Valentine's Day

Happy Monday, friends! I don't know about you, but the middle of February is the worst. Thankfully, February is a short month, but it feels SO LONG, doesn't it? I get really fed up with the cold, gray winter.

The struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder is REAL, y'all.

However, at this time of year, if you really pay attention, you start to see little signs of spring. Yes, they are teasers, but SPRING IS COMING!! You see more life outside, birds are chirping and snow is melting more and more. I don't want to get ahead of myself here-- I do live in the Midwest after all and we aren't fully safe from snow storms until around May. The people here hold their breath for no more "big" storms. They get upset when snow flies after this point. And then, when green grass miraculously begins sprouting up, it's like everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Valentine's Day was this past weekend and while everyone was cluttering my newsfeed with pictures of the gifts their valentines got them to celebrate, I was home cleaning in sweat pants and my husband was at work. We don't do Valentine's Day.

From Pinterest...

Whenever I say that to people, I'm met with either a blank stare, pause and a confused, "oh" or questions about why we don't do anything for February 14.

I think people think I'm a bit of a cynic (whyever would they think THAT? haha) or that the hubs and I are unhappy. When it comes to love, it's neither of those things. It's because we don't need one day to tell and show each other how much we love each other. That happens several times daily. If we chose a day to celebrate how much we love each other, it would be our wedding anniversary. For me, I'm just happy to hang out with him.

Instead, I celebrate my love for other people. My sisters, my mother and mother-in-law and my nieces and nephews. I send them each a valentine in the mail. Nothing special. Not expensive. But hopefully it makes them smile!

Now, I DO like to bake, especially in the winter. Christmas is usually high season for that, but I got a little bee in my bonnet to do something this weekend. This is NOT the healthiest thing you've ever eaten, but it's certainly not the worst.

I found the recipe for these treats on Pinterest and, because I didn't have all the ingredients, I modified it. Modifying a baking recipe is scary because generally, baking recipes need to be pretty precise. When cooking, you can go crazy. Baking is a different beast.

I had these strawberries in my refrigerator that needed to be eaten soon. And, because I've been on a strawberry kick lately (yay for healthy pregnancy cravings!) this was a perfect fit. The photos on the right show what I found on Pinterest, a "Rustic Strawberry Peach Tart."

...finished product!

But, I didn't have peaches. I didn't want to make a whole huge pie thing. I just wanted a few little sweet treats that weren't heavy and made me feel guilty. So I made a dozen of them in a mini muffin pan. Baked 'em for about 12 minutes.

So, take a peek at the recipe in my recipes tab. I halved the dough recipe. I used 2 cups of strawberries, but no peaches, so that's half the fruit it called for. The vanilla glaze is easy to make and my husband LOVED it. In fact, he said this dessert is the BEST I'VE EVER MADE.

Guys, really, this is really good and SO,
SO easy.

Just because you're trying to eat fairly healthy doesn't mean you can't treat yourself. It's about MODERATION!

Negative Nancy

This has been one of those weeks, friends. Every day is met with tasks that take me most of a day to complete and come with many, many obstacles. At the end of every day I go home, stumble through trying to make some sad excuse for a dinner (my poor husband. I tell ya what. He puts up with so much) and then I veg out until it's a respectable time for bed. I am mentally exhausted and physically drained of energy.

As a result, I've been a total Negative Nancy all week with a generally pessimistic outlook on life.

- Physically, the baby is growing a lot and I am more of a slug that I ever thought possible. I have 2 pairs of work appropriate pants that currently fit and a quickly dwindling number of shirts. However I refuse to pay full price for maternity clothes-- they are so short term that I can't justify spending that much money on them.
- Emotionally, I'm a mess-- I watch TV and cry. Songs on the radio make me cry. I blame the fetus.
- Professionally, my role at work is changing and I have a lot of questions about it that are currently unanswered so that's stressful.
- It's also FREEZING. Every day. I hate winter. I guess it's about this time every year where I get FED UP with being cold constantly. Any good Iowan will tell you excitedly about what a "mild winter we've had so far," and "really, it could be worse." I mean, you know it's bad when the cat happily trots to the space heater and flops down in front of it until I turn it off. I want nothing to do with this stupid season (post-Christmas, that is).

Bah. Humbug.

But seriously, some warm weather and cooked sushi isn't too much to ask, is it?

Naturally, I'm a pessimist. I try hard to beat that, but some times are more difficult than others. I don't LIKE being like this. I'd love to be perky and happy and super duper positive about everything all the time, but let's be real...

...those people are also kind of annoying.

 In my social media world, I generally post positive things or try to be funny. Even in my personal and professional life, I TRY to look on the bright side of things. Remember that Disney movie with Hayley Mills, Pollyanna? She always tries to play the "glad game" and find the good in everything. I DO THAT.

Just not this week.

I know, many of you are probably reading this thinking that I need just shut up and quit complaining. Negative thinking only breeds negative actions. In reality, my life is pretty great. But if everyone is entitled to their bad days, I'm choosing the last four.

This entry actually has no profound conclusion and probably won't make you walk away and think what a thought-provoking writer I am. If it's anything, it's a call for response. HOW can I get out of this FUNK?

Eating for two, cooking for three

One of the old wives tales about pregnancy is that you can tell if you're having a boy or a girl based on the kind of food you crave. Salty foods mean boy and sweet food means girl. It's not accurate at all, but if it were true, I'm definitely having a boy. I want ALL THE SALT. Pregnancy is nuts, y'all.

Ohhhh, nuts.  Good thing I've got cashews and almonds at my desk!

Anyway, the first trimester and I couldn't keep anything down at all. My sweet husband has to fend for himself in the kitchen. He ate his meals on the other side of the room from me so I didn't have to smell anything. He obliged my nausea and changed the channel when commercials with any food came on TV. He cleaned bathrooms. He did everything that involved any kind of scent because my stomach couldn't handle it. I existed on crackers and water.

Now at 18 weeks, I have more energy and I enjoy being in the kitchen again. However, I WANT to be healthy when I can and still indulge in some crazy cravings now and then. After all, no one should stand in the way of a pregnant lady and her ice cream cravings!

The challenge is cooking something that sounds good, that I have in my kitchen AND that both my husband and I will eat. Neither of us are especially picky eaters, but he doesn't eat onions and is particular about a few veggies. I can't do olives of any kind and, let's face it, what I'll eat changes daily, sometimes hourly. What DOESN'T change, however, is how I feel after a healthy meal vs. how I feel after a greasy meal full of empty calories.

So I went the easy way and checked out Pinterest. I found a great recipe and added the necessary items to the grocery list. The recipe was for Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers. This is not in my husband's wheelhouse of typical meals, guys. Nor mine, really, but veggie burgers are actually super good and I need to eat them more often. If I ever bought them before, it was the Morningstar brand in the frozen food section. Not bad at all! Until yesterday, I'd never made them myself so I was a little nervous about how they'd turn out.

I've posted the recipe on my recipes tab, so make sure you check that out for the whole thing. Since this is the first time I made this recipe, I followed it to the letter. But because part of the fun of cooking is making it up as you go along, I will be making a few slight adjustments next time I make them.

The best part about this recipe is that it's got TONS of flavor. If you're a meat lover, it's probably because you get a LOT of flavor from it. You can get the same satisfaction from meatless meals also!

The worst part about this recipe is that there are a lot of ingredients and I don't use all of one item. For example, it calls for tomato paste...only 2 Tablespoons. No problem, but then I have the majority of a can of tomato paste left to use elsewhere.

This con has little bearing, however-- because these things are GREAT. AND I have leftovers!

Making an effort to eat outrageously healthy pays off! Check out the recipe tab for the details!

Oh, hey 2015.

I realize I'm a giant slacker. On my 29th birthday, I vowed to blog often about my journey to fitness and health. I haven't posted a blog entry since September 29! For that, dear readers, I'm so sorry. I know you missed me!

The thing is, a lot of things have changed. The biggest part of my life that has changed is that I'm going to have a BABY! God had a different plan for me and instead of my belly tightening and toning, it's rounding out and growing by the day. Pregnancy changes my sleep patterns, my eating habits, and pretty much my whole body. It's easily the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me.

Mostly, the idea has been sinking in that my husband and I are going to be PARENTS. FOREVER. This changes everything. Forever. Not in a bad, but in a way that nothing will ever be the same. It's a giant commitment. The fact that a baby is coming into our lives makes one ponder the real meaning of the word commitment. This isn't a gym membership. This isn't a college degree. This isn't a credit card application. This is a decision that is etched in stone. No, in DIAMONDS. Diamonds ARE forever, after all. And this sparkly little gem is adding this title of Mommy to my list of roles in life.

This is a REAL commitment. And I don't think until now I really understood that concept. I haven't actually committed to myself and making my one and only body healthy, fit and happy. I get one chance at this body, y'all. I don't want to mess it up.

So, this leads me to turn over a brand new leaf in my world. On Beachbody's logo, it says, "Decide. Commit. Succeed." Have I truly COMMITTED? Nope. Not even close.

So stay tuned, friends. I know my belly is growing and my body is making decisions for my that I have no possible way of controlling, but I CAN control my eating and, for the most part, my activity level. (Energy level is another story, but we can talk about that later.) It solidifies my goals even further to pay off debt, to be healthy and to make the best decisions in my life. God's plan is PERFECT and I'm pumped to see how He's going to use this pregnancy in my life! Expect more blogs from me. More recipes. More Facebook posts. More philosophical awesomeness. :)

I'm baaaackkkkkk!!
bwhahaha.