to shell out for new pants. Once I got down from a 10-11 to a size 7-8, I reluctantly went out and bought a few pairs from Ross. Once I got down to a 2-3... I just slapped a belt on the 7-8's and called it good. Ha not so hot...

My sister took pity on me and gave me an old pair of her jeans and loaned me a pair of Lucky brand jeans as well. She is around my same [freaking short] height has all of her pants hemmed. Say what? They didn't look like this:
I could even wear them with flip flops and *not* roll them up or use safety pins. Classy!

When we went to NY in December, my sister took pity on me and bought me 3 amazing pairs of jeans that were on super clearance, all different styles. I splurged on 2 pairs of Mavi jeans and got them for... $84 for both pairs! One was regularly $110 so I was feeling good about myself:)

So, right now I have 5 pairs of jeans that are super nice, but I can't actually wear because they are too long. I broke down today and decided to have them hemmed. Sewing is the one domestic thing that I don't do.

I know this is boring to you, but I'm super excited about having "new" clothes that actually FIT!
Now, if they only would look that cute on...

If I had sent you a Christmas Card...

I would have put this pic on it:

Resolute.

Since my Christmas post was weeks late, I thought it only fitting that my New Years post would be as well!

Last Year I made a few "New Years Resolutions."
1. Loose weight (how original eh?)
2. Establish a workout routine
3. Eat healthier foods.
4. Learn to drink water.

For once, I managed to stick with ALL of them!

1. I was soo hopeful of fitting into size 4 Lucky Jeans. Well, I am rocking a pair of size 2 Lucky jeans as I write this! I also now have a closet full of size 2 and 4 pants now. Holy frick. From a 10-11 to a 2-4 in one year.

2. I started working out at Curves in March, and then switched to Kennedy Club Fitness in August. I was religious about fitting in 3-5 workouts a week... until November hit I only had time for 3, and then in December and January... um, not so much. BUT, for most of the year I was really faithful and saw great results!

3. This one was kind of tricky. We were already eating veggies with every meal and a huge variety of different vegetables each week. We already ate a ton of whole grains. We already didn't drink soda at home or milk and juice. So, instead of needing to do a massive overhaul on our diet, we just did some fine tuning. I switched out all refined, white sugar for Turbinado. And switched from brown sugar to Sucanat. This made making pie sooo much healthier! We also learned to really look over the ingredients in what we were eating and mostly eliminate Trans fats and Hydrogenated oils as well as High Fructose corn syrup. I tried to only buy organic meat and dairy products, and for the most part organic groceries in general.

4. This was the hardest one. Drink more water. It sounds so easy, but not for someone who *hates* water. The most I used to drink in a day, was a sip each night when I'd take my vitamins. Well, now I drink anywhere from 100-120 ounces a day. I honestly think that this is one of the major reasons I was able to loose weight.

So, since last year went so well, I made a few resolutions this year too!

1. Re-establish a workout routine and get in better shape. Okay, I've lost the weight, now its time to tone it up! Besides taking yoga and Pilate's classes at the gym, there are a few other programs I am going to complete as well:

- The Couch to 5k Program, go from not running to running 5k in 9 weeks.
- The 100 push-up challenge, be able to complete 100 "regular" consecutive push ups in 6 weeks.
- 30 day shred, majorly tone up in 30 days!

2. Let Jerad handle the finances. You may think that not having to pay the bills would be a blessing... to a control freak like me, it is STRESSFUL letting someone else be in charge. I do things a certain way... have created spread sheets, and I pay everything online. Jerad is a huge "get the bill in the mail and pay it with an actual check that you mail back." So far things have been going well. He has embraced the organized, electronic, streamlined way that I do things. He also changed things from an Excel spreadsheet to a google doc so that as he pays things and updates it I can see it also. This way I'm not hounding him with "did you remember that ___ is due?" and I won't have to worry our lights will be turned off. At the beginning of the month, I fill out the spreadsheet with which bills are due, the due date, the total balance due and the minimums due (for things like auto loans and credit cards. Then he pays things and fills in the amount paid, the date paid, and from which account. Last month he paid off one of my credit cards and all the bills early... BUT only left himself $40 in his checking account and chose to pay off the credit card instead of paying his truck registration that was due. I think it will take a few months of tweaking before things go smoothly, but still, overpaying bills is better than forgetting right?

3. Pay off all credit card debt and extra towards car loans. We have looked over our spending habits and found areas where we could cut back in order to put extra towards debts. I am hoping hoping hoping for us to be able to pay off the rest of our credit cards (only one each now) within the next 4 months, and then to pay off Jerad's motorcycle by the end of the year as well as make double payments on my car. We are also starting a wedding savings account so that none of that would have to be paid with credit. We probably won't be doing as many fun trips this year, or buying fun new things, but I know it will be worth it to be debt free.

4. Stop using products that contain parabens and other dangerous ingredients. This is something that we sort of started last year, and are now trying to eliminate completely. I have already started using new shampoo and conditioner, hairspray, body wash, face wash and moisturizer, and getting more natural Laundry and dish washing detergents. Jerad likes to say we are "reducing our carbon foot pint." I don't know where he got that terminology from but it makes me laugh. I will say that after just over a week using my new hair care products, my hair has so much more body than it ever has! I think stripping out all the old product residue has made an enormous difference. I also don't loose any hair in the shower anymore. Loving it!

5. Revamp our Spiritual Lives. After reading books like So You Don't Want to go to Church Anymore? Velvet Elvis, The Shack, Reimagining Church, and many others I have come to realize that the biggest reason I have been so discouraged has nothing to do with Christianity, and everything to do with our old church (and a lot of other churches) and the way they do things. I'm working on not just going through the "motions of Christianity" and really discovering what it means to walk with Christ. And having a Walk based on love and not guilt. We have also began actively church hunting and finding a church based on what and how they practice, instead of picking one that we know the most people at, or is close to our home.

So, that's it for this year and I hope to have some good updates for you soon!!!

In other great news, Jerad paid for someone to come clean our windows so I didn't have to. They look AMAZING and I finally love keeping the blinds open! It was a splurge, but soooo worth it!

What a beautiful weekend!

Last Friday I headed up to San Fransisco to go wedding dress shopping and hang out with my bff Tina for the weekend. I figured that since her finance Tom doesn't have much free time anymore, I'd be safe to show you how beautiful the dress she picked out is:

Ha, jk, nice try Tom...

Here are a few other highlights from the weekend:











It was such a fun fun weekend!!!! We went shopping, to a museum, the Japanese Tea Gardens, a Comedy show... had lots of yummy food! I'll spare you the pics of my blistered toes since I was smart enough to wear heals during all of that... oops.

Sunday before I came home Tina and I went on a one and a half hour walk in Indian Valley with Belle her pup and then visited Tom at work. I had such a fun time and got to meet her new mom in law and snuggle with Tina in bed every night... what more could I want?