Spring Break

Next week is Spring Break!! I am so excited that I will actually get a break before I start my job April 1st. My last day at UAFS is this Friday and then I will have 10 luxurious days to enjoy. Whew...what to do with all that time.
Anything I wanted.....

George Banks-
"What was I gonna do with all that free time? Anything I wanted! Maybe I'd take up fly fishing, travel to exotic places, climb Mount Everest. I was feeling on top of the world."

Sorry I felt like I should throw a Father of the Bride quote out there.
Sorry Random.

But seriously. What to do. What to do.

Wish List

• Camping at least one night- roast some marsh mellows and chow down on some chili dogs
• Attend a College Baseball Game 
• Play guitar for fun!
• Spend quality time with Copper and take him on adventure walks
• Go Kayaking
• Fun day in Fayetteville (Rick's Bakery, square, cafe's...)
• Drive-In Movie (maybe with some sweet friends :) )
• To read 
• Run and actually enjoy it
• Read outside on a quilt with Copper 

I'll let ya'll know which one's I actually get to do! 

I hope everyone has a safe and fun break!

Little Updates

Sorry it has been such a long time since my last post! I'm not sure there are many people even still reading my little blog but my husband has made two references to it this past weekend and so I feel like I need to post a little update.

Update #1
New Job! I am proud to announce I am now a new member of ABF. I am pretty excited and feel extremely blessed with this new opportunity. This will be the first time I have ever worked a full time job but I feel completely at peace and ready for this new chapter. Everyone was so kind to me during my interviews and I feel great about being part of this organization

School
Jake has decided to enroll full time at the UAFS this coming fall. We are also very excited about this new chapter in our lives. Woah will our lives be completely different from the one we have grown accustomed to but we are ready to see what this year will bring to our little family. So far so good, well....for the most part.

Car 
I'm getting new tires! I thought this was relevant enough to add into this list.

Friendships
I have recently joined an accountability group with some amazing women. I love and look forward to each week when we get to meet and have grown so much in the past few weeks. I have developed deeper relationships with some of these women and have gained such precious friends. I really do hope I will get to continue meeting with them with my new hours and new schedule but I will always be thankful for the time I do get to have with them.

Walgreens
Walgreens is awesome. Where has it honestly been and why have I not been going there before now? I mean there rewards program is amazing and the deals are really hard to match. Between Harps and Walgreens, Walmart seems long forgotten! Really, if your not a member, become one today. No fees.


I know this is such a broad spectrum of my current life right now and I really do hope to continue to update more often. No matter how boring it may seem with some of those aforementioned updates, I am pretty excited to see where God is taking me and where He is constantly growing me into the person He has designed specially for.

Thank God for His continued new mercies each and every morning and thank Him for this moment.
:)

Breakfast Cookies

Skinnytaste Breakfast Cookies

As you may be aware, I love http://www.skinnytaste.com/. Gina has the most amazing and satisfying recipes. 

This morning I made her Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal breakfast cookies and was not disappointed! 

I tweaked the recipe just a little bit and it tasted amazing!

Ingredients

• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup of uncooked quick oats ( I used Bobs Red Mill Oats and they were fine)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips ( I used 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips)
• optional- I added 1 T of Jiffy Whipped peanut butter....because I could. 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a non-stick cookie sheet with cooking spray or use a Silpat (LOVE Silpats!)

Combine the mashed bananas and oats (and peanut butter if you want) in a bowl. Fold in the chips and place a tablespoon of each on the cookie sheet. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm!

Menu of the Week

Menu of the Week

Man oh man ya'll I have been in a cooking mood! This week has been special for Jake and I in regards that our 4 year anniversary was yesterday and tomorrow is Valentines Day. I thought I would try out some new recipes as well as some old favorites I have posted on the blog!

Sunday-

Skinnytaste Spaghetti Squash Primavera. 

Yum. And satisfying!
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/01/spaghetti-squash-primavera.html



Monday-

Cauliflower Soup

This recipe, O My Goodness Gracious. It tasted like potato soup but without the guilt. For only 80 calories for almost 2 cups, I served it with some freshly made sourdough bread. YUM. This is definitely going down in the favorites book.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/dads-creamy-cauliflower-soup-1-pt.html


Also made some Weight Watcher Brownies on Monday. You can go back and see how to make those here.


Tuesday-

Skinnytaste Spaghetti Squash Cheesy Bake.

I honestly have left each night after dinner this week feeling satisfied and completely happy with the meal and how it turned out. I served this squash bake with some grilled chicken.

Wednesday-
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JACOB!
We woke up early that morning and worked on our dinner preparations together :)
I made Skinnytaste's Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas with Cuban Style Back Beans and brown rice.

Link Here

Thursday:

Pantry Adventures...

Friday:

Camping with my little family!!! Chili with Hot Dogs

Saturday morning for breakfast I have made ahead some Skinnytaste Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread muffins. I originally made 4 loafs for some friends of mine for Valentines Day and it made so much I had enough left over for 5 HUGE muffins!

Here is the recipe for the bread.
I did make a couple of alterations to make it a bit healthier. I substituted coconut oil for 1:1 ratio with the butter and used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. I would have used all whole wheat but I did not want to dry the bread out too much since I was using apple sauce and other subs. It is so good! I am so excited for my friends to now try it!

Hope everyone has enjoyed their week so far! Here's to more good cookin'.

Book Series

Anyone out there looking for a great book series to read? Let me suggest a few:

Top favorites:

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

My family and I absolutely love this series. There are a total of five books. I love it. It is a utopia full of adventure, mischief ( oh Seth....), magic, suspense, and full out awesomeness. Please, if you are looking for a great series to start as a family or individually looking for excitement, give Fablehaven a try!

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among the greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. But when the rules get broken, powerful forces are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and maybe even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most. - Back page of the book

Mark of the Lions by Francine Rivers

Anything by Francine Rivers is a must for this girl. She is amazing with her words and her knowledge of the scriptures.Besides Redeeming Love, this would have to be my favorite series (right before Lineage of Grace). You will begin with A Voice in the Wind and continue on with 2 more books marked by faith, contentment, and God's infinite Grace.

A Voice in the Wind brings readers back to the first century and introduces them to a character they will never forget- Hadassah. Torn by her love for a handsome aristocrat, this young slave girl clings to her faith in the living God for deliverance from the forces of decadent Rome. 

Hound of Rowen- The Tapestry Series by Henry H. Neff

What all can I say about this series? If you like Harry Potter you will love this series.
That is all.
I love HP and don't really compare the quality of this series to others but this series is amazing in it's own way. This book is amazing. Done. Complete. Read.

MAX MCDANIELS LIVES a quiet life in the suburbs of Chicago until the day he stumbles upon a mysterious Celtic tapestry. Many strange people are interested in Max and his tapestry, and his discovery will lead him to Rowan Academy, a secret school where great things await him.

But dark things are waiting, too. When Max learns that priceless artworks and other gifted children are disappearing from around the globe, he finds himself in the crossfire of an ancient struggle between good and evil- exertion from Amazon.

King Killer Chronicles- Patrick Rothfuss

Wow. This series is so unlike any I have read before. It is different and un-expecting. It is riveting. It is full of adventure. It is full of characters that are so interesting. They each have a different role to play and the good vs. evil in this book is unlike others I have read.

The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen. From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime- ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that transports readers into the body and mind of a wizard. It is a high-action novel written with a poet's hand, a powerful coming-of-age story of a magically gifted young man, told through his eyes: to read this book is to be the hero.- exertion from Amazon

These are just a few I read in 2013. 

There are some that I read that were not good. 

Serena and The Mists of Avalon especially. Those were just not good. 

Please share some great series back with me! I am looking for some GOOD reads.  Especially for more of these snow days coming along. 

Today I Love....

Today I Love... 

Sherlock Holmes

I have been seeing the advertisements all over Hulu Plus and I finally gave in and watched the first episode while Jake was away. 

Omyword. 

Now, you may not know that I have a healthy love to BBC and British shows on my beloved PBS. I love my BBC Top Gear, Downton Abby, James May, any late Saturday night British Comedies and of course the Vicar. 

So I just sat down and pushed play.

Woah. Season 1 episode 1 completely won me over. I am not that passionate about many television shows but this is amazing. 

I love the plots, the twists, the turns, the S.U.S.P.E.N.S.E, the amazing amazing camera advantages, and the acting. Finally some great actors! I love it all. Not to mention Bilbo! 

Netflix and Hulu have both seasons 1 & 2 if your family is looking for a new great show! I warn you tho, each episode is approximately 1.5-2 hours long. But oh so worth it! 

So snuggle up with a big quilt, a cup of English Earl Grey, your favorite dog ( or spouse ) and let the excitement begin! 

You are in for a treat! 

Breakfast Made Simple

I have a new favorite breakfast meal. And for only 171 calories it is so good and filling!
My mom had gone to the store last weekend for some ingredients for me so I could make some Pioneer Woman Guacamole. She came back with 2 separate containers of Pico De Gallo. I used the spicy for the guac. and took the mild back home with me.

Monday morning I was scrambling some egg whites and thought to put some of that Gallo in there with it. O My. What a treat!

Ingredients:
1 Tbls of fresh Pico De Gallo
3 egg whites
1 pinch of 2% cheddar
1 pinch of salt ( love the pink Himalayan)
Splash of water/milk

Simple Simple Simple
I put in between a 100 Calorie breakfast roll and am good to go till lunch!

Also, don't y'all love my little fox cup?
It makes me smile :)

I hope everyone has a great Friday! I know I will. Jake will be landing soon and can't wait to see him!