Good Friday Letters

Dear Huckleberry - You little escape artist you! Usually you get the run of the yard while Steven and I are at work, but yesterday we had some complications and had to put you in your doghouse (aka the garage). Just this one time! And when I got home you are no where to be found! I panicked, maybe shed a tear or two, and shouted your name up and down the street. When I finally knocked on the neighbors door, you came prancing out of their home like you own the place. Turns out, you decided to open the garage window (!!!), climb out, and head to their place to pass the hours. You are rotten. And you're lucky the neighbors love you, too. Dear Sunshine - Rumor has it you will be shining bright this weekend. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Dear Easter - You are one of my most favorite days!! I am flooded with great memories every time I think of you. A new Easter dress with a big floppy hat, a scavenger hunt for me and my brothers to find our baskets, and then those baskets, full of chocolate and other goodies...Easter was always so much fun!! Now that I'm older I see that it really isn't about all those things, but I still hold those memories near and dear to my heart. Dear Mom and Dad - Thank you so much for being amazing! All of my holiday memories are so fond because you both went above and beyond to make them special for Justin, Nathan, and I. You've given me traditions and values I plan on passing down to my children one day, and I can never say thank you enough for blessing me with such a wonderful childhood. Dear Lord - Thank you for loving me and for your sacrifice. I'll never be able to fathom the depths of your love.

Happy Good Friday! I hope you have an amazing Easter weekend surrounded by the ones you love!

Steamrolled

That's what I feel like this morning. Like I got steamrolled. By a steamroller.

I have no idea what a steamroller is. 

However, in this case it's hot yoga.

via

For some sick, masochistic reason I thought it would be a good idea to go to hot yoga these past two nights. See, Steven has been in Utah for business, and I figured my options were to sit on my butt and watch bad TV or get off my booty and head to hot yoga. I opted for the later and regret it deeply. 

I hurt ya'll! In places I didn't even know were capable of hurting!  So for the remainder of the day I'm going to sit at my desk and move....very....very....slowly. 

That is all.

A Memory Jar

"I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind...at these times...I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure." 

- Albus Dumbledore

I too have a Pensieve. A memory jar, if you will. It is filled with moments, big and small, that tell a story. Items that would be insignificant to anyone else, but that hold great meaning to me. From movie tickets to concert wrist bands, from brochures from our honeymoon to ticket stubs from the plane ride I took from D.C. to Washington that signify the start of my new life....I kept them all and look through them often.

It's important to keep tokens and stash them away. Our minds are amazing and wonderful tools, yet they tend to forget. As time goes on, the details fade. We need those visual cues to help us recreate the moment, to relive the excitement and laughter, to see again the color, life, and joy. 

With Steven, I've experienced some of the best moments of my life and I desperately want to hold on to each and everyone of them, so I store them away in my Pensieve (ahh, Harry Potter references always feel so good) to help me remember. I can't even tell you how many times I've reached my hand in there when I'm feeling sad or discouraged and pulled out happy memories that never cease to make me smile and restore my good humor. I'm so glad those moments I've spent with him will always be safe.

Tell me, do you have a Pensieve where your favorite memories are stored?

..................................

Speaking of special moments with people you love, today I want to introduce you to one of my lovely sponsors, Tiff, who has a very special moment in the making! She's the blogger behind My Smile Saga,    where you can find posts chronicling her intense jaw surgery and recovery process as well as her upcoming wedding! (Which is fast approaching in May!) On her blog you'll also find helpful meal plans for the week along with yummy, healthy recipes. So head on over there to meet this cute, bubbly girl next door and hopefully make a new friend! :)

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Paleo "Spaghetti" + A Misfit Squash

Being Italian, pasta lies near and dear to my heart, and this weekend I was definitely craving some Italian cuisine. Browsing yeast free/Paleo recipes on the interwebs, I've discovered that a lot of people substitute spaghetti squash for noodles in their pasta. Awesome, I thought. I'll give that a try, I thought. Easy, I thought. 

So to the grocery store I went. And there was one squash there. Only one stinking squash. And this squash had three stickers on it, one labeled "summer squash," one labeled "organic," and the last one labeled "Mexico."(Fishy, I know.) Not being very knowledgeable in the squash department, I decided to believe those stickers and assume summer squash and spaghetti squash were interchangeable, and I bought that squash.

Turns out, that squash was not a summer squash at all, but a winter squash (Butternut to be exact). And I highly doubt it was "organic." I'm thinking the only properly placed label was "Mexico." 

Moral of the story?? Shop at farmer's markets when possible and Google image spaghetti squash before you head to the grocery store.

Luckily, that misfit squash was tasty.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 butternut squash

- 1/2 onion

- 4 garlic cloves

- pine nuts

- red chili peppers

- parsley

- ground turkey/beef (optional) - we used ground turkey

- salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, cook ground turkey until no longer pink. Drain fat and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Dice 1/2 onion and garlic then add to saucepan. 

3. Cut the butternut squash down the middle. Scoop of the seeds and then julienne the flesh to get even, thin stripes. Add the squash, pine nuts, red chili peppers, and parsley to the saucepan.

4. Cook for 10 minutes or until squash becomes al dente. (Cook longer if you like your pasta noodles soft.)

5. Add the cooked, ground turkey. Add salt to taste.

Yummy "spaghetti" that your body will thank you for! Yeast free, gluten free, diary free, and exceedingly delicious!

You're welcome ;)

Weekend Review: A few Rays of Sun and Zombies

It's time for another weekend recap where I pretend like my husband and I have a life ;)

Truth is, we are really just concerned about getting our home in shape. 

Mainly outdoor projects right now like the chicken coop and some yard maintenance. 

So if the weather is nice, that's most likely what we'll spend our weekend working on.

And it turns out that after the weather man's fake out last Thursday (calling for sun when what we actually got was hail!! Grrr..) the rest of the weekend he was pretty spot on!

While Steven worked on the chicken coop and made a run to the dump,  I started burning the brush pile. It felt good to be outside and be productive! Plus, I snapped this pretty funny photo of Huck that looks like he's blowing smoke out of his butt ;) Ha!

And to reward ourselves for being the amazing homeowners that we are, we decided to go on a little dinner date at Salty's that night. It was surprisingly easy to keep my meal yeast free, too! My lobster dish came with two sides (veggies and mashed potatoes) and I simply told them to give me double veggies instead. Win! And as of this morning I am 10lbs lighter! Win Win!

Steven on the other hand opted for a yeast infested beer.....

Boys will be boys.

In true Sunday fashion we decided to keep things simple. Went to church, made some home cooked Paleo "spaghetti," and partook in lots of couch sitting. 

And like almost every other American, we ended our Sunday watching the Walking Dead. Did you watch it? If not, then why are we friends? Are we friends? I am obsessed with this show. I found last night's episode to be quite disturbing and really sad! :( I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched yet butIneedtotalkaboutittosomeone!!!!!!

And zombies are gross.

Okay. The End.

How was your weekend??