Sweet Treats for Spring

Some cute ideas for your spring time sweet tooth.

~Tori

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Three of my favorite words to hear each year: Spring has sprung!

Spring means new beginnings, new growth, new life. I couldn't be happier at this time of year because the seeds begin to sprout, the buds begin to open, and the freezing cold temperatures are kept at bay because of the beautiful sunshine shining from the sky each day as we rise.

There are many things that have happened/changed since I last posted.

• I now have a job! After 9 months of being unemployed, I can now bring in a little cash to help out our wallet. Which is very helpful because...
• We are giving up apartment life for now and buying a house! The whole process has been fun and we should be able to move in within the next month or so. We decided on a house that we could put our own special touch on! In other words, a bit of a fixer-upper. It has good "bones" though, as some people would put it. There aren't any major renovations that we can't handle ourselves, but it will definitely be a work in progress. It's hard to hide our excitement when we go into Lowe's {sad to say that we have already been about 10 times in the past month}.
• I have at least THREE weddings to attend back home this year {so far}. Therefore, we will be making many trips to visit our family!
• I have completed several classes here for my degree and hope to graduate sooner rather than later. Our growing family will be put on hold until said degree is finished. ;-)
• I have started a garden from seeds and it is doing so well. I have carrots, bell peppers, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, broccoli, cilantro, basil, parsley, and oregano. They are all in pots and after 3 & 4 weeks of watering, they have grown like crazy! When we move into the house, I will finish planting the rest of my seeds in the garden outdoors.
• And lastly, I have made many close friends since we moved to the coast! For this I am most thankful... Life is just not the same without good friends in it!

~Tori

Time to get back to it!

It's been far too long since I last posted here in this lonely little blog o' mine.

As I was reading through other bloggers sites {like I do on the regular} I realized that I was severely slacking on mine! Well, here I am again.

Time to begin again for those interested in reading it. :o)

~Tori

{Creativity in Short Supply}

Although I was beyond happy to meet my goal by finishing up my fast-paced Fall semester of five classes in a mere six weeks with at least a 3.0 back in October, I have since found myself on a downward slope in a certain area of my life that I once thought was one of my strengths: creativity. Whether it is all of the scarves that I have not been knitting, the variety of meals that I have not been putting together, or just the simple fact that I have denied myself any "me" time to come up with some new crafty thing to obsess over, something has been off and I have lacked what I never really thought I would. I do not want to lose myself at this time of year due to the holidays and homemade gifts I will miss out on making and giving to others. A lot of things have been going on in my life, but those are just "things." I cannot relate them to this trance I have been in that has been blocking the right side of my brain from properly working to its full extent. So I have decided to add this to my New Year's Resolutions, only, I'm starting this resolution early. Who knows, maybe I can whip at least whip out a set of some cute ceramic photo coasters in time for Christmas.

Here's to creativity, and my life not being the same without it! <3

10/13/12

One year ago today I married my best friend, my Airman, my hero...the most wonderful husband! <3

 

No matter where life takes us, I'll be satisfied, as long as I'm by your side.

Eating Clean & The 30-Day Challenge

Get rid of weight. Get in shape. Get stronger.

On August 5th, 2013 I am starting a new "challenge." It's only a 30-day challenge, but it's what I need to get going with my three goals to lose weight, get in shape, and build strength!
I used to eat a lot "cleaner" than I do now. My husband is a fan of healthy food, but he doesn't like a wide variety of foods like I do. Because of this, I have let myself cook whatever I feel like cooking and whatever makes him happy! There are only so many variations of the same favorite foods that he has. While semi-healthy still, there are a lot of " out-of-a-box" dinners that have got to go. As many things that are processed on the center aisles of the grocery store, there are even more things around the perimeter and that's where I like to shop anyway! I will eat almost any vegetable or fruit, lean meats, and dairy products. We are going to stick together on this though, and I'm going to include him in this challenge...and he won't even know it! We've already incorporated a salad with almost every meal that I cook at home. This is a trick I learned that will keep my husband from wanting "seconds" or saying he's still hungry; something else to just munch on. Another thing keeping me from eating clean is eating out! We eat out a couple of times a week. Mondays are almost ALWAYS spent at Moe's for supper. They have been having their Monday deal for as long as I can remember and we just love it! It's not as healthy as I thought it was, but if I get the chicken burrito bowl, it is actually not bad at all. However, my husband will eat a whole beef burrito and the amount of sodium is almost 100% of your daily value of salt!!! It is unbelievable. I have realized that you really are slim on choices if you want to eat out and lose any weight. Time for some homecookin'!

That's all it takes.

Colorful Pasta

I am always looking for ways to make pasta healthy. Meaning, what can I eat with a cup of cooked pasta that will help me feel better about consuming all of these carbs! I also do something sub-consciously that my husband always points out to me. I eat "colorful" foods. If I'm putting together a meal, I usually mix in as many different colors as I can and I don't even realize I'm doing it! I think this is beneficial because usually the different color in the foods we eat bring different nutrients. But enough about that. Not only is this healthy, it tastes delicious as well.

*You will start with 1/2 cup dry whole wheat pasta (I used rotini), 1/4 cup frozen green peas, 1/4 cup chopped baby carrots, 17 shredded turkey pepperoni slices , 1 string cheese cut into pieces (I used POLLY-O pizza flavor), and 4 tbs Italian dressing.

First cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Five minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add the frozen peas and carrots to the pot. Drain pasta and veggies and add the pepperoni, cheese, and Italian dressing. Pour into bowl and chill in fridge until ready to serve with your favorite entree or as a snack!

*makes 2-3 servings, depending on what kind of pasta you use :-)