just like jello

TuesDayte Night

2012-02-14T11:30:00.001-06:00

It's Valentine's Day.

I have a Surprise Dinner date with Matt.

You are going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out where we went.

Oh goodness.

I am excited.

I will tell you that he already made me happy by shaving his beard Sunday night. True, he can rock a beard pretty good. But, there's something about having to kiss him with a beard that I just can't embrace.

I'm a lucky girl either way.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

Hearts all around!

Mindful Monday

2012-02-13T09:20:00.003-06:00

Sunday Night Confessions.

2012-02-12T23:26:00.000-06:00

I have done everything on my to-do list today.

Except the homework that is due at 10:25am tomorrow morning.

I am going to bed anyway.

Well, at least I made it 4 weeks into this semester before the procrastination set in.

Progress, people. Progress.

In other news....I sure hope St. Louis looks like this tomorrow:

(source)

Isn't snow dreamy?

Growth.

2012-02-10T12:39:00.000-06:00

I have never been one to embrace warm tea.

Things have changed.

All it took was a fun mug, a cutesy heart-shaped tea infuser found at an antique shop, and all of a sudden I am hooked.

Isn't it fun to find things that you once disliked are now the things that make you smile?!

Good thing I have been hoarding these teas from our Fall CSA.

I am currently in love with the Berry Hibiscus.

Yum.

What have you embraced lately?

Late Night Delivery

2012-02-08T22:54:00.002-06:00

Living in a four-family flat has it's ups and downs. Since living on Odell street, the downs have been few and far between. The ups, however, have been nonstop.

Tonight was one of those many "Ups" moments.

10:29pm: Text from Becca, "Are you up?"

10:30pm: I reply, "Laying in bed playing Angry Birds."

10:31pm: Text from Becca, "I am gonna set some stuff outside your door."

10:32pm: I reply, "NOW I want to get up!"

10:32pm: Text from Becca, "It's there!"

10:36pm: I run into the dining room to tell Matt to go see what's at the door. He comes back with vegetable oil and our bowl that was returned from Becca....and a sly grin. He was hiding a plate behind his back.

Behold! The gift of late night, homemade, lemon-blueberry-yogurt bread. Fresh from the kitchen of 2E....

Neighbors are awesome.

Cook.Eat.Repeat. {BlackBean&SweetPotatoSoup}

2012-02-07T09:03:00.000-06:00

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup
(slightly tweeked from Sprouted Kitchen )

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed with a meat clever

1 head of a small head of cabbage, chopped (heaping 2 cups)
4-5 cups cubed sweet potato (I used a HUGE sweet tator)
3 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cocoa powder (weird, right? but so good)
1 container of del Carmen black beans (or 1 can of regular)
salt to taste

-In a heavy bottomed pot, warm the oil over medium heat.

-Add the chopped onion and saute until just beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes.

-Add the garlic, cabbage, squash and broth. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 15-20 minutes for the vegetables to cook.
-Add the spices and the beans and stir.

-Let everything continue to cook another ten minutes for the flavors to blend. Salt to taste.

-If you have an immersion blender, zap the soup a couple times to thicken the soup. Or, for those of us that rock an old school kitchen, blend about 3 or so cups of the soup in the blender.

I had about half a package of won ton wrappers left over from a dinner a couple weeks ago. I spied a handy recipe on pinterest last week...baked won ton chips! They were a perfect addition to the soup. Or, you could throw in some regular tortilla chips to give it that special crunch.

Whoa.

Mindful Monday

2012-02-06T20:17:00.000-06:00

Yoga Tuesday

2012-01-31T09:55:00.001-06:00

I am two weeks into my yoga class on campus. Let's just say, that when I get over the germ factor of the room that we are in, then I will truly be a "centered" person.

Is it crazy that I can already see how 2 yoga classes have changed my flexibility/tightness factor?

Granted, I am nowhere near being as awesome as the girl below....wow....seriously I want to be this controlled and fit in the future. Starting every morning with a quick yoga routine would be nothing short of peaceful.

Mindful Monday

2012-01-30T09:50:00.001-06:00

What's Cooking This Week?

2012-01-29T22:43:00.000-06:00

I want to share a couple pictures I failed to share from last week. I am trying my hardest to get in the habit of taking pictures during the day to share. I get really good in the morning, and then by the end of the day I haven't captured anything. Go ahead and say it...I need to hear it. Ready? "Girl, get your act together!". See...now we both feel better.

There it is. The break down of how I will run our upcoming half marathonS. I capitolized that "S" because Matt and I are registered for TWO half marathons....FOUR weeks apart. Idiots.

ELT.
Eggs, lettuce, Tempeh Bacon.

Or "Fakin' Bacon", as the wrapper said.

This sandwich is actually better than any sandwich with pork bacon. I promise you.

I still hate running.

Still.

But man do I love a peaceful, chilly, sun filled morning in Tower Grove Park.

Um, so maybe I snapped this picture while driving...on interstate 70...on my way home from campus. I was capturing two things, 1) the sun was still up at 5:25pm, 2) the sun was still up at 5:25pm.

Oh, just another delicious dinner from last week.

Bread.

I made it. You should too.

Eggs. Homemade Bread. Sauteed Beets&Potatoes.

Random Fact: Beets make your pee purple.

You are welcome.

On zee menu for zis week:

Theme: whydidn'tIlookattheweatherbeforeplanningsomuchsoup?

Breakfast:

eggs of some fashion

steel cut oats

pancakes

green monster smoothies

Lunch:

leftovers from the night before

peanut butter & jelly

salads

popcorn

hummus and pretzels

fruit

Dinners:

veggie potpies (never got to them last week)

spiced parsnip soup *made tonight for monday dinner

acorn squash & turnip soup *made tonight for lunches tomorrow

red lentil soup

spinach gnocchi w/ marinara

black bean & sweet potato stew

Snackedy-snacks:
no bake peanut butter oatbars

chewy chocolate chip cookies

Go ahead and click on those pretty blue words to get those recipes. Do it. For real. Challenge yourself to make something new this week. I DARE YOU.

Oh, Liz Lemon.

2012-01-26T09:23:00.000-06:00

I know Liz Lemon isn't real. But gosh darn it, she's funny.

A step in the right direction....

2012-01-23T21:56:00.000-06:00

It is only 9:14pm, and I could crawl into bed right now and drift off to dreamland in mere seconds. I still have two things to accomplish to make this day a complete success. Did you hear that?!

It's the first day in, well, months that I completed everything on my to-do list. My routine was played out to a T. What does that mean? Keep reading and I will share with you....

My alarm went off at 8:00am. I resisted the urge to hit the snooze button, repeatedly, until 8:30am. I'm not really sure why I like sleeping for 5 minute increments for 20 minutes extra each morning. Desperately need to kick that habit. I sprung to the kitchen to make Matt a smoothie before he left for work. It's no secret that I am the better smoothie maker in this household! I made a smoothie for myself, poured a smidge of coffee, read a couple chapters from my bible, ate breakfast, got ready for class, picked up around the apartment, and made it out the door ON TIME. On time. Man, it feels good not to run on "Millertime".

Breakfast: wee bit of greek yogurt and a homemade no-bake peanut butter oat bar.

I highly suggest that you make some. Sooooo good.

On my way out the door, Tilly decided to bolt down the back stairwell.

My hands were full with my smoothie cup, my water bottle, my workout bag, and my backpack.

As I quickly put my things down to go chase her back into the apartment, I dropped my smoothie cup.....broken.

Sigh.

Today was the first day of Cultural Feast. Yup, more eating as a weekly routine for class. There were atleast 12 different dishes to sample today. I skipped many of them while the teacher wasn't looking. Since I downed my beautiful green smoothie through the first hour of class, I wasn't really in the mood to eat anything. I found it ironic that we discussed the art of "mindful eating" seconds before she announced for us to go fill our plate with food. We are strongly encouraged to try all the foods each class period to allow use to have a fully rounded "Cultural Feast Experience". I snapped a couple shots of our classroom and kitchen...all while trying not to get caught or questioned about what I was doing.

The first week of sampling is always a hodge-podge of recipes.

It should get to be more exciting once we start diving into the different Cultures during the semester.

I meant to take a picture of my Cardio Circuit workout class that I take on Monday night. Fail. We normally get a 2 minute break every 15-20 minutes, but not tonight. It was a really good class, really have no idea how I was still breathing at the end. But I was. I will surely be hobbling around tomorrow!

Whipped up a new soup recipe when I got home, and boy was it delicious! I apologize that my apartment does not have better lighting in the evening. Believe me, this soup was warm, creamy, and the perfect end to a perfect day.

Creamy Minnesota Wild Rice Soup.

I would normally type this recipe out for you.

However, I am too tired right now.

Click it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.

Alright kids, I gotta go hop in the shower, and then spend alittle time with this guy:

Jealous?

Sunday Morning....

2012-01-22T10:27:00.002-06:00

Just drinking some coffee.

From my super-cute-vintage-pyrex coffee mug.

Planning out our menu o' good food.

Looky here, I am sharing my menu o' good food with you this week! Hot Dog! (no hot dogs...just a statement of pure joy)

Menu Theme: UsethoseveggiesfromtheCSA!

Breakfast!

steel cut oatmeal

bananas

green smoothies

beet and potato hash w/ eggs

elt's

Lunch!

leftovers from dinner

salad

something from the snack bowl

Dinner!

wild rice soup

spiced parsnip soup

root veg stew

pot pie

sausages with roasted veggies

omelets

Goals this week:

share daily

stick to workout/run schedule (11 weeks until abe-half, *terrifiedgulp*)

be on time, everywhere I go

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap....clap, clap,clap, clap-

Let's GO!

Words.

2012-01-19T12:44:00.000-06:00

TuesDayte Night

2012-01-18T12:15:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite "New Year's Revolutions" was to establish a weekly date night. Tuesday was the only day of the week that isn't completely out-of-control-busy. Well, for the most part.

We skipped January 3rd due to still being in "Christmas Tour Week" recovery....but bolted out the door on January 10th to begin our new tradition.

First up, The Map Room:

I am purposely not posting the other pictures I took of this adorable place.

You need to go for yourself and witness the warmth.

Ordered: Spiced Irish Cream Hot Chocolate, Butterscotch Latte, and a Danish Brownie.

January 17th: Bailey's Chocolate Bar

I was having a hard time deciding where to go...I am glad we landed here.

Ordered: Tiramisu Martini, Chocolate Port, and Chocolate Inebriation Cake.

whoa.

Civic.

2012-01-17T08:28:00.003-06:00

Today should be my first day of Spring Semester.

Instead of sitting on a mat during my first yoga class, or sitting in a really uncomfortable classroom....

I will be sitting here.

Public Announcement- Monday's List

2012-01-16T11:13:00.001-06:00

Update: It is 10:09pm and I am ready to go to bed. Let's see how well I did today.

**************************************************
Today is my last day of freedom before Spring Semester begins.

I hereby vow to complete the following:
~~finish the laundry~~ There is one last load that needs to be dried, but it's too late to start the dryer.
~~clean up the entire apartment~~ This was the first thing accomplished this morning. Question is, will I clean up the mess I just made in the kitchen before going to sleep?
~~prepare lunches, snacks, and breakfasts for the week~~ YES! Lunches will have to be done on a nightly basis because they are most likely going to be leftovers from dinner. But I did freeze some steel cut oats, bake banana-cranberry oat bars, popped popcorn on the stove to make lil bags of popcorn, sliced some amazing local cheese to go with some amazing house made crackers from Local Harvest, and baked some peanut butter and jelly homemade poptarts. Phew. That was all done since 7:00pm.
~~return library books~~ Yes, Siree.
~~buy light bulbs for the kitchen~~ Had I not done this, I would have been baking all those snacks in the dark.
~~clean out my car~~ I almost went to the car wash to wash all the salt off my car, but there's a chance it may flurry tomorrow. Didn't want to waste it.
~~post this week's menu~~ I did post our menu to the fridge today so Matt knows what is going on. I need to get in the habit of sharing it on here too. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

(The mission of this public announcement is to be able to come back at the end of the day and report it's completion.)

BAAAAM.

twenty+nine: The List {Update}

2012-01-09T21:47:00.000-06:00

Oh.Boy.

I have alot of work ahead of me. I think this list is still possible, it's mostly the "learn to swim" item that makes me nervous.

For those of you that don't know what is going on: I made a list on the night of my birthday of 29 things I want to accomplish while being 29.

Let's check in with what I still need to do:

29 things to-do while I am 29

(in no particular order)

build headboard for guestroom

cook through an entire cookbook

learn how to swim

~~warrior dash~~ {October}

run a 1/2 marathon under 3 hours

hit 50 pounds lost

get a tattoo

change a diaper all by myself

read the entire bible & journal

go an entire month without eating out

learn how to sew or crochet or knit

~~yoga!~~ {January}

~~make all christmas gifts~~ {December- made 3, that counts, right?}

blog with purpose

~~have uncomfortable conversations~~

send out real mail

learn how-to and plant a garden

~~buy local, eat local, support local~~ {August}

go home more often

visit family

learn how to do my make-up/how to dress myself

take a cooking class

take a trip on megabus

~~get a job~~ {July}

hug people :)

~~BE ON TIME (no more "millertime")~~ {January- new year's revolution}

floss

bake my own bread

~~learn how to coupon~~ {August 27th}

Monday {Update}

2012-01-09T15:48:00.000-06:00

Stepped on the wii fit this morning:

pounds down since last monday!

In other news, this is my last week of break before spring semester begins. Today I am tackling closets! Super exciting, and very glamorous. I should have taken before pictures to let you all "ohhh" and "ahhhh" at my handy organizing skills. I won't lie, I love to get rid of stuff, but my closet is going to be so empty now.

Sigh. I cannot wait to hit my goal weight so I can go SHOPPING!

14 pounds to go. 

81 days until deadline. 

Future Yogi

2012-01-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

I start yoga (through school) on the 17th. I look forward to incorporating some of this verbiage into my everyday language.

Also, how awesome would this be as my 30th birthday party?!

2012 Revolution.

2012-01-02T14:12:00.002-06:00

After thinking about 2012 during all the hours we spent in the car, and listening to other people talk about their goals, I broke it down differently this year. You should know by now that I am an excellent "dream-goal maker" but not a good "follow-through-er". Therefore, I sum 2012 up with one word: ROUTINE. So much of my life is a hot mess. h.o.t. mess. Granted, I get things done, but in a method of "adhd". I can't focus on one thing at one time. I want to break that habit.

Routine covers all areas of my life: exercise, eating, cleaning, school, work, budget, marriage, God.

*side note: I did make one real "resolution" of not shopping or eating at chains. Meaning: shop local, small businesses, and eat at local, small restaurants. No target, no walmart, no big chain grocery stores, no big restaurants, etc.

Break down:

January 2nd Current Weight: 173 * (up 8 pounds since 11/29..ouch..but I totally know why)

Goal weight: 155 (that will be 50 pounds lost)

Magic Number: 18

Start Date: January 2

End Date: March 31

Next Half Marathon: 4/7 - Lincoln Half in Springfield, IL

Goal: Under 3 hours

Exercise Routine:

Monday: 5:30 Cardio Circuit @ work

Tuesday: Running (also, taking a yoga class this semester at school, starts the 17th)

Wednesday: Botanical Garden Early morning Garden Walking and At Home Circuit and/or Video

Thursday: running

Friday: 10:35 Definitions group class @ work

Saturday: long run

Sunday: rest day

Eating Routine: "No more binging due to excessive hunger"

breakfast

snack

lunch

snack

dinner

School and Work Routine:

Be early to class and work shifts

Focus and be present in class/ on shift

Don't go to work or class with wet hair

Read all the chapters before class

Homework done the day assigned

Cleaning, Budget, Marriage, God

Cleaning Routine

Stick to the budget

Tuesday night date night

Read something in the bible during breakfast.

OH...and I also need to finish my "29 things to do while 29" list. Another reason why I didn't make a resolution list. I gotta get cracking on that!

Christmas Family Tour: Springfield

2011-12-28T11:22:00.005-06:00

Our trip to Springfield to spend a couple days with Matt's parents went too quick. I'm not sure why time flies in that town, but it does.

Again, I am too lazy to give you an exact play-by-play, so here is the reader digest version: Tuesday afternoon we hit the road from salem to springfield, stopped by the mall when we got in town to allow me to get BANGS (!) (more on that later), opened presents, wednesday: slept in, toured the Frank Lloyd Wright Dana-Thomas house, ate at the U.S. first drive-in restaurant, thrifting, visiting with more college friends, running with Aunt Marilyn, and heading up to Champaign to have lunch with some more college friends. Double Phew.

This baby is 1 of 2. His twin brother was wisked away to go to bed before I thought to get a picture.

Christmas Family Tour: Salem

2011-12-26T11:21:00.001-06:00

Our first Christmas spent with my parents since they moved into town. Waking up in Salem was...weird. Really weird. But we quickly got over it and embraced it for all it's worth. The fact that we walked to the bank, walked to get pie dough, and walked over to see my dad working on their future house..made everything better. In Iuka, we could walk to the mailbox, walk to dump the food scraps, and walk to the pond in the backyard...that was the extent of my walking in the country.

I am too lazy to give you an entire play-by-play of the couple days spent in Salem. So listen up: we opened gifts, jumped on trampolines, Matt and mom ziplined in the backyard of friends, jumped on another trampoline (2 trampolines in one day), went on a run, SNOW, made poptarts, went to the same coffee place 3 times in two days, and saw two college friends and their babies. Phew.

Um...that's a face of a girl that should have never taken a break from running.

Christmas Week: Saturday

2011-12-24T11:21:00.002-06:00

Ah..Christmas Eve. It started out with a candlelight service at church. I wish we could do this every service. So sweet!

After service, we ventured out west to hang with the DeGraaf family. An evening overflowing with food, laughter, and celebration. It was grand! Slightly awkward to be the only ones there that weren't "family" but you would never know it....wonderful people. We were blessed to be invited. *somehow I failed to get pictures of humans.

Matt snapped the above picture to capture the humor of Grandma placing entire plates of cookies in front of me after dinner. She started doing it on purpose after I noticed what she was doing it. It was pretty funny. Amazingly, I didn't eat any of them. Lies. I didn't eat cookies, but I did eat a couple square of cheesecake bites. 'Tis the Season, right?!

After-dinner lap mate.

Christmas Week: Friday

2011-12-23T11:20:00.002-06:00

Two words: ZOO LIGHTS.

After Zoo Lights...One word:

Cupcakes.

*sad...we used the last couple dollars left on our giftcard.
Probably a good thing...'cause that peppermint cupcake was dangerous.

Christmas Week: Wednesday

2011-12-21T22:50:00.000-06:00

Our day started at 5:00am. We were out the door by 6:15am, made a quick stop for donuts in Soulard, and were Iuka bound. The mission: Surprise my mom at Iuka Grade School to see her classroom in action.

We scored some major brownie points today. We made it to the school shortly after class began and shocked her socks off. It was alot of fun!Picking party day to visit was the best day to come.

The kids warmed up to us quickly. Not even 2 minutes after being introduced, a little blonde headed girl asked me to open her locker for her. Once we made it to the gym for play time, a little girl came up to Matt and proclaimed, "I know you! You are from the Smurf's movie!". Um...she never left his side for the rest of the day. Adorable.

Matt's new girlfriend

I was amazed to see my mom in her "element" with these kids. They all really love her, respect her, and listen well. This little guy is..well...special. My mom announced to the class that she found his star last night after everyone left to go home. Once he realized what was going one, he lit up like a bulb and squealed, " Me Wuv You, Mrs. Allen. Me Wuv YOU!".

That's a face of pure concentration.

Special story here: This is the first born of my best friend in grade school and high school. She looks EXACTLY like her mother. I have never felt so instantly connected to a child before in my life.

School let out early and we had to hit the road. Matt and I have the privilege of leading a community group through our church. Tonight, we gathered the friends that haven't left town yet on christmas break for a potluck dinner. For the sake of the boys, we made bacon-wrapped meatloaf. Yes. No typos there.

The food was great, the conversation was quotable, our hearts were filled with joy, and the evening ended with a white elephant gift exchange. Our spin this year was that all the gifts had to be purchased for under a dollar at the goodwill outlet center.

Sofia turned 1 year old today!

At this point, how could this week get any better. And it's only WEDNESDAY.

Christmas Week: Tuesday

2011-12-20T05:29:00.002-06:00

Tonight we had the privileged of having our faces melted off by awesomeness. That awesomeness was a rare treat that the geniuses at Grace Church create that can only be described as "Stomp meets the Lord".

My emotions are all over the place during this performance: goosebumps, a huge silly grin on my face, tears swelling up in my eyes, laughter, awe, and an overwhelming sense of pride and joy.

I took many pictures...some of which did not turn out well due to all the movement. Geez, can't drummers hold a position for a hot second so I can get some decent photography? I hope you can get a small glimpse of how much you need to pencil in Drummer Boy on your 2013 calendar.

Do I need to mention that Gungor was the surprise artist this year? Well, he was. Yet another reason why our faces are puddles today.

Christmas Week: Monday

2011-12-19T20:15:00.000-06:00

I have the entire week scheduled with Christmas themed activities! I am super excited...and super excited to have a reason to blog again.

Last year, I was sick the week before, the week of, and the week after Christmas. Frowns all around.

BUT THIS YEAR....SMILES ALL AROUND.

Tonight was the "Big River Running 3rd Annual Christmas Lights Fun Run". I must add that it was raining..and it had been raining most of the day. I should rename it the:

"Big Puddle Hopping Christmas Lights Wet Run".

Soaking. Wet.

Losing my Christmas Light Cheer.

Whoa.

High-Five, Santa!

Monday night: check.

Music To Your Ears.

2011-12-19T09:23:00.000-06:00

You are welcome. 

<a href="http://missio-dei.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-dei">Christmas Dei by Missio Dei</a>

Maturity

2011-12-16T09:36:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to share a couple grown-up things that were done last night.

Jump-dancing on the tiles that sound like bells in City Garden.

Bunny planking.

Where did they go?

2011-12-01T12:50:00.000-06:00

It's been a rough couple weeks in the land of school. Group projects, presentations, tests, huge lab reports....but just one more week until FINALS.

First official full-semester is almost done.

Rumor has it spring will be worse.

Oh-Joy.

Cleaning out my bookmarks

2011-11-18T09:52:00.000-06:00

I hit the star on my toolbar to "bookmark" things I want to save. I realize how 2001 that is, but I still do it. I am really good at hitting the star. Not so good at remembering to go back and do those things.

This morning, I attempted to clean out my list. Oye. There are many cool ideas, but none that I feel that needed to be held on to for any longer.

Instead, I will share some of those links with you...and then I have them on my blog incase I get the urge to walk down memory lane about the bookmark phase of my life.

The Anywhere Kitchen

Pretty cool, right? This sucker would be like an adult's play kitchen.

Sweet Paul Magazine

This guy pops up in my google reader. You must check out his online magazine. It is gorgeous and bursting at the seems with recipes, crafts, and things that make you go "ohhhahhhh".

Keep Calm Gallery

Adorable prints, cards, etc. Everything is cute. Everything I need. They have an entire "For the Kitchen" category.

Family Tree

I have a good sized blank wall in our apartment right now that would work perfect for this project. I am just not sure our landlords would embrace it. Hey Mom, can we do this in your new house?!

Halloween Costume

Next year, or sometime in the future, I would like this to be my halloween costume.

Make these.

If I ever get an iPhone

This case makes your iPhone and wallet look like an old book. Adorable.

Host A Pie Party

Duh. This needs to happen, for real.

Cash Envelope Template

Matt and I are attempting the whole "cash envelope" system made popular by Mr. Dave Ramsey. We get really good at it, and then something happens and we fall back on swiping the good ol' debit card right and left. The nice thing about those little green pieces of plastic is that you can track what you spend. With cash, its here one day, gone the next and no paper trail. With these printable/make-able envelopes, you can write on the front. It's not rocket science, but I think it would make life alittle easier.

Doily Invite

So. Stinkin. Cute.

Compact Vegetable Garden

Planting a garden is on my list. Small and doable should be my first adventure.

Temporary Tattoo

That's all for today's purging of the bookmark list. That took over an hour. Blerg.

Day 4: leaves

2011-11-07T08:17:00.001-06:00

Day 3 Photo Challenge: Happiness

2011-11-05T09:12:00.001-05:00

Happiness. I thought of many things that I could have taken a picture of to share my happiness. Many.

But then I realized that I should focus on what brought happiness into my life on this very day. It wasn't hard to single that out. Duh, IT IS CSA DAY!

I have had the privilege to receive a CSA share from Maude's Market by working there on Wednesdays. We also signed up for NeighborGood Foods CSA share back in September. Obsessive? Just a little. However, I really can't express to you how awesome it is to be supporting so many local farmers and putting food on the table that I feel proud about on a daily basis.

Today was the day that I laid both our wonderful CSA's on the table to take a picture, take inventory from the fridge, and build my menu for the week.

Confession: I have been know to shriek with excitement as I see all the veggies and produce and start dreaming of what I can do with them. Today was no different.

Maude's Market:

1 butternut squash from River Hills Harvest

4 pablono peppers from Thies Family Farm

4 green bell peppers from Seven Cedars Farm

2 bag of arugula from Yellow Dog Farms

1 radish, also from Yellow Dog

4 red potatoes from Carter's Produce

4 green tomatoes from Springbrook

4 apples and 4 pears from Akins Orchard and Farm

1 9oz package of fresh pasta from Mangia Italiano
1/2 gallon of apple cider from Joe Ringhausen Orchards

NeighborGood Foods:

1 Striped Zucchini from Kruse Gardens
1 Purple Bell Pepper from Kruse

1 Pimento Pepper from Kruse
1 Swiss Chard from Kruse
1 bundle Rosemary & Thyme from Kruse

Spinach from JW Schroeter

1 Cauliflower from Scharf Farm
1 Cabbage from Scharf Farm

1 Flamingo Pepper from Scharf

2 JohnaGold Apples from Scharf
Green & Yellow Beans from Scharf
2 Sweet Potatoes from Scharf

Celery, Green Leaf Lettuce, Romaine Hearts, Red Potatoes from Sun Farm Foods

I hope to get back in the routine of cooking, taking pictures, and blogging the recipe for you this week. It should be easy because I have found some amazing looking recipes to churn out from these beauties!

Day 2 Photo Challenge: Smile

2011-11-03T23:20:00.000-05:00

Granted, this is not the most flattering picture. But it was taken just 5 days ago. That was a smile that was easy to produce..hello...Magic Kingdom right behind me.

Day 2: Smile.

While we are on the subject of Disney, I will go ahead and share a couple more pictures of Aimee's Magical Bachelorette Weekend.

It was Magical.

It was Entertaining.

It was Great.

Day 1 of 30 Day Photo Challenge

2011-11-02T23:33:00.000-05:00

And so it begins.

As a recovering "over-eater" or a "disordered eater", when asked what my favorite food is I would calmly reply, "ALL". There's really not any food that I would turn down. It's the truth.

After intense pondering, I finally landed on........SUSHI! Oh my goodness. I would eat it for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. It's amazing. I know there are many of you that still haven't opened your heart to sushi yet. Well folks, you are missing out. I used to be that girl. Used to. Not anymore.

I love sushi so much that it was the single event of my birthday this year.

Could this picture be any bigger? No, because it needs to capture how awesome it is.

Day 1: Favorite Food.

Returnable.

2011-11-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends.

I hope you haven't forgotten about me. I haven't forgotten about you.

My month of October was awesome. Really awesome.

Granted, I wasn't 100% media/tv free. I watched a couple shows online, cruised Matt's facebook page occasionally when I felt it was highly necessary, and cooked a couple recipes from my pinterest page when I couldn't find anything in my cookbooks. Overall, no harm done. I was bummed that I couldn't make it an entire month without cheating, but I did make it an entire 2 weeks without caving in. Success.

I thought alot about life while my blog was silent. I lived life to its fullest and really missed being able to share it with you. It felt good to realize that I enjoyed this little blog. I will share some pictures of a couple adventures from October over the next couple days. October felt like a loooong month. I find it so refreshing when a new month begins.

Today, while flipping through the web, I found a 30 day photo project focused on gratitude. Photo projects are pretty popular these days, and I felt like this one was right up my alley. It is November after-all.

I will begin tomorrow. I would begin tonight, but I am about to take an online test, watch Parenthood with Matt, and eat some cupcakes. Priorities.

{giggle}

Breaking the Rules.....

2011-10-27T08:24:00.001-05:00

I just HAD to announce what is going on the next couple days.

OHMYGOOOOOODNESS.

I am boarding a plane in 11 hours with these girls:

To celebrate the weekend in this place:

Because, in 4 weeks these two love birds are getting married:

I wish the font on this blog could get bigger to truly grasp how excited I am. Not only am I getting away for the weekend, but I get to create sweet memories with Aimee and her bridal party. She is about to be a BRIDE! {cue the music} It has been such a joy to be along for this ride....just over 2 years ago God brought this curly-blonde headed girl into my life and it hasn't been the same since.....

NOW LET'S GO TO DISNEY AND C.E.L.E.B.R.A.T.E!

Black-out.

2011-09-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

I am taking October off. 

A fast of all things electronic. 

T.V. 

Internet. (other than email and homework based research/assignments, and bank website) 

Facebook. (deactivated my account this week) 

Netflix. 

Hulu. (this will hurt most, it is where I get caught up on all my shows for the week) 

Pinterest. 

Twitter stalking. 

Google Reader. 

Tastespotting and Foodgawker. (dear lord, I will actually have to use my precious cookbooks) 

I think that covers my current addictions. 

October is crazy busy: bridal showers, projects due at school, projects due at work, community group has started back up, warrior dash, half marathon, festivals, 4 day trip to disney for a smashing bachelorette weekend (omg), halloween, more homework, losing weight, and plus it's OCTOBER. One of my most favorite months. 

I want to be out there living, laughing, training, taking pictures, and making memories. 

Don't worry. I'll fill you all in on the great things that happen...in November. 

Love you all, please don't forget about my little blog. I will return. 

Until November 1st, 

Courtney

Mild Monday- Day 1

2011-09-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

I set my alarm for 6:30am when I went to bed last night. But slept through it and didn't get out of bed until 7:32am.

Whoops.

I hustled to the kitchen to prepare Matt's lunch and my breakfast...he already settled for a bowl of cereal before I emerged from my slumber.

Breakfast : sliced red potatoes sauteed with pole beans (flatter version of a green bean), fried egg on top.

savory.filling.delightful.

I tried my hardest to stick as close as possible with my new routine...but sleeping in for an hour and a half set me pretty far back. I left for school 9 minutes late, and arrived to class 9 minutes late. Frown.

Snacking on grapes after class tied me over until lunch was prepared. It might not look appetizing to you, but lunch was surprisingly amazing. Field Roast makes vegan and vegetarian meat substitutes. A tad on the pricey side, but worth every penny.

Lunch: Smoked Apple Sage Sausage with left over potatoes and pole beans from breakfast.

Since today was dull...all I have left to share with you is dinner. I recently rekindled my relationship with Spark People. The more time I spend clicking around on this weight-loss website, the more I like it. Granted, I am too lazy to consistently use the food tracker, but it is an awesome resource. I fell in love with the recipe finder. And that, dear friends, is where tonight's dinner came from.

Dinner: Eggplant, Zucchini, and Squash Casserole. Chunk of bread from local bakery. oh....and 2 homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Matt was scared of it, but was the first to proclaim it's deliciousness. I am blessed to have a husband that enjoys what I produce from my tiny kitchen.

I must share with you that i have tomorrow off from class! My teacher will be at a conference {hooray}, so I am going to catch up on some reading. And, spend some time turning all these apples and pears into pies and applesauce!

i.love.fall.fruits.and.veggies.

Hunger challenge.

2011-09-25T23:31:00.000-05:00

The month of September is National Hunger Awareness Month. I learned about it in class, and then stumbled upon a challenge being offered through Food Outreach.....

Hunger Challenge STL from Alissa M on Vimeo.

I found myself immediately wanting to pounce on the opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes. I was all geared up to make the last week of September the week that I participated in this eye-opening 7 days. But then, I starting looking in the refrigerator to see how much food I had left over from last week's CSA, and saw what I would be receiving in this week's CSA. There was no way that I could honestly play by the "$29 a week per person" rule with this much food sitting in my house waiting to be used...granted our CSA share is only $40 a week but I want to take in the whole experience of what it is like to shop with foodstamps.

I instantly saw the new challenge for this week: USE WHAT YOU HAVE. Good-ness. I really dropped the ball in the cooking department last week to have allllllll this food left over from the CSAs. The above picture was leftover and new CSA....and then Saturday I brought home Maude's CSA and added to the stock pile yet again. Menu planning almost left me cross-eyed tonight.

With my "Use what you have" challenge for this week, I allowed myself to pick up 5 staples from a local grocery store. I ran by Sappington Farmer's Market on my way home from work Thursday night and picked up these items:

Go ahead and gasp...I know...Vegan's don't eat eggs or drink milk. Well, this vegan has been introducing "cage-free-farm-raised-chicken-eggs" back into her diet, and Matt is the major milk drinker in this household. Hush. I have researched the local farm that these eggs come from and I support their practices.

With my overflowing table of veggies and produce, and these 5 staples, I could slowly start brainstorming my menu for the week. Drumroll please......

Monday:

breakfast: red potatoes, pole beans, and egg. banana

lunch: potato and beans with vegan fancy sausage stuff, salad, concord grapes, chocolate chip cookie

dinner: Eggplant, Squash, Zucchini Casserole - applesauce

Tuesday:

breakfast: overnight vanilla-pear oatmeal

lunch: leftover casserole from dinner, bread, grapes

dinner: quinoa w/ corn & zucchini, salad

Wednesday:

breakfast: pear oatmeal

lunch: leftovers, sweet potato, grapes

dinner: leftovers (these recipes are leaving alot for extra dinners)

Thursday:

breakfast: pancakes

lunch: provided at work

dinner: vegan sausages, corn on the cob, potato

Friday:

breakfast: cereal, fruit

lunch: baked zucchini sticks, sweet potatoes, leftovers

dinner: beans, honey glazed acorn squash, quinoa

Saturday:

breakfast: omelettes

lunch: out (jam packed morning, prep for half marathon)

dinner: carb loading :)

Sunday:

breakfast: half marathon mode

lunch: whatever I want!

dinner: celebratory sushi

Next Monday, we will start the Hunger Challenge. I will update my plan of action for those 7 days once I get it ironed out. I hope, hope, hope to get pictures posted each day with recipes for this week. Hold me to it!

Things that make me grin.

2011-09-24T23:26:00.001-05:00

I know I said I was taking a break, but I realized that I have many things I wanted to tell you.

I need to go to sleep, but I can't stop thinking about how great the last two days have been.

First off, I had to celebrate the first day off fall by buying one of these:

{adorable}

I made a delicious dinner of oven-baked-teriyaki-marinated-tofu w/ okra. I also have a couple challenges to share with you. More to come on that subject tomorrow.

{yum}

Friday night was also the return of PAPER ROUTE to St. Louis. Ohhhh...how I love a good concert. These boys just keep bringing it. They haven't been in town since 2009. A Paper Route concert would not be right with this girl by myside:

{we heart paper route}

We always manage to stand right in front, scream like little school girls, and sing along with all the words to each song. My ears are ringing still, right now, 24 hours after the concert. But it is totally worth it. Cute side story: JT (lead singer) didn't even recognize me. Granted, we have been to 5 of their concerts in the past....but there has been a significant change in my appearance since the last time we saw them in November of 2009.

MOOOOOOOOSE. Ugh.
And don't even get me started on that hair cut...and the color. Oy.

Today has been another great, great, great day. Since we didn't get home until almost 1am Saturday morning, I slept in until 10:00am. It.felt.amazing. I woke up, Matt made some pancakes {which I ate in bed while surfing the internet}, flipped through some cookbooks, made chocolate chip cookies, and went to work. After work, we met up with Jake and Caitlin at the Taste of St. Louis downtown. First time we have gone since moving here in 2005.

Fried Mozzarella, yes please.

Adorable friends, Jake and Caitlin.

Quick tour of the inside of the Peabody Opera House.

Fell in love with this old man demonstrating an AWESOME vegetable peeler.

Yup.

I bought that peeler. Oh.my.peeling.goodness.
I cannot wait to use it.

Ending the evening with a Merb's Bionic Carmel Apple. I drive by this cute little candy shop every week and see their huge billboards on 44. I am happy to have experienced this piece of St. Louis historic food item. Loved it!

OH. I almost forgot!

{this is where I get to brag about my weight loss again, because, well, I CAN}

I have almost no wardrobe for fall or winter. Seriously. Matt also needs clothes pretty bad, so we have started the long process of slowly rebuilding our closets. I also have some pretty exciting travel plans set up for the end of October that I needed a couple outfits for. I found some awesome sales on Francesca's website. Prepare to drop your jaw: 4 dresses and a skirt for $90. I haven't been able to fit into anything of theirs...ever. I held my breath as I tried on the first dress today after it arrived in the mail. Guess what?

THEY ALL FIT.

I leave you on that high note. Good night!

VOTE...VOTE!

2011-09-22T23:52:00.000-05:00

Alright, here's the deal. I have no idea how to pick out clothes.

I need your help. I have narrowed it down to two dresses...I HAVE TO STOP LOOKING or I will just find more that I like and drive myself crazy.

Two Dresses. Vote for one. I am wearing it "in" a wedding. And by "in", I mean that I will be in pictures and running around like a happy chicken getting stuff done for the bride. {oh my goodness...I can't wait!}

They are from the same website, www.eShkti.com , and one is $60, the other $70. Budget friendly and could be worn during the holiday season.

Be honest....voice your opinion...don't be shy.

The wedding is in late November. The plan is to order this puppy soon.

Time-out.

2011-09-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

I am taking a scheduled time-out from blogging. On purpose this time, not by accident like the last couple weeks.

I want to get my life in order, get a routine set, refresh and recharge.

In the mean time, I will empty my head of all the thoughts I have floating around.

October is a rocking, busy, over-the-top exciting month. I am going to start blogging the crap out of our lives.

GET READY. GET EXCITED.

I will give you the next 11 days to get yourselves prepared for a new beginning for "Just like Jello".

This girl is about to wiggle and giggle like never before.

30 second dance party...GOOOOO!

Confessions.

2011-09-19T14:53:00.000-05:00

Last night on the way to church my mind was traveling in a million different directions. Maybe not a true million, but too many to count.

To-Do lists.

Homework.

Running.

Chores.

Birthdays.

Menu.

Budget.

Schedules.

Emotions.

And then, it hit me. And it hit me hard.

I am not giving 100% in any area of my life.

Not one area.

It was probably the most gut-wrenching-honest thing I have told myself in a really long time. I can't talk myself out of it, I can't sugarcoat it, I can't justify it away. It is true.

Truth:

I am ridiculously behind on my reading for my classes. I failed a test last week. So what percentage would I say I am giving school right now? Maybe 55%

I haven't cracked open my bible to read it (outside of church) in a good solid 2 months. So what precentage would I say I am giving to God right now? If I count tithing, 10%, but outside of that...5%.

Matt and I have a half marathon coming up on October 2nd, 13 days away. So what percentage would I say I am giving to training right now? 30%...on a good week.

This blog...I haven't blogged in almost 2 weeks. So what percentage would I say I am giving to this blog right now? 25%. I still take the pictures, and write pretend blog posts in my head everyday.

Two part time jobs that only add up to about 12-16 hours a week. So what would I say I am giving while on shift right? 80%. Probably the highest percentage across the board of all combined things in my life right now....but I could and should be doing so much higher since I get a paycheck out of it.

I have been stuck at 162-164lbs since March. So what would I say I am giving towards weight loss goals right now? 13%. It could probably be higher, but I am judging myself hard in the category because I am not drinking enough water each day, eating breakfast consistently, and I still let myself skip a meal too many times a week. Somebody slap me.

I could go on, and on, and on about all the other areas of my life that suck right now, but I don't want to. I've admitted I have a problem. That's step one, right? Yes. Now I have to figure out what my problem is and how to resolve this annoying new habit of mediocre bullshit.

1) Get in a routine and stick to it. If I miss a step, so what- keep going. Don't blow a whole day off just cause you overslept by 10 minutes.

2) Prioritize.

3) Get accountability.

4) Take one day a week to do nothing of importance and relax. One day. Not six days. {big.fat.lazy.bum.}

5) Stop negative talk.

Do you have any suggestions? Have you ever realized you are not giving your all?

Pictures and Recipes to Share.

2011-09-06T20:37:00.000-05:00

Favorite breakfast of the week came on Friday morning.

Honey Oat Roasted Pears.

Wait..did you hear yourself read that?

HONEY. OAT. ROASTED. PEARS.

Take a moment and let that truly soak into your brain.

Ready...okay, here is the recipe.

Honey Oat Roasted Pears
by Food Network, Anna Olson

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for brushing
3 tablespoons raisins
4 Bartlett or Bosc Pears
honey, for drizzling

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Toss oats, brown sugar, almonds and cinnamon to combine. Stir in butter until roughly combined. Stir in raisins.
Cut pears in half (do not peel) and scoop out core. Lay pear halves in a baking dish and brush tops with melted butter.
Press oat filling into center of each pear. Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes, until pears are tender and oat filling is lightly browned.
Serve warm, drizzled with honey and with yogurt for breakfast, or with ice cream for dessert.

Saturday, I brought home my share from Maude's Market.

Highlights: TOFU! 2 blocks of local TOFU!

Monday, we packed the backyard with friends.

The above picture is to show off the food...drool.

Juli brought her delicious bean burgers, Matt manned the grill for corn on the cob, rounded out with rosemary-garlic potatoes, green beans, and other delicious random sides.

Look how big this girl is getting!

Glad to notice that Matt got a group shot...squint your eyes and you can see people. What a beautiful Labor Day!

This afternoon I whipped up a batch of zucchini bread between class and watching Sofia for a hot minute.

The rest of the HUGE zucchini from our CSA will be gettin' grilled up with some eggplant for tonight's dinner.

Oh..you need this recipe too!

Healthy {Oatlicious} Zucchini Bread

by Diana @ thechiclife.com

Ingredients:

2 cups white wheat flour (or flour of choice)
1 cup oat flour (or flour of choice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup applesauce
2 large eggs (or vegan egg substitute, for example: flax/chia seed egg)
1/4 cup canola oil (or oil of choice, preferably a non-flavored one)
2 teaspoon lemon zest (be sure to not skip over this ingredient – it’s the key)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar (*she notes that she used less sugar, may want to add some more)
3 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or nut of choice), toasted (if you want), plus more for topping, about 1/2 cup
Cooking spray

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Pre-pare baking containers of choice (see recipe notes above for options) – I used one loaf pan and one muffin tin – with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, combine white wheat flour, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Whisk till evenly combined.
In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, eggs, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk till evenly combined. Whisk in sugar. Stir in zucchini.
Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, just till all dry ingredients are mixed in (careful to not over-mix). Fold in 1/2 cup pecans, if using.
For muffins and loaf (like I made) – Using an ice cream scoop, put one scoop worth of batter into each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin (should fill muffins cups about halfway up the sides). Repeat if making 24 muffins total. Otherwise, pour remaining batter into your prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle oats and reserved nuts, if using, over batter evenly. Bake muffins for 14-17 minutes and bread 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin or loaf comes out clean.

twenty+nine: The List {Update}

2011-09-02T14:07:00.001-05:00

I accomplished something on my list last week. AND, I am in the works of completing a couple more this month! I am going to go ahead and mark "buy local, eat local, support local" off the list too. We are supporting two local CSA programs, plus I made a silent vow to stop shopping at large chain stores starting this month. Hello Ma&Pa Shops!

Oh, our neighbors shared two brussel sprout plants with us, so we walked to home depot earlier this morning and got a pot for them. Baby steps into "learn how-to and plant a garden".

Hooray!

29 things to-do while I am 29

(in no particular order)

build headboard for guestroom

cook through an entire cookbook

learn how to swim

warrior dash

run a 1/2 marathon under 3 hours

hit 50 pounds lost

get a tattoo

change a diaper all by myself

read the entire bible & journal

go an entire month without eating out

learn how to sew or crochet or knit

yoga!

make all christmas gifts

blog with purpose

have uncomfortable conversations

send out real mail

learn how-to and plant a garden

~~buy local, eat local, support local~~ {August}

go home more often

visit family

learn how to do my make-up/how to dress myself

take a cooking class

take a trip on megabus

~~get a job~~ {July}

hug people :)

BE ON TIME (no more "millertime")

floss

bake my own bread

~~learn how to coupon~~ {August 27th}

FOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

2011-09-01T21:28:00.000-05:00

Two things that made me happy today.

Breakfast:

An egg w/ green beans and potatoes. I am pretty proud of my recent skill of egg making. Two of the simplest food to make, eggs and pancakes, and I suck at both of them. Thank goodness I finally have my act together on the egg-front. I have been searching endless websites looking for fancy green bean recipes, and finally settled for a simple skillet recipe today. Delightfully simple, simply delicious. Sliced up some red potatoes (csa), brown them in a skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, threw in some green beans (csa), plopped the lid on top and let the two of them become friends. I see this being a simple-go-to recipe in our days to come. Who says good food has to be rocket science?

I rushed home tonight from "gold-nametag job" to be here when our CSA arrived at 8:00pm. Hooray...they hadn't arrived yet when I got home. I squeeled when I saw them come up the sidewalk....LOOK AT BASKET NUMBER 2:

Don't be tricked...this box was like Mary Poppins bag of tricks. Take a gander at all that came out:

From left to right: Concord grapes (you can't buy these at a grocery store), 3 golden apples, 2 oranges, green beans, 2 heads of lettuce, yellow potatoes, red potatoes, 6 ears of sweet corn, 1 huge red onion, zucchini, cucumber, 3 tomatoes, cantaloupe, 4 various colors of bell peppers, a bundle of fresh herbs, carrots, small bag of okra.

We still have stuff left from last weeks delivery. I gotta up my game in the kitchen! Good thing we have a fellow CSA loving neighbor. I sent her across the hall with an armful of produce.

Oh silly girl.

2011-09-01T09:31:00.000-05:00

Today has been a day where I tried to move an ant hill....and God moved a mountain. 

Such a show-off, that Guy. 

Repenting of stupidity before 9:00am...ugh.

Realizing how much He loves me...grace.

Champion Dinner.

2011-08-29T22:23:00.000-05:00

Tonight will go down in history.

Western "Bacon Cheeseburgers"

from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions

1 cup TVP granules

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup imitation bacon bits

1 cup vital wheat gluten

1/8 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp creamy no-stir nut butter

2 1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with

3 tbsp warm water

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup bbq sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Combine TVP with broth in a microwave safe bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Let cool before handling.

Combine TVP and remaining ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and knead together for atleast 5 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes and then form into 4 patties.

Grill, cooking for 5-7 minutes per side, or until brown and crispy.

Oven-baked Okra Fries

found on The Sweets Life

Ingredients:
-okra, in its whole form
-Canola cooking spray
-seasoned salt

Directions:
1. Cover a large cookie sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Lay okra over foil. Spray tops of okra with cooking spray and sprinkle with seasoned salt.
2. Roast at 400F for 20 minutes.
3. Serve warm, plain or with ketchup

Hit rewind....

2011-08-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

Before I start with the present, I would like to fill in you on the past.

Whoa...just last week. Quick and painless. A couple pictures, short stories, simple.

August 19-August 28th

8/19- We hit up Food Truck Friday at Tower Grove Park. OH.MY.GOODNESS. The word obviously got out, and everyone and their dog, brother,sister, aunt, cousin, pastor, grandparents, long lost friends showed up. It was unbelievably packed. We had gathered a small group of friends to go with us and I was so embarrassed at how long the lines were. I love getting a group of friends together, but I turn into the worry wart if someone is not having a good time. We stood around for about an hour, the food trucks started running out of food, and I saw the looks of frustration on several faces. I crafted a new plan. "Hey guys...let's walk over to Sandrina's, sit down, and have a real meal that we don't have to wait around forever to get." Everyone gladly agreed...I was eager to get some food in my belly and to try a new place close to our apartment.

I had the falafel slider with sweet potato fries. This little dude was tiny but mighty filling.

We will definitely be going back to try the other vegetarian options they had on the menu.

8/20- We traveled to the Illinois side to see my Mom run her first official 5K. Piece of cake for this little lady that has 2 sprint-TRIs under her belt already this summer. Hecker, IL hosts the Tiki Trot 5k each year. Their unique spin is running a course lit by tiki torches in the dark. Pretty awesome!

Who's #1?!?

8/22- Fall semester started! Which makes sense as to why I slowed down on my blog posts. Phew..it was a busy week. Monday- Food Science Lecture, Tuesday- Nutrition through the Life Cycle, Wednesday- Food Science Lab. I snapped a quick picture of what our kitchens whipped up on the first day of lab:

Pasta w/ broccoli and fancy cheese, grilled eggplant-squash-zucchini, caprese salad.

8/25- It is save to say that I am officially a CSA junkie. We are now supporting two separate CSA programs. Overboard, alittle. Totally awesome, ABSOLUTELY! It keeps my food budget down, I don't have to go to the grocery store except for necessary staples, and it makes me happy!

Do you see those FIGS?! I have never had a fig in my life. Wow. Maude's CSA on the left, new CSA on the right. Needless to say, we are sitting pretty in the department of fresh, local produce. Glory.

8/27- Started off the morning at a Whole Foods couponing class. I failed to take any pictures. But I can tell you that it was awesome. I'm excited to see how much money I can save! Cha-ching. After the class, I got to hang out with this baby chunk:

Doesn't she melt your heart? I wish my phone took good pictures....She's a whole new definition of cute.

After babysitting, we headed to Iuka for a farewell to 9063 Allen Road. That's right friends, the Iuka house finally sold. After my poor parents patiently waited 5 or so years for someone to buy the house, they are finally townspeople. Salem is their new home. I was alittle emotional but it's going to be so nice to shave 30 minutes off our travel time. I suggested to Matt that we should camp out on the back porch for a proper farewell. He was nice enough to humor me. I'm glad we did it, but man am I sore! I got to shoot 2 last turtles, help pack up some of what was left at the house, and say goodbye to my childhood home of 13 years.

Phew..I think that pretty much gets us caught up.

Please excuse me.....

2011-08-27T00:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy week.

An eventful week.

Trust that I have been doing things....

just not taking the time to share those things with you...

in a timely manner.

I urge you to go live life.

Embrace each day.

Laugh.

Love life.

Love yourself.

Love those around you.

I will be back in the next couple days to blog your socks off.

CSA Friday

2011-08-19T15:24:00.001-05:00

I have missed a few weeks of posting our CSA goodies from Maude's Market. This week is very colorful...and I can't wait to start diving in with recipes.

What we got: 

2 green peppers

 2 red peppers 

2 eggplants 

6 big peaches (one already inhaled)

Greek Yogurt 

1 Quart of Roma Tomatoes 

Fresh Mint 

Bread 

 6 ear of corn 

I wish you could taste and feel the bread. It is soft as a pillow, and so scrumptious. 

I heart you, CSA.   

POP goes my.....

2011-08-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

tire.

Hasn't been the most pleasant of mornings for dearest Courtney.

I was blessed to have notice my error in exiting the driveway before I got too far from home, pulled over, grabbed my stuff, ran (actually ran) home, found Matt's spare car keys, and drove his car to work.

THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE THE MOTORCYCLE RIGHT NOW.

(never, ever, thought those words would have come from my mouth)

Off to place of employment #2 for the day. Let's hope I can get to that job in one piece.

yup.

2011-08-17T09:19:00.000-05:00

What are you ready for?

Meals and Goals {8/15-8/20}

2011-08-16T22:03:00.000-05:00

Monday - pizza with yellow tomatoes, pesto, spinach, and red onion 

Tuesday - black bean and quinoa stuffed peppers 

Wednesday - pancakes 

Thursday - whole wheat spaghetti w/ marinara sauce (working both jobs, needed an easy meal) 

Friday - FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY! 

Saturday - breakfast: farmer's market 

                  late lunch/ early dinner: eckert's 

Goals: 

--- drink MORE water. 

--- layout my routine for when school starts next week 

--- do the 100 Workout atleast once this week

_________________________________________

The pizza combination was AMAZING. 

Not that great of a picture. Our bright apartment is not so bright at 9:00pm, which is what time we ate dinner last night.

{not the best time}

In other news, I found this guy in my kale while making kale chips yesterday. I am sure he was happy to be out of the refrigerator. Poor guy...I took him outside so he could be free in the backyard.

Look closely, do you see him?

When you buy food that is actually grown on a farm...finding friendly caterpillars is just a bonus feature.

"YOU CAN!" Strikes Again {8/14}

2011-08-16T21:39:00.000-05:00

With a decent 3 mile run under my belt on Friday, I was still worried when I saw Sunday's 7 mile long run on the calendar. I was excited and nervous at the same time. How is it that I can love and hate running? 

7 weeks until half marathon #2. I wanted to start doing long runs along the route in St. Charles. I wanted to pick a flatter part of the route, and a public, well visible section. Miles 5-9 are routed through New Town, so we decided to drive out there and do our long run in creepy-ville. 

I forgot to grab a marker before we left, so my motivational wrist note was written in pink highlighter instead. I kinda like it in different colors: 

We didn't end up having time to do 7 miles. We got lost a couple times on our way out there. We were trying to drive the route from the starting line, and got turned around a couple times. Whoopsy.

We decided upon an even 6 miles, said our prayers, and started running. I made it the first TWO miles WITHOUT stopping! That, my friends, hasn't happened in months. We walked for a little bit to catch my breath, and then ran another mile, walked a little bit, and then ran another 1.25 miles, walked to catch my breath, ran some more, walked for a minute or two, and finished the last half mile.

I had to plank on this frog. Had to.

I have stopped Matt on several occasions while we have been out running lately by saying "I want to plank on that!". He normally shakes his head and says no. However, after I impressed his socks off by running the majority of 6 miles {out of nowhere}, he gladly snapped my picture.

Too bad this wasn't on my list of things to-do while 29. Oh well. Free fun.

On the way back to the apartment, Matt had a craving for Smoothie King...odd...but I gave it a try and now I am glad there isn't one close to our house or I.would.be.in.trouble.

I had the Green Tea Tango with Strawberries.

Yummmmo.

It gave me enough energy to make it through a 6 hour shift at my gold-nametag-job...but burning almost 800 calories on that miraculous 6 mile run left me STARVING by the time I left work.

Lessons learned:

1)I CAN!

2)Pack snacks and lunch on long run days BEFORE going on the run. Duh.

Birthday Saturday {8/13}

2011-08-16T20:52:00.000-05:00

Breakfast at Cafe Moxo in Downtown Springfield. Fresh and tasty!

Right outside Cafe Moxo was the Downtown Farmer's Market. Guess who planned that coincidence?

Peachessssssssss..mmmMMMmmm.

While leaving the farmer's market, we saw a large crowd gathering in front of the Old State Capital Building. I said, "Oh, let's go see what is going on!".

The Coast Guard was doing fancy drills. Don't know what the technical term for it was...I like "fancy drills". It was pretty awesome.

After that was over, the nerdy-history-loving-birthday-boy wanted to tour the Old State Capital building, so we did. Just so happened that Abe Lincoln showed up at noon and gave a speech. {yawn}

We left during the Q&A session after the speech.

Back at the house, we ate birthday cake and Matt went for a ride on his dad's motorcycle. He wanted to drive it back to St. Louis soooo bad but the weather map was not suggesting that would be a good idea.

On our way back home, we hit 4 storms. The second one gave way to this beautiful double rainbow! The main rainbow was pretty bright, the second one was pretty faint. The bright rainbow lasted for about 20 minutes.

The 4th storm displayed some weird clouds.

Traffic came to a dead stop on the interstate, so we took a quick exit and got some birthday ice cream!

Happy Birthday {again} Matt Miller!

A Fair Ol' Time {8/12}

2011-08-16T16:02:00.000-05:00

Friday, August 12, 2011.

We woke to beautiful late summer weather. It was so nice to be able to walk outside, smile, take a deep breath, and want to stay outdoors. Our running schedule alerted us that we had 3 miles to run....so with a heavy heart, and a shocking spring in my step, we went for a run.

I knew I would need some extra motivation. It hasn't been pretty the last couple training runs. Scary and pathetic are the words I would use to appropriately describe them. Blugh. So..I grabbed a marker:

Guess What? I CAN AND I DID. I mapped out a nice 3 mile route that kept us in a loop around the house. There are some sneaky hills around here...stupid sneaky hills...but I ran them every time. It was great. Each time I wanted to poop out early, I looked down at my wrist, cranked my music louder, and carried on with my badself.

40 some-odd-minutes later, we were back at the apartment, we stretched, and made a game plan for leaving for Springfield. Our stomachs were growling, so we whipped up a Food with Rachel recipe that sent our taste-buds dancing! {make.this.recipe! Rachel is a food genius, follow her blog, love her, thank me later}

Around 11:00am, we were off to Springfield, Illinois. Granted, it was Matt's birthday weekend, but I had a few places I have been itching to eat at in Springfield. First on my list was to eat lunch at Holy Land Diner:

Excellent choice! Greek-Lebanese food....which anything with falafel or hummus is my best friend. We were greeted by the cutest little lady when we walked in, she sat us down, asked if we had been in before, explained the buffet, and was nice enough to point out the items I shouldn't eat as a vegetarian/vegan. Bless her heart! I wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home.

After lunch, Matt took me to the Springfield Zoo. I had no idea they had a "Zoo" and what a treat. (please note the sarcasm) In all seriousness though, it was a cute little zoo. More on the scale of a petting zoo, but they had some cute animals. Most of them were napping....these guys were a few of the awake ones:

The zoo killed enough time that we could head on over to Matt's parents house to continue our journey to the Illinois State Fair! 

LET"S GO TO THE FAIR!

Matt had Deep-Fried-Bacon-Wrapped-Chicken.

I had amazing Fried Green Tomatoes.

 We walked around the fair for 3 hours...last thing I HAD to do before we left was feed these cute little goats. Oh man, I would love to have a goat. Not just any goats, one of these cute little ones! 

home.

2011-08-15T09:47:00.001-05:00

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home" from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

I am working on a couple blog posts to share our weekend adventures with you. Until then, I wanted to share this adorable music video with you....I have been listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros all morning.

Lyrics:
Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa
Not the way that I do love you

Holy roly, me, oh my, you’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Man, oh man, you’re my best friend, I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothin’ that I need

Well, hot & heavy, pumpkin pie, chocolate candy, Jesus Christ
There ain’t nothin’ please me more than you

Chorus:
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you

La la la la, take me Home
Baby, I’m coming Home

I’ll follow you into the park, through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Moats & boats & waterfalls, alley ways & pay phone calls
I’ve been everywhere with you

That’s true

We laugh until we think we’ll die, barefoot on a summer night
Nothin’ new is sweeter than with you

And in the sticks we’re running free like it’s only you and me
Geez, you’re something to see.

Chorus

“Jade?”
“Alexander?”
“Do you remember that day you fell out of my window?”
“I sure do, you came jumping out after me.”
“Well, you fell on the concrete and nearly broke your ass and you were bleeding all over the place and I rushed you off to the hospital. Do you remember that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, there’s something I never told you about that night.”
“What didn’t you tell me?”
“While you were sitting in the backseat smoking a cigarette you thought was going to be your last, I was falling deep, deeply in love with you and I never told you ‘til just now.”
“Now I know.”

Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is whenever I’m with you
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is when I’m alone with you

Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you

Ahh, Home
Yes, I am Home
Home is when I’m alone with you.

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa
Moats & boats & waterfalls & pay phone calls

Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is when I’m alone with you

Put this on your menu.

2011-08-11T22:37:00.000-05:00

Garlic Cream Risotto w/ Summer Veggies

by Spabettie

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
3 green onions, sliced thin
5-6 crimini mushrooms, quartered
1 zucchini, sliced into rounds and halved
1/2 cup arborio rice
3 cups vegetable stock
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup garlic cashew cream (recipe below) *i didn't use the cream*

Bring stock to boil, reduce to simmer and set aside. In stock pot, sauté onions, mushrooms and zucchini in olive oil. Add rice, stirring to coat. Add simmering stock – one half cup at a time – stirring after each addition until most of the stock is absorbed.

Remove from heat, add tomatoes and garlic cream, stirring to combine.

garlic cashew cream

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Blend or process on highest power. Adjust water to thickness preference.

{re}defined goals.

2011-08-11T22:28:00.001-05:00

1) I need to start hacking away at THE LIST. I have about 42 weeks to accomplish 28 things left on my list.

2) One of those is to close out this "Lose 50 pounds" chapter of my life. I think I have my tattoo design figured out...which to get a tattoo I must hit the big 5-0. 2 birds, 1 stone. My goal for this business to be over is by October 27th, the day I board a plan with 5 girls to celebrate a bride. Disney World two times in one year?!? Yup. My life, right now, is unbelievable. Un.Believable. I was informed to pack a swimsuit, gulp, so I need to be swimsuit ready. LET'S DO THIS!

3) 2nd half marathon training has gone HORRIBLY. It has been so stinkin' hot that I refused to run outdoors. Now we are less than 9 weeks away, and I can barely crap out a decent 3 mile jog. I wanted so badly to finish under 3 hours. Now I am just focused on finishing....period. New goal: beat 3hr21min time from Princess Half.

*sorry to keep boring you with all these goal posts. {haha..goal posts} It does me well to have them all out in the public, so something keeps me on task.

r.e.a.d.

2011-08-10T10:50:00.001-05:00

I have been hanging on to this book from the library. I have one more week left before fall semester starts.

I.Must.Read.By.Next.Monday.

It's pretty thick..but I am looking forward to seeing if it has anything new to bring to the table.

I will report back with a book review when I am done.

Happy Birthday, Matt Miller!

2011-08-09T10:50:00.039-05:00

We are going up to Springfield this weekend to celebrate Matt's birthday with his parents. We will also get to hit the Illinois State Fair, which we haven't been able to do for a couple years. I am rather excited to see how many new food options they have in the "on a stick" category. Man, I love good fair food!

Tuesday night I gathered a small group of friends to grab some Horseshoes and to see Captain America at our favorite movie theater. It was an awesome evening....nice weather, excellent food, and a movie that all the boys were excited to see. {the ladies were excited as well..I on the other hand may, or may not, have fallen asleep ~~two~~three times}

The idea of the "horseshoe" was foreign to most of our friends that evening. It was a great opportunity to win over some new followers. And that we did!

The Birthday Boy went with the classic hamburger horseshoe.

You are probably wondering, "What would Courtney eat at this joint?". Glad you asked! They had two, TWO, vegetarian options. Which, if you ask me, was pretty impressive. You can't really tell in these pictures, but I ordered the portabella mushroom (on the left) and Isaac ordered the veggie burger (on the right). We both cleaned our plates....so that should give you an idea of how good they were.

Looks like Matt cleaned his plate, too!

Our waitress asked who's birthday it was...and then came out with this:

Introducing the "Birthday Cake Shot".

This sucker SMELLED like a piece of birthday cake. I have no idea how that happened.

Chased with a lemon..he gave it a thumbs up!

Happy St. Louis style birthday!

We make 29 look good.

Meals and Goals

2011-08-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Meals:

Monday: black bean chili
Tuesday: Matt's birthday dinner {st. louis edition}
Wednesday: leftover chili
Thursday: Summer Veggie Risotto
Friday: Trip to Springfield for Matt's Birthday!
               -lunch: Holy Land Buffet
               -dinner: Stuff on Sticks @ the Illinois State Fair
Saturday: breakfast- farmer's market
                  lunch- cafe moxo
                  dinner- tbd

Goals:
COOLER WEATHER = RUNNING RUNNING RUNNING!
Read my library books
Keep the house picked up
Do all scheduled runs and cardio

wanna share your goals?

today's eats.

2011-08-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

 Breakfast: 

Quaker Oatmeal Squares Cereal, soy milk, banana

Lunch:

half a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, orange, cucumber slices, grapes.

Dinner:

i found some delicious tortilla chips at Local Harvest to go along with tonight's black bean chili.

{best decision}

Dessert:

vegan zucchini bread 

{made earlier today}

Zucchini Bread
found on Hell Yeah It's Vegan
*makes two loafs*

6 tbsp ground flax seeds whisked into ½ c + 1 tbsp warm water
½ c oil
½ c applesauce
2 cups turbinado sugar (or light brown sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
2½ cups grated zucchini, packed (~3 medium-sized zucchini)
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg

Grease two loaf pans.
Grate your zucchini.Make sure to pack it before measuring.
Mix together flax seed mixture, oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla.

Add zucchini; stir til combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together remaining dry ingredients. Add to wet and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened and everything is incorporated evenly; some lumps are fine. If adding additional mix-ins, fold them in now. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake at 350 ~45-50 minutes, or til knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes before slicing.

11th hour....

2011-08-07T18:06:00.000-05:00

I am jumping on to blog about Cassie's latest give-away-athon. In celebration of her one year blogiversary...this girl is offering her readers  lots of goodies. 

I WANT these books. Too lazy and/or cheap to by them myself...I want TO WIN THEM! 

Three amazing books...three amazing authors...one amazing girl giving them away.

Carrots ‘N’ Cake: Healthy Living One Carrot and Cupcake at a Time by Tina @ Carrots ‘N’ Cake

Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love by Mama Pea @ Peas and Thank You

Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time by Caitlin @ Healthy Tipping Point

Operation empty it.

2011-08-05T16:15:00.000-05:00

I haven't started out strong with my meal documentation. I have been eating. Just not capturing them until after I finish the last bite. 

Am I allowed a grace period? 

Anyway, this morning was "Operation: Use What We Still Got in The Fridge and Cabinet". It was fun...and delicious. 

Breakfast: 

Toads in a Hole 

Thank you for cooking breakfast, Matt!

Mid-Morning Snack:

watermelon

&

freshly popped popcorn

(from the seed, on the stove, so good)

Lunch was an interesting combination. While scanning the refrigerator and cabinet, I noticed we had two whole-wheat pitas, a couple spoonfuls of lentil curry dip, 5 slicer tomatoes, couscous, freshly shaved parmeson cheese, a sad bit of leaf lettuce, 5 cherry tomatoes, and some red onion.

{light bulb}

Lunch:

Salad: leaf lettuce, diced cherry tomato, a couple slices of red onion, a smidge of parm cheese, and italian dressing. 

Oven-roasted tomatoes with shaved parm cheese, oregano, and olive oil. 

Whole-wheat pita with lentil curry dip spread, and couscous.

You.

Must.

Try.

These.

Tomatoes.

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

via Eating Well

4 tomatoes, halved horizontally
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

{prepare yourself for how simple this is}

Preheat oven to 450° F.
Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Top with Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and bake until the tomatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Now, I am off to wake Mr. Miller from his afternoon nap so we can get our lazy butts out of this house.

You can find me here....

2011-08-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

Wednesdays will soon become my favorite night of the week. 

Why? 

Because...I get to spend them at Maude's Market!

Look how adorable:

Wanna start supporting local farmers?

{you said,"YES!", right? good.}

Come on by Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday and fill your basket with fruits,veggies, and other yummy things that will r.o.c.k. your world.

{stay tuned for much more exciting posts about my evenings at Maude's...it is going to be really, really, fun}

Small Adventure- August Edition

2011-08-03T01:30:00.000-05:00

August 5th: Alton's farmer market special screening of the movie "Fresh".

August 7th: Free screening of the documentary, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, at the Luminary.

August 12-13th: Matt's birthday trip to Springfield, IL to see his parents and go to the Illinois State Fair. Curious to see what they have to offer in the "on a stick" category this year...and to see the ever famous cow made of butter.

August 19th: FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY!

August 20th: My mom is running her first 5k outside of Belleville. Tiki torches light the path...sounds pretty awesome. Can't decide if I want to be a cheerleader or run it.

August 22nd: Screening of "Mad City Chicken" at Schlafly Bottleworks. *fall semester starts this day, too*

______________________________________________________________________________

Food Adventures: {may or may not happen, but fingers crossed}

Three Kings Public House:on the Loop

Cafe Mochi: on Grand *1/2 price sushi happy hour*

Sandrina's: so close we could walk there

r.u.n not f.u.n.

2011-08-03T00:36:00.001-05:00

I found all these amazing quotes on pinterest.

After a miserable return to "running" tonight. {104 degree heat index at 8:30pm. What? How is that possible?!}

Anyway, we have been patiently trying to wait out the 100 degree weather for the past two weeks and finally gave up tonight. I had high hopes of surviving a 3 mile run (as my training schedule had outlined for today). Survive, I did. But cut it short. There was huge victory in the fact that I ran an entire mile before slowing for a drink. Rounded a corner, walked for a couple minutes, attempted to run uphill when I heard my stomach say, "woman,if you don't stop running, I am about to pour the contents of your intestines all down your legs!" I listened, slowed to a walk, and yelled to matt that we would be going home early.

Stupid stomach.

We power walked the rest of the way home. I tried my hardest not to feel the sting of defeat. After all, it was over 100 degrees, we hadn't ran in over 2 weeks, I did run an entire mile without stopping, and ran/walked 2.36 miles farther than I wanted to tonight.

I will do this.