Keri {&} Brian

Freeze Yer Bunz 5k Race Recap!

2012-01-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

I almost didn't run this race because the 2 days before race I had a nasty stomach bug and was still not feeling 100% on race morning. {For the record the bug was not a baby, that fact was also confirmed the morning of the race, The odds were REALLY stacked against me for this one!} I still needed to get my miles in for my 32 mile goal though and since I am starting to get sick of the treadmill, I knew that an outdoor run was exactly what I needed!

The following picture is stolen from Facebook :)... I don't typically run like such a goober, I was raising my arms above my head for the picture and my timing wasn't too great:)
Here I am coming to the finish line!!

Check out my time!! 29:18!! My time for the Turkey Trot was 33:14 so that means I shaved about 4 minutes off of my time! Plus, this course had some crazy hills! I am so proud of how far I have come!
I placed 3rd for the females!! Wahooo! I got a bronze medal!

I am so glad that I ran this race! I just signed up for my first half marathon in August and this race really has me pumped up to start training for it!

Anyone want to run the half marathon with me? Its the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half in Vancouver, B.C.! August 10-11th!

Dehydrated Almonds

2012-01-25T06:47:00.000-08:00

I have been on a big dehydrator kick lately! My dehydrator usually has either pineapple, apples, or almonds in it at all times!

Raw nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that make them hard to digest. Soaking almonds overnight in salt water helps to release those enzyme inhibitors and therefore makes them healthier because the nutrients are more easily absorbed. Honestly though, even if soaked and dehydrated nuts weren't healthier, I would still be a convert because the flavor and texture of soaked and dehydrated almonds is far superior to raw or roasted almonds!

Give them a try!

- Cover about 4 cups of raw* almonds and 1 tablespoon of sea salt with warm filtered water, cover and soak overnight.

- In the morning drain and rinse the almonds

- Place in dehydrator and dehydrate until crispy. This usually takes my dehydrator about 18-24 hours. You want to make sure that the almonds are fully dehydrated because if there is any moisture left on the inside they will go bad fairly quickly.

- Taste test until they are fully crispy!

- Enjoy!

*The almonds must be raw for this to work!

Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

2012-01-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

Soup for dinner is so comforting when the weather outside is cold and dark! Another reason that I love soup is because it is so easy to add tons of vegetables and no one will notice! The key is having a food processor to dice the veggies up into tiny pieces. I let my food processor do all the work for this Lasagna Soup!

I saw this Lasagna Soup recipe on A Running Tale and I was inspired to make it Vegetarian!

This is my version of Lasagna Soup, Pioneer Woman Style with lots of pictures!

Start out with 2 Field Roast Sausages and 1 onion

Roughly chop and place in food processor
Process until finely ground
Place a large stockpot over medium heat. Add a small drizzle of olive oil and add the onion/field roast mixture to the pot. Allow mixture to cook until onions are soft and translucent.
Now add 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and 3 cloves of garlic to the food processor and process until finely minced
Add vegetable mixture to the pot and continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
Add 2 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste and continue to cook over medium heat.
Add 1 can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes to the food processor

Process until few lumps remain
Add to the pot along with 1.5 teaspoons oregano and 2 bay leaves
Stir and add 6 cups of No-Chicken Broth. I really like broth because unlike most vegetable broths, this No-Chicken Broth does not contain tomato so the taste is much milder and more like chicken broth. I intend to make a big batch of my own soon but until then this works great!
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and allow to cook for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes turn the heat back up to medium and add 1 box of quinoa pasta to the soup and cook per directions of pasta. You want to do this step right before serving so that the noodles do not turn to mush!

(I forgot to get pictures of these steps)

While pasta is cooking combine 1 cup of parmesan cheese, a 15oz container of ricotta cheese, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Place ricotta mixture at the bottom of your bowls and ladle the soup around it. As with any soup, you should definitely serve some crusty bread to go with it!

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

2 Italian flavor Field Roast sausages

1 Onion

3 Carrots

2 Celery stalks

3 Garlic cloves

2 Heaping Tbsp Tomato Paste

1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes (28oz)

2 Bay Leaves

1.5. Tsp Oregano

6 Cups No-Chicken Broth

1 Box of Quinoa Pasta (8oz)

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1 Container Ricotta Cheese (15oz)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Snowday!

2012-01-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

Our friends the Peters (Drew, April, Gracen, and Asher) and the Mills (Kyle, Joy, Isaiah, and Baby Boy) came over on Wednesday to play in the snow!

Most of the kiddos went in after a few minutes but Kenley outlasted some of the adults! She loved playing out in the snow and would probably stay out there in the cold all day long if we let her!

Kenley and Daddy built a snowman!
Kenley ended up going down for her nap really late, around 4:30, and never woke up until 8:30 the next morning! She was wiped! I went in a few times to check on her and she was just snoring away!

Such a fun day with friends!

Beauty and the Beast 3D

2012-01-21T06:26:00.000-08:00

When we were little kids, the first movie that both Brian and I saw in the theater was Beauty and the Beast. So when I heard that Beauty and the Beast was in theaters again for a limited time, I knew that it would be so fun to take Kenley to see it!

She was really excited to go to a movie with just Mommy and Daddy. Even though the girls are young we are really learning how important it is to set aside special alone time with each girl.

The movie is in 3D so we had to wear glasses the whole movie. Kenley was not crazy about this at first because it was confusing to her. Eventually she gave up trying to take them off and just left them on. I think she would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't a 3D movie just because it isn't something she is used to.
We had so much fun at the movie! I loved watching her watch the movie and I loved watching Brian watch Kenley watch the movie! We looked over at each other so many times and just smiled because it was so sweet to watch her!

At the beginning of the movie there was a Tangled short that was also really cute! We watch Tangled at least once a week so we all really liked the short!

iPhone Catch-up

2012-01-20T11:24:00.001-08:00

I am a bit behind on blogging about just about everything!

Time for a January iPhone recap? I think so!

We have done lots of snuggling in bed watching "toons"!

We had some fun with our good friends the Peters at Lowell Park!
Claire and Asher
Kenley and Gracen

James and Natester came over to hang out!

Surprisingly, they both did really well eating their tomato soup all by themselves! I love that the girls have cousins who are so close in age to them!

Kenley yells "RUCKER" at the top of her lungs all day long. Rucker plays along and runs around the kitchen with her! I think he is just glad that there is someone in the house who drops crumbs all the time!

Obviously, I still have a LONG way to go to reach my 100/32 goal! I hope to run 6?! miles today.

Claire really likes beans! One day I was making a burrito and she would freak out if I tried to stop feeding her the refried black beans straight from the can and cold. Weird! She loved it though!
We have gotten lots of snow! We rarely get snow around here so it has been a special treat! Especially since school for Brian was cancelled 4 of the 5 days this week! Kenley loves looking out the window at all the snow!

Our friends the Peters and the Mills came over for sledding and lunch! Gracen and Kenley really are best friends! It is so sweet!
This month has really been the month where Claire has started to like Brian! That sounds weird, but up until this month she was a Mommy-only girl and pretty much didn't like anyone else. I am so thankful that she will finally reach out for Brian and show him some love! Maybe this progress will spread to her liking other people too! :)
So far, I am a big fan of 2012! :)

Snow Day Breakfast

2012-01-19T10:12:00.001-08:00

Applecakes!

Brian's Juice Fast Recap

2012-01-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

From Tuesday, January 10, to Saturday, January 14, I completed my very first juice fast. If you know me...this is a miracle.

Some backstory:

I am not and have never been a healthy eater. A regular breakfast at school (college school-not high school) for me consisted of a "Cup of Noodles," two corndogs, and a Pepsi. And should I even mention anything about Skittles? I would give Marshawn Lynch a run for his money on love of Skittles (Seahawks fans will get that). Anything coming out of the freezer, I loved: Hot Pockets, those little Jeno's pizzas, corn dogs, etc. were an easy meal, so why not eat them?

If I ever did get into a health-kick, my ignorant mind would tell me to go grab something that said "Low-Fat" or "Low in calories" on it. Makes sense, right?

Being an athlete for all my life and then being a Marine where they make you work out every so often, I have always been persuaded that health was about 80% exercise, 20% nutrition. I remember after watching the movie "Supersize Me" a few years back, I bet someone that I could live on all McDonald's and as long as I exercised, there would be no issues whatsoever.

This thought process carried on for at least 5 years of our marriage. Regular dinners were out-of-the-box, Betty Crocker style - and I can't tell you how many nights consisted of packaged mashed potatoes and microwave popcorn.

Soon Keri started getting really smart about food and nutrition (as I'm sure most of you dedicated readers have already figured out). Being the loving husband I am, I played along for awhile and as long as Keri was cooking, I was eating. One month, I decided to go on a fast from all fast food. That was tough for me since I would regularly go to Jack-in-the-Box at least twice a week on my way home from school. After that month, fast food really just didn't taste that good anymore. A couple of months later, I did a month without any pop (some of the less-intelligent type might call this "soda" or "coke.") That was REALLY tough 'cause I LOVE me some Pepsi. After a month, however, it just didn't taste as good as I remember and it was actually pretty hard to get down. Since then, pop just doesn't sound good anymore. I can happily say that I have been pop-free since June of last year.

So how does this all get me to a juice fast? Well...I'm not totally sure. Recently I have been eating pretty healthy thanks to my incredible wife and I still work out often, so I was in pretty good shape. We watched a movie recently called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and saw some incredible results from juicing. Keri and I have been juicing in the morning for awhile now and the benefits are very obvious once you start. The days I had juice in the morning I would have a ton of energy, while the mornings I skipped I would be dragging. After watching this movie (with my parents) my mom called me up and asked if I would do a week of juicing with her. She had already started the day before so I agreed to do it until Sunday, which would have made it 6 days. So with no preparation, I started a juice fast to be an encouragement and support for my mom. That brings me to the specifics of the actual juice fast and some commonly asked questions about it that I hope I can shed some light on:

The first question everybody asks is: Don't you feel hungry?

Well, no, not at all really. On the flip side of that, I never felt full either. I was consistently satisfied and never had the hungry, then stuffed, hungry, then stuffed feelings of a regular diet. If you ever DO get hungry on a juice fast, drink more juice. You can have as much as you'd like.

How much did you drink?

On average, I had 5 Blender Bottles full of juice each day. A blender bottle holds 28 ounces of juice, so that comes out to around 140 ounces of juice. I would have one right after PT around 7:45, one around 10:00, another one around 1:00, a fourth one on my way home from school at 3:30, and then I would have a final one around 6 or so. Some days I had more, some less.

What kind of juicer did you use?

Our juicer is a Champion. I'm sure Keri has talked about why it is better. Something about the difference between centrifugal and masticating and the amount of time it takes for the nutrients to die. I don't really know the specifics, but Keri can fill you in. If she already has, I'll have her put a hyperlink to that post.

Did you lose weight?

Yes, I just don't know how much. I never weighed myself. I wasn't wanting to lose weight, but it was definitely obvious looking in the mirror that I had lost. I could tell, Keri could tell, others mentioned it as well.

But how are you getting protein without meat?

I don't blame you for asking this, I would have asked it too a few weeks ago. Contrary to popular belief, other foods besides meat have protein. Vegetables have protein, and a lot of it. My regular juice had two heads of romaine lettuce, a handful of spinach, a handful of kale, a beet, and about 10 carrots. That's plenty of protein for your daily needs. Oh, and that's only 1 one of my 5 juices each day. Trust me, protein deficiency is not a problem on a juice fast. For more on this, watch the movie "Forksoverknives" (Keri and I will be doing a review of this later).

Is that healthy?

The first person to ask me this, no joke, had a piece of Papa John's Pizza in one hand and a Dr. Pepper in the other hand. I did 5 days of drinking nothing but fruits and vegetables. How can it not be healthy? Keri is way better at talking about the nutrients and what-not, so I'll leave that to her, but short answer is yes: it's very, very healthy. Also, watch the movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" for better answers to this.

Was it hard?

The 2nd and 3rd day was tough and I really wanted to quit. Not because I was hungry, I just really missed the taste of food. After the 3rd day, there was no problems at all and you get used to it. A mistake I probably made that made this tougher was that I had the same exact juice every time. Once you made different kinds of juices, you could get a different taste which made the process a little more enjoyable.

What did you put in your juice?

My "normal" juice consisted of:

2 heads romaine lettuce

1 handful of spinach

1 handful of kale

1 lb bag of carrots

1 beet

4 apples

2 pears

1 lemon

Other times Keri would make my juice for me and I'm not really sure what was in them. I think she mentioned what was in some on a couple of posts back with the picture of the 4 blender bottles in the fridge. Check the comments of that. Maybe she'll edit this post with a hyperlink to the post. (Elbow nudge to Keri)

Would you do it again?

Absolutely. I will probably make a habit of doing a week long juice fast at least once a year, probably more when I start to get older.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Stay tuned for my mother's juice fast recap.

Photographer Kenley

2012-01-14T08:54:00.000-08:00

We were hanging out on our bed the other day while I sorted through my purse when Kenley got a hold of my little point and shoot camera and had some fun taking pictures. It's quite interesting to see the perspective of a 2.5 year old little girl.

This one was taken by Mommy :)

CHEESE!

Quiet is bad

2012-01-13T15:36:00.001-08:00

50 bonus points...

2012-01-12T20:51:00.001-08:00

... To anyone who can guess the ingredients in all these juices!

2012-01-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Nice bruise...

2012-01-07T20:46:00.001-08:00

Kenley is always going 100 miles per hour, but today it was 100 miles per hour into the wall. I think the wall won.

Make your own Coconut Milk!

2012-01-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

I think that coconut milk is the best tasting dairy free milk to add to smoothies. It is super simple to make and much cheaper than buying store bought!

Step 1. Place 1 cup of unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut in a container and cover with 4 cups of filtered water. Allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight (This helps soften the coconut so that it will blend easier).

Step 2. The next day, blend! Blend until mixture is very smooth. A Vitamix is much more efficient but any old blender will do.
Step 3. Strain. This step is optional but I am a texture person and I prefer for my coconut milk to be really smooth. If you don't mind a bit of pulp or if your coconut milk will be used solely for smoothies then you can skip this step.
Step 4. Add some vanilla extract or sweeteners to your liking. A touch of vanilla and a few drops of liquid stevia really helps enhance the flavor of the coconut milk.
Enjoy your fresh coconut milk in a smoothie! How about trying a Strawberry, Pineapple, Coconut Smoothie!

Sister

2012-01-05T16:38:00.001-08:00

DVD Workouts

2012-01-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

With my gym's classes being cancelled for the last two weeks of December I thought it would be a great time to try out a few of my new workout DVD's.

First up the Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones DVD.

{Random side note... Every time Kenley sees this DVD she points to it and says Auntie Amy :) I think its the hair?!}

Brian did this workout with me and we were both super sore for days afterward. It is intense! I would describe it as the 30 day shred level 6. If you are familiar with the 30 day shred then that will mean something to you :). I definitely would like to incorporate doing this DVD more since it really targets the abs and the triceps which are definitely 2 of my trouble zones!

The second DVD that I tried was The Biggest Loser workout 2. I am a big fan of The Biggest Loser but this DVD seemed a bit like it was done on a spur of the moment or something. At first I thought this workout was kind of a joke because the moves seemed really easy to me but I actually worked up quite a sweat and my legs were super sore the next day. This DVD would definitely be a great introduction workout for someone who is just getting into exercising. There is a recipes section in the bonus features {shamelessly sponsored by Jennie-O} and some of the recipes actually looked like they might be really good with just a few tweaks... like leaving out the Jennie-O :)!

Have you tried any new workout DVD's lately? Do you even like working out to DVD's?

I really loved doing the 30 day shred while Brian was away this summer. It is much harder to pop in a DVD now that Brian is home. If I do, he either has to do it with me or stay out of the room! I get so self conscious if he sees me doing a video!

Claire's 1 year old check-up

2012-01-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

I know that I have said it before, but man, our pediatrician is SO CONDESCENDING! I can not stand her. She basically not so subtly implied that I am not feeding Claire, I shouldn't be nursing her anymore, and that her dairy intolerance is all in my head and somehow my fault. GRRRRR!

Our kids are small. I don't see a problem with them being small! They have small people genetics! If its not good for adults to be chunky, why is it good for infants to be chunky? It just makes no sense to me! Why would she be "better" if she weighed more? How would that positively impact her life?

{If they weren't hitting their development milestones or if they were lethargic and didn't look healthy then obviously I would think it was a big deal but really, Claire is totally healthy and hitting every milestone that she should be!}

The doctor even ran a blood test on her last month and all of her numbers were totally normal!

Okay, Rant over :) Here are C.Lo's stats:

January 3rd 2011

Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz below 0%... The corpsman said if he were to guess he would say -45%

Height: 27.3 inches 5%

Head Circ: 17.7 inches 45%

I looked back in the blog archives and it turns out that at Kenley's 1 year checkup she weighed 15 pounds 6 ounces... Super similar!

Brian's January Goals

2012-01-03T14:03:00.001-08:00

Check this out:

I'm posting on a blog AND Keri is not in the hospital. This is a first.

As most of you know, my lovely bride is an amazing woman. She does so much and there has been a huge difference since she started doing her monthly goals, so here I am, posting mine in hopes that it holds me accountable to become a better Christian, husband, father, and an overall man.

Pushups every night. I learned this program from Coach Ruhlman. Multiply the month x10, then add the day. For instance: January 22nd is (1x10=10)+22 = 32 pushups. June 18th is (6x10=60)+18 = 72. Get the idea? In one year, this will take you from 11 on Jan 1. to 152 on Dec 31.

Complete the Armstrong Pullup Program

Run 32 miles

Bike 100 miles

Read/study 1 Timothy daily

Date with wife

Date with Kenley

Date with Claire

No fast food

No pop

We'll see how this goes.

Spin Buddy

2012-01-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

Classes are back in session at the base gym today! Wooohooooo!

I am super excited to get back into the swing of consistently working out! For last two weeks of December classes were cancelled and let me tell you, I missed my classes! Speaking of missing, I miss my workout buddy Emily!

Here are a few pictures of us goofing off at our last spin class together before she headed back to San Diego...

I have no idea what my hand is doing in this picture..

I think I will have to post this picture on the wall next to my bike :)
Post spin sweaty picture with our fearless leader Vicki! Classes won't be the same without you Emily!

December Goals Recap

2012-01-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

Its Recap time! I really sucked at my December goals. Brian was out of classes from the 15th on and it really threw off my goals. Don't get me wrong, I love having him home, but when he is home I am not productive at all. Pretty much any goal that has to do with cleanliness was a fail.

December Goals

- Read the book of 2 Timothy every day. Success!

- Only keep 1 water glass on nightstand. Fail.. I had a relapse :)

- Keep making the bed. Fail... But I think there should be a rule about the last person out of the bed having to make the bed...

- A load of laundry everyday except Sunday... Yikes this one got away from me.

- Keep cleaning the juicer after I use it... Again cleanliness was a fail

- Go to the Children's Museum. Yay!

- Have Claire's birthday invites sent out by December 5th... I was a few days late

- Throw an awesome 1st birthday party for sweet Claire. Success! Check out the recap!

- Celebrate Brian's 25th birthday! I guess this was a success? We just went thrift shopping and out to the Woodfire grill. He says he doesn't really care about his birthday and wouldn't even let me make a cake! This clip on Ron Swanson is how he feels about birthdays :)

- Be mindful about the meaning of Christmas

- 10 man-style push-ups a day... Yeah this was a fail... I only lasted a week before Christmas craziness got the best of me.

- Clean Kenley's ball pit and outdoor toys.... Total Fail...

I intend to kick some January butt! I'm not really one for New Years Resolutions because I work much better with a month to month goals list instead. My one resolution for the whole year though is to run at least once a week! My new favorite phrase that I keep repeating to myself is... STAY ON TOP OF IT! This applies to everything, Bible reading, Laundry, Dishes, Exercise, Healthy Eating, etc.

Keri's January Goals

- Read the book of Titus everyday

- Run once a week

- Run 32 miles

- Bike 100 miles

- 3 trips to the Children's Museum

- Keep up with the Laundry. I'm not saying everyday since we will be house sitting for part of the month so I'm not sure what our schedule will look like.

- Keep juicing and cleaning juicer

- Run the Freeze Yer Buns 5k

- Turn the lights off in rooms when I am not using them, basically be more mindful of power usage. Our electric bill is super high and we could definitely do a better job conserving energy.

- Monthly life planning meeting/date with the Husband

- No Starbucks unless it is on a date with the Husband or a friend.

- No fast food

- Get back to using the Allocated Spending Plan. 2011 was a year of buying stuff. I want 2012 to be a year of building our savings!

- Break Kenley of the paci.... My most terrifying goal. I'm nervous just thinking about it. She will be 2.5 on January 30th and I would like to have her be paci free by then... I think..... eeeek

What are your goals for January?

2011-12-31T15:04:00.001-08:00

Foodie Pen Pals!

2011-12-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

December was my second month participating in Foodie Pen Pals! It is so fun to pick out food for a stranger, mail it to them, and then read about what they thought on their blog! I also love getting packages of mystery food sent to me in the mail so Foodie Pen Pals is a double win!

This month I sent a package to Tara at Daily Dose of Fit and I was sent a package from Lea at Healthy Coconut Blog!

First up in my package from Lea was Mango Chile Jam. The other night I made Mahi Mahi and topped it with this jam and Brian really liked it. Tonight I plan on pouring it over cream cheese and serving with crackers at the New Years Eve party we are going to!

Lavender Sea Salt. I don't quite know what to make with this yet but I always see Kath sprinkling it on her salads so I might have to try that!
Taste of Nature Brazilian Nut Fiesta bars. These bars are so good! Usually I don't like bars that are made up of mostly nuts because they are hard to chew but these bars are soft and have a great texture!
Artisana Raw Coconut Oil, Raw Coconut Butter, and Raw Tahini. I love coconut oil! I have never tried raw tahini so I will have to make something fun with that. I will probably save the coconut butter for the next time I want a smoothie, I love strawberry, pineapple, and coconut butter smoothies!
Lea- Thank you so much for all the goodies!!
If you would like to participate in Foodie Pen Pals next month, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. *US Residents only please at this time- hopefully we can expand soon!*

If you’re interested in participating for January, please send an email to theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:

-Your full name

-Your email address

-Your blog name/address

-Your twitter handle (if applicable)

Email by January 4th as pairings will be emailed on January 5th!

Growth Spurt

2011-12-30T10:05:00.001-08:00

This little girl has matured so much in the last few days. She is taller and can pronounce her words so well now!

She is doing awesome with potty training too! She is so independent! Usually she just goes to the bathroom on her own and then yells "I did it" and let's us know she wants her sticker and chocolate.

Sweet girl!

Kenley's Make-ups!

2011-12-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

I made Kenley 3 eye shadows by popping the real eyeshadow out of some .97cent eyeshadow containers and pouring dollar store nail polish in and letting it dry. The nail polish took much longer to dry than I anticipated! If you plan on doing this definitely give it at least a week or two to dry.

I tried using nail polish to make the foundation too but it never dried. I was telling Barbara about my dilemma and she suggested I use felt! GENIUS!!! If I would have thought of that sooner I probably would have used colored felt for the eye shadows too!
I bought Kenley a make-up bag that is just like mine but in a different pattern and rounded out her make-up set with make-up brushes from the dollar store!
I am so happy with how this all turned out and even happier that Kenley loves it so much! Homemade presents rule!!

Christmas Festivities

2011-12-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011 was so wonderful. I wish I had more photos to show for it! Brian and I stayed up way to late on Christmas Eve getting everything ready for the girls! It was totally worth it though!

Brian and I started a fun new Christmas Eve tradition for ourselves where after we get everything ready for Christmas morning we open our presents to each other. It was such a sweet time for Brian and I to be alone during all the Christmas craziness. He totally rocked my Christmas presents too!

Since we had Church on Christmas morning, we all woke up very early to let the girls open their presents. I kept joking that we were having "Big Plastic Christmas" this year. We got a climber slide thing off of craigslist, another climber slide thing for free off of craigslist, a pink plastic vanity from a consignment shop, and a cozy coupe the day before Christmas at Value Village for $8! I didn't intend for it to be "Big Plastic Christmas" but I am a sucker for good deals!

I picked up the pink vanity because I thought it would go great with the play make-up that I made for Kenley. She LOVES playing "make-ups". I would say that it is definitely her favorite present!
Sleepy sleepy Claire
The only non blurry picture of Kenley...
After presents we got ready and headed to Church! The girls had runny noses so they sat with us rather than being in the nursery. Kenley was a bit wiggly but overall they both did great!

After Church we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Ford's house for Christmas dinner then after that we headed to Gramma and Grandpa Ronk's house to open presents and have treats with the Carruthers and Kerrs.

It was a long day and the girls were totally spoiled! Next year I want to focus more on Advent and the birth of Christ with the girls since Kenley will definitely be able to understand more next year. I can't wait for next year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy 25th Birthday Brian!!

2011-12-27T19:58:00.001-08:00

Claire's Smash Cake

2011-12-23T22:14:00.001-08:00

I based her cake off of this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie and her frosting off of this recipe from The Edible Perspective.

I drizzled a little bit of melted chocolate over the cake for color. I also wrote a 1 on a piece wax paper with the chocolate, allowed it to cool, and placed it on frosted cake.

Smash Cake

9 Tablespoons Spelt Flour

3 Tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil

5 Cranks of Pink Salt

1/4 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk

3/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1.5 Tablespoons Honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased 16oz corning ware dish or small cake pan. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Smash Cake Frosting

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (Solid)

1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Almond Milk to reach desired consistency.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and place in fridge. Once cake has cooled, frost cake.

Hopefully your little 1 year old enjoys the cake!

Claire's 1st Birthday Party!

2011-12-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

Claire's first birthday was a success! We went with a Hot Cocoa theme since it is wintery and not too Christmasy!

I ordered these super cute invitations off of Etsy
The Set-up. I saw a picture on pinterest where they had made a ribbon rod for behind the cake and I loved it! I just took a dowel and looped a bunch of .79cent a spool ribbon around it!

I made a 12 layer Hot Chocolate Mug Cake! I doubled the recipe for The Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake. I used 1 cup of batter per round cake pan and baked each pan (3 at a time) for 11 minutes at 350 degrees. I frosted the cake with Meg's frosting and left a bit on top un-frosted to be "the cocoa" and placed a big dollop of frosting in the middle and stuck a bunch of marshmallows to it! The handle is actually cardboard from a Saltines box that I cut to size and frosted!
The Birthday Girl with Gramma and Grandpa Ronk

Claire didn't want anything to do with her cake. That is pretty typical for Claire though, if it isn't bananas, sweet potatoes, coconut water, or kamut puffs, she just isn't that interested.

Claire's Cake was a healthy little dairy free cake that I think is perfect for a first birthday smash cake! I will post the recipe tomorrow!
Leaning tower of cake! This cake was so delicious! I had to send all of the leftovers to work with Fred so that I wouldn't eat ginormous portions of it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Now I wish I had some leftover cake :)

Claire with GG
Papa Bob and Granny Brenda
This is what happens when we try to get pictures of Ronk kids and Carruthers kids together...
Presents!

Skype partying with our Goodfellows!

Grammy and Gramma

At the end of the night we had one tired out blessed little 1 year old!
After party music with Kenley and James!
Thank you to everyone who came to Claire's birthday party! I know it isn't easy having another party to go to right before Christmas so it really means the world to me that people came!

Brian posted the slide show he made of Claire's first year on youtube! Check it out! Beware... there are nose hose pictures :)

We have a 1 year old!

2011-12-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

What a year! I know I say this every month but she really is the sweetest little baby. She is such a watcher and is content as long as she is able to see everything that goes on. She is crawling all over the place now and is always headed down the hallway toward her room. Shockingly she hasn't gone for the Christmas tree or the presents yet! She still has just 2 bottom teeth.

I wonder if she will be talkative like Kenley or if she will remain as quiet and calm as she is now. She does throw out a few random Ma or Da outbursts every so often to keep us on our toes. Claire's entrance into the world a year ago was quite traumatic but I would do it again in an instant for this sweet little girl! I love you sweet girl! Happy Birthday!

Mom and I's Date Night!

2011-12-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

Mom and I went to Thrive's Dehydrating 101 class a few weeks ago.

The class was held at the Whole Foods Community Kitchen so we started the night off with Whole Foods salad bar since it is so talked up on food blogs.....

It was super expensive and not very good.... What's the deal Food Bloggers? Why is everyone obsessed with the Whole Foods salad bar?

The class was actually super boring. The "instructor" just wasn't very good. I actually felt like I was more knowledgeable about the topic than her. We probably should have gone to a Dehydrating 201 or 301 class instead.

Mom started playing Words with Friends to pass the time :)
Luckily for me, the "course packet" included a recipe for Onion Cashew Cream! It is one of my favorite things from Thrive so I can't wait to make a big batch and use it to make Onion Cashew Cream Kale Chips!!
I can't wait for another Mom and Daughter date!

My little Christmas helper

2011-12-17T11:46:00.001-08:00

2011-12-16T15:06:00.001-08:00

Decking the Halls

2011-12-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

I have been so excited to be able to decorate for Christmas this year! Last year I had a lot planned for Christmas but all of those plans were thrown out the window when I went into the hospital and had Claire 5 weeks early!

Did you know that I really don't care for the color red? I know, its weird. At Christmas though, red is totally acceptable. And I actually really like how red and aqua look together so that is the color scheme I decided to with our decor this year!

Our Tree:

{Special thanks to the Pearce's for giving us this tree! It is awesome and it fits inside our house perfectly!}

I have made approximately 42 glittered ornaments this year following this method that I found via Pinterest.

Turquoise Martha Stewart Glitter

I love how they look and I might have to go buy more clear ornaments so that I can make more just because I love how pretty and sparkly they are!

Garnet Martha Stewart Glitter

The Kitchen:

I keep telling everyone who will listen to me about my "brilliant" "funny" "quirky" theme this year. I get blank stares back in reply when I tell people that my theme this year is Red, Aqua, and White Elephant.

White Elephant? Yep. White Elephant.

Ya know because around Christmas there is always White Elephant gift exchanges! Apparently, I am the only one who gets it :)

I found 2 elephants at Value Village and gave them the glossy white spray paint treatment!

White Elephant Number 1

White Elephant Number 2
Number 2 is actually a planter so I planted a little succulent in him!
Also on one of the kitchen shelves I framed this Christmas Printable from eighteen25. They have lots of cute printables over there!
The living room:

I love displaying the Christmas cards that we have received! Kenley points to Gracen's picture everyday and tells me that it's Gracen!

{I did not get my act together and order Christmas cards in time this year... Maybe I will send out Valentines cards?}

The girls room:

I made this little garland out of ornaments from the Target Dollar Section!

Kenley loves rearranging the little window cling snowflakes! When I was little I remember having a white nativity window cling set. Next year I want to track one down for the girls!

Also in the girls room is the white ceramic tree that Kimberly and I used to take turns getting to have in our rooms at Christmas time. I love that tree so much, it is probably one of my most favorite Christmas memories. I used to stay up rearranging the colors of the lights. I love it and intend on stealing it from my mom when we move away! :)

Glittered letters on the girls door:
Hanging in the hallway is a gold berry pick wreath I made the other day that was inspired by this wreath from Bower Power. I just wrapped a bunch of gold berry picks around a grapevine wreath with some thin wire. The pictures don't do it justice! It is so pretty in person!
And finally the bathroom:

The ornament swag that I made back in 2009 and has been used over our North Carolina kitchen window, our Washington kitchen window, and now our Washington bathroom window!

I hope you enjoyed our little holiday home tour! I'm linking up to the Dare to DIY party over at Newlywoodwards!

So what do you think.. Do you "get" the white elephant theme? I can honestly say that I love it and it is something that I have never seen done before!

Glittery Letters

2011-12-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Last year Auntie Kimbe bought the girls these cute cardboard hanging letters from The Land of Nod. I really liked the shape of the letters but I wasn't crazy about the way that the patterns looked together.

On a whim I picked up this Krylon Glitter Blast and I love how well it worked!
First I sprayed my letters with a little bit of white spray paint just in case there were any spots left after I glittered the letters. Then I applied 3 coats of the spray glitter... and voila super cute glittery letters!

I love how the look hanging on the outside of the girls bedroom door!

Here is a little trick for how to hang things on doors without a hook, use a thumb tack! Hammer the tack into the top of the door and you are good to go!!

I'm linking to the Dare to DIY party over at Newlywoodwards!

Ronk Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

Sister Gifts

2011-12-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Terri and her sister-in-law's have a tradition of getting each other all a small gift that is the same for each sister-in-law. Last year, Tonia decided that we should do that too!

This year I made each of my sister-in-law's homemade vanilla extract! It is a simple gift to make, it just requires a little planning ahead because ideally the vanilla should cure for about 6 months.

I didn't quite get it done in time so the sisters will have to let it cure for a little while in their own cupboards!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Ingredients:

3 Vanilla Beans
1 Cup Vodka
Sterilized containers

Directions:

Cut vanilla beans in half, leaving an inch connected on one end (Clean scissors worked best for me)
Place split vanilla beans in container and cover with vodka
Shake the vodka and vanilla beans up and place in a dark cupboard for 6 months to cure
Shake container every month or so until cured. Vanilla should be dark in color.

The great things about this vanilla is that it is never ending! Whenever you start to have a good bit of it used, just add more vodka shake it up and let it cure again!

Jump!

2011-12-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

It's cold...

2011-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

Breakfast without a high chair!

2011-12-12T09:56:00.001-08:00

2011-12-10T15:35:00.001-08:00

2011-12-10T15:07:00.001-08:00

New Bow made by Mommy

2011-12-09T12:13:00.001-08:00

So You Scuffed Your Boots...

2011-12-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

So I bought some boots... wore them twice....

and scuffed them up :(

The boots weren't returnable so I headed to Home Depot with my boot in hand. The employee at the paint counter was able to color match my boot and make me a sample size pot of matching brown paint.

Just to make sure the color would match, I added a bit of paint to a part of my boot that wouldn't show just in case it was the wrong color.
Once my test patch was dry, it totally matched so I added a little bit of paint to the scuff! I just dabbed it on and rubbed it around the edges with my finger to blend it in.
Obviously it doesn't look perfect up close but when the boots are on you can't tell that there was a scuff there at all!
So for about $2.50 and 5 minutes my boots were repaired!

Date Night with Mom!

2011-12-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

Cheesy Bean Enchiladas

2011-12-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

Enchiladas are one of the first foods that I ever learned to make on my own. Bean and cheese enchiladas are one of the meals that was always on our meal rotation. I used to enjoy my enchiladas topped with crispy cheese and smothered with sour cream, now that I can't eat dairy I had to come up with a new version that would be just as delicious as the classic. Success! Beany, cheesy, and {shhhh!} vegan!

I used Emily of Daily Garnish's enchilada sauce recipe and it is so tasty and simple to make that I will never go back to store bought enchilada sauce again!

Cheesy Bean Enchiladas

Serves 8

Ingredients

8 tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 batch Not Nacho Cheese
1 batch Daily Garnish Enchilada Sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish
Add a layer of beans and a layer of Not Nacho Cheese to each tortilla
Loosely roll up tortillas and place in a baking dish
Top rolled up tortillas with remaining enchilada sauce
Bake for 20 minutes

Enjoy! I love to top mine with a mashed up avocado to add the creaminess that I miss from my once beloved sour cream.

Mommy and Claire

2011-12-07T21:23:00.000-08:00

Random Happy

2011-12-07T06:08:00.000-08:00

Carrot Juice

Sweet Potatoes

Nap time for Raf

Trader Joe's Stickers

Best friends braving the nursery together

Papa Bob

Pancake Breakfasts

Spray Painting Projects

Not Nacho Cheese

2011-12-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

Sometimes avoiding dairy is no fun, especially if we are having Mexican for dinner... which happens all the time because it is quick, easy, and tasty.

Not Nacho Cheese is a bit reminiscent of the Velveeta Rotel Dip but its packed with veggies and is dairy free!

Not Nacho Cheese

Ingredients

8 baby Yukon Gold potatoes
4 carrots
1/2 a large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup of water
1/2 cup navy beans
2 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast*
2 tablespoons olive oil
(pink) salt & pepper
1/2 can Rotel chopped tomatoes and green chilies

Directions

Chop first 4 ingredients into small uniform pieces
Add chopped veggies and water to a pot and cook over medium high heat until veggies are soft, about 10-15 minutes depending on size
Transfer contents of pot to blender, add navy beans, nutritional yeast, and oil to blender and puree
Add salt and pepper to taste
Pour contents of blender into a bowl and stir in 1/2 a can of Rotel. (You may use the whole can depending on your tastes)
Enjoy with chips or however else you would enjoy a cheese sauce!

*Don't leave out the nutritional yeast, it is what makes the sauce taste cheesy!

Best Friends!

2011-12-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

Kenley's best friend Gracen came over to play yesterday! The girls had so much fun with each other and actually did a great job sharing! Gracen is a really loud gulper and Kenley is a really big copycat. As both girls were drinking from their cups, Gracen was gulping loudly and Kenley was fake gulping loudly and making noises like she was gulping. Silly girl!
Since Claire is now mobile, she has been able to takeover the job title of snack stealer.

Kenley had so much fun with with her best friend! I love that she is now old enough to have a friend over to play and they will actually play together!

Foodie Pen Pals!

2011-12-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

My Foodie Pen Pals package came today! I sent a package off to Megan of EatMyBeets and I was sent a package from (blog-less) Jill Stokes.

Jill sent me lots of fun stuff!

I was so excited when the mail came today! I needed some help from the hubs to open the package....

He was being a dork....

{a handsome dork}

Jill works at a coffee company so she sent me some of their best selling decaf! I am going to put some cold brew in the fridge tonight so that I can enjoy it tomorrow!
A spiced pumpkin pie Clif bar. I love pumpkin pie spice so I am really excited to try this!
Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. I was really excited to try this because I used to love Nutella but I don't let myself eat it anymore because of the less than stellar ingredients. I ate some straight out of the pouch and it was good! I can't say that I would buy a whole jar but it is great as a treat and I love that Justin's sells these little single serve packs!
Pocky Sticks! I have never had these before! Jill said that they were a piece of her childhood and threw them in for the girls.... I shared with Kenley :)
Mid's Pizza Sauce. Jill said that this is a local sauce that is her favorite! I love pizza sauce as a dressing on my salads so I can't wait to try this. I think a pizza night will have to come soon too!
Wacky Mac. Kenley loves pasta so this will be eaten very soon!
I am so glad that I participated in Foodie Pen Pals! If you would like to participate in Foodie Pen Pals, here are some details:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. *US Residents only please at this time- hopefully we can expand soon!*

If you’re interested in participating for December, please send an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:

-Your full name

-Your email address

-Your blog name/address

-Your twitter handle (if applicable)

I can't wait to see who I am paired with next month! Head on over to Megan's blog so see what I sent her!

My First Seahawks Game!

2011-12-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Last night we headed down to watch the Seahawks play the Eagles.

I have only ever been to like 2 football games in my life before last night (high school games for schools that I didn't even attend) so I wasn't quite sure what to expect!

Our seats were awesome!

We had a bit of an ordeal navigating traffic and finding a $40 parking spot so we got to the game 2 minutes before half time. Yes, I said $40 for parking.... RIDICULOUS!!!!!

We have tickets to another game in about a week so we will definitely be leaving earlier so that we can get to the game on time!
When you watch football games on tv they seem like such a big deal, but when you are there watching in person it just seems like child's play. It's just a bunch of guys playing football :)

It was really fun to be there in person though!
We had 4 tickets to the game but it didn't work out for any of our friends to join us so we sold them on craigslist.... and guess who bought them?
These guys... Jaime and Eric who we went to high school with. Small world!

The Seahawks pulled off a win too! It was a great night with my awesome hubby!

November Goals Recap

2011-12-01T06:19:00.000-08:00

November was a great month! I am very happy with how successful my goals were!

November Goals

- Read the book of 1 Timothy everyday

- Go to the Children's museum

- Go to at least 5 group fitness classes. I love Turbo Kick and Spin Class! I sort of like Zumba too, even if its just because I get to laugh at how uncoordinated I am!

- Move Feisty's pen every other day FAIL... But now that it is just Feisty, the pen doesn't really need to be moved every other day.

- Read a book- I did read a book! BUT I didn't read Midwives because it was a different book than I thought it was. Midwives was way too graphic especially for someone who has had c-sections and will likely have them again in the future.

- Only keep 1 glass of water on my night stand.... Woohooo! Brian is happy about this one.

- Keep cleaning juicer after using it
- Keep making the bed

- Run my first 5k!!! November 18th!! YAY! I am ready for another! Read about my 5k here!

- A load of laundry every day- This goal has been the best! I can't believe how nice it is to be caught up on laundry all the time!

{Weekends don't count on anything except Bible reading!}

December Goals

- Read the book of 2 Timothy every day

- Only keep 1 water glass on nightstand

- Keep making the bed

- A load of laundry everyday except Sunday

- Keep cleaning the juicer after I use it

- Go to the Children's Museum

- Have Claire's birthday invites sent out by December 5th

- Throw an awesome 1st birthday party for sweet Claire

- Celebrate Brian's 25th birthday!

- Be mindful about the meaning of Christmas

- 10 man-style push-ups a day...

- Clean Kenley's ball pit and outdoor toys.... Most have been sitting outside since the summer

Dinner Fail

2011-11-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

You win some, you lose some, you don't thoroughly cook some....

Yep. The salmon and the asparagus were both very undercooked. Ick!

At least the salad was good!

Sweet

2011-11-28T13:13:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving in Chelan

2011-11-27T19:37:00.001-08:00

Wednesday after Brian came home from school, we packed up and headed to Lake Chelan to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Ronk at their condo! It was a very low key Thanksgiving but I think that it was perfect for all of us to just relax a bit!

Kenley really wanted that "grape" (olive) and she took one bite and declared it "a bad one" and that she needed to throw it away. Silly girl!
Claire ate 3 1/2 baked sweet potatoes and loved every bite!
After dinner we decided to head to the pool. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea because it was packed!

Claire hated the pool and death gripped whoever was holding her.
Kenley loved swimming and being tossed back and forth between Grandpa and Daddy! Its pretty funny how they each reacted because Claire LOVES bath/shower time and Kenley HATES it!

We also played a lot of Pinochle, as well as Hearts... How was Hearts Terri? :)On Saturday Grandma and Grandpa headed home and graciously allowed us to stay an extra night! There wasn't much to do because it was so cold so we decided to build a big fort! We weren't sure if Kenley was old enough to "get it" but she was and she LOVED it!!

Okay, Okay, I loved it too!

Inside the fort, Claire decided that she would crawl! She has been so close for such a long time now and she finally went for it!
So now we have a crawler just in time for us to set up the Christmas tree... We will see how that goes!

New Staples

2011-11-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

You might not have a few of the ingredients that I have been posting about lately as staples in your pantry yet, but you should!

NuNaturals Vanilla Liquid Stevia-Stevia is a plant based sweetener that is sugar free but 300 times sweeter than sugar. I really enjoy the NuNaturals brand because it doesn't have a bitter aftertaste like some of the other stevia brands. I often add stevia to my smoothies and juices to make them just a bit sweeter. I bought my bottle at the Sno-Isle food co-op for around $14.99, it seems pricey but since the liquid is so concentrated it will last you for a long time! I wish I would have known about stevia during my sugar free months! It would have made them so much easier!

Himalayan Pink Salt- This salt is superior to table salt and sea salt because it contains more minerals and doesn't cause bloating like table salt. This post by Kimberly Snyder explains it well! It costs about $1.99 at Trader Joe's which is the same price as all of the other salts so this is an easy switch!

Hope you are having a great Black Friday!

Happy 1st Thanksgiving Claire!

2011-11-24T16:42:00.001-08:00

3 baked sweet potatoes and counting!!

Thankfulness from Tuesday

2011-11-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

I am so blessed. The list of things that I have to be thankful for is very long. One of the people that I am most thankful for is my amazing husband.

Tuesday evening I went to spin class and upon my return home I saw this:

Yep, That is my husband cooking dinner for me! Isn't he awesome!
I am so thankful that God chose to bless me with this great man who is such a wonderful loving husband and father!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

Skinny Mini Peanut Butter Balls

2011-11-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! Sweets season!

Peanut Butter Balls are always a favorite around the holidays but did you know that a traditional peanut butter ball can have around 200 calories a piece? Yikes!

My Skinny Mini Peanut Butter Balls only have about 30 calories a piece and they taste so creamy and peanut buttery that you wont feel like you are missing out on the "real deal" at all. These balls are low in sugar and low in fat but don't contain any suspect "diet" ingredients! Winning!

Skinny Mini Peanut Butter Balls

Makes 15 balls

1/4 cup peanut flour
3 Tbsp water
3 cranks from my pink salt grinder
12 drops vanilla liquid stevia
1/2 cup melted chocolate chips

Mix first 4 ingredients together into a bowl until well combined then roll into 15 balls. Place balls in the refrigerator for 7-10 minutes to harden while you melt chocolate either in the microwave or a double boiler. Remove balls from fridge and dip in melted chocolate. Either leave at room temperature to harden and serve right way or store in the fridge. I enjoy them cold from the fridge!

Let me know if you try them!

I'm linking up to the Dare to DIY Party over at Newlywoodwards!

Family, Food, and Fitness

2011-11-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

How do you like the new blog design?

I had started a food blog but then I decided that it was too much work to keep up a separate food blog apart from this blog so I decided to roll them both into one blog that will include family, food, and fitness! I hope you don't mind! :)

Hopefully the updated tabs at the top will be helpful for finding recipes and such too!

Everyday I am so amazed by how quickly Kenley's brain picks up on the things around her. She isn't even two and a half and yet she is already a pro at working my iPhone. She knows which apps are the games for her and can go back and forth between them. Her favorite right now is "the elephant game" aka Tiny Ear.

I guess she also enjoys taking pictures of her elephant, which she named June, because when I plugged my phone in today I noticed about 12 pictures of June. :)

This is the classic tired Kenley look... Big sleepy eyes and rubbing her nose with her blanket :)

Onto the food...

Last nights dinner was so great! Sundays meals weren't very full of veggies so I tried to make up for it with Monday's dinner.
Roasted asparagus topped with goat gouda, mashed potatoes and carrots, and an amazing spinach salad.

I always know that the meal is good if Brian asks for seconds! I never expected him to ask for seconds of a spinach salad! It's so good that we were fighting over the last bits!
Amazing Spinach Salad

1 bag of baby spinach
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's rosemary pecans and cranberries
1/2 container of Trader Joe's crumbled goat cheese
1 red onion, sliced and lightly sauteed in a bit of coconut oil
Dressed with OhSheGlows Cranberry Orange Vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients together and serve!

Seriously try it! Even if you think that you don't like spinach, try it! You are probably wrong about not liking spinach. :)

As for the fitness section, I think that I am going to start using that section to post my proposed workout plan for each week. I think it will be a good way to keep goals for myself and track the progress that I make. *I think* that Brian might even pop by for a few fitness posts! We will see!

Have a great Tuesday evening!

11 Months!

2011-11-20T23:25:00.000-08:00

1 more month until this lady turns 1! I know that I say it every time, but seriously how is she 11 months old already?

Claire loves to eat lately! Bananas, Pears, Apples, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Carrots, Kamut Puffs, you name it, she will eat it! As long as she gets to feed it to herself!

She is slowing down a bit with nursing since she has been eating so many table foods. Quite frankly I don't mind cutting back on the feedings because she is a biter....

She is so happy and mellow. One morning I went in her room 2 hours after she normally wakes up and she was just sitting up in her crib not making a peep.

She is finally getting to the age where she and Kenley can play together a little bit. It is so cute! Kenley absolutely loves it when they get to sit in the carts with the steering wheels together!

Claire loves to jibber jabber and laugh.

She still isn't quite crawling yet. But I think that she just doesn't do it in front of us because she has a knack for moving across the room very quickly when my eyes aren't on her. Today at church she was sitting on the floor in front of our pew during singing and next thing we know we look over and she is completely under the pew and Brian had to get down on all fours to scoop her out from under the pew!

She is starting to pull herself up and likes to practice standing!

Sweet Claire we love you so much!

Vegetable Verde Soup

2011-11-20T16:14:00.001-08:00

When I first came home from the hospital after having Claire the only food that really sounded good to me was soup and bread. Our church family was kind enough to bring us many meals that first month home and anytime anyone called to see what we would like for dinner I was quick to say "Soup & Bread!". There were also many times where I would send Brian to the store for sourdough bread.

The other night Brian was called back up to sour dough bread buying duty. With the nights getting chillier I have been craving soup and bread once again. I used to love my southwest soup but I wanted something a little bit cleaner... and vegan... and full of vegetables. I started off by sauteing an onion and then threw nearly every vegetable we had in the fridge into the pot. The resulting soup has a nice hint of heat from the salsa but it mild enough that even Kenley enjoyed it!

I added a cup of navy beans to the soup because they were in the fridge and needed to be used up but the soup will be great with or without them. The great thing about soup is you can throw random leftovers in and it will still taste delicious!
Vegetable Verde Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion, quartered and sliced

4 large carrots, sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

2 T coconut oil

4 whole garlic cloves, smashed (mine were on the smaller side)

1 cup corn

1 cup navy beans (optional)

2 cartons vegetable broth

1 jar salsa verde

salt and pepper

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat add coconut oil and onions. Cook until onions are soft and translucent.

Add carrots, garlic, celery, and zucchini. Saute until just tender.

Add broth, salsa, corn, and beans to the pot and bring soup to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20-30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste and remove garlic cloves.

Serve with crusty (sourdough) bread!

I am contemplating starting a sourdough starter and regularly making sourdough bread, does anyone know a good place for me to start?

Raw Brownies

2011-11-20T16:12:00.001-08:00

I have gotten into the habit of eating half of a Larabar before my group fitness classes and the other half after. Half before really seems to fuel me without weighing me down. My favorite flavor would have to be Chocolate Chip Brownie followed closely by Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte. Obviously not the healthiest flavors and as I am sure you know, Larabars are not cheap! I thought I would try my hand at making a brownie version of my own minus the chocolate chips.

I was trying to use my juicer to make these but then I had some technical difficulties and had to switch over to using my food processor. I really think the juicer would have given these a much smoother texture so I will have to try again!

Raw Brownies

1/4 cup Pecans

1/4 cup Cashews

1/4 cup Raisins

1-2 Tbsps Cocoa Powder depending on taste

3 Dates

3 Prunes

Process all ingredients together in food processor until smooth. Shape into a rectangle and cut into 8 squares or balls. Store in fridge until ready to eat.

These would also taste great if you threw a few dried cherries in! I didn't have any but I will definitely try that next time!

Turkey Trot 5k Recap

2011-11-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

I did it! I ran a 5k! I finished in 33:14 which is a really great pace for me. I said my goal was just to not stop running but secretly I hoped to finish in under 35 minutes.... Mission accomplished!!
Pre-Race:
(My mom came with to cheer me on and took this picture... to which I replied "Mom, you can not take pictures in locker rooms!!") My workout buddy Emily!!

Mom and Brian both weren't even watching as I crossed the finish line because they thought it would take me way longer to run it!

I felt great during the run! Emily and I broke apart around the halfway point and then I made it my mission to just keep picking people off. I am competitive :)

Post run:

We did it!!

Emily and I both won turkeys in the raffle!

Here are all the pictures that I stole off the EverettFF Facebook!

I was the 4th female to finish! I think that there were about 10 females running so that is kinda neat!

I am totally hooked on running races now! It was so fun and I feel so accomplished!

It's 5k Day!!

2011-11-18T08:23:00.001-08:00

I'm running the Turkey Trot and I am so excited!!

Dinner Time November 15th 2011

2011-11-16T22:02:00.000-08:00

You know that you have been watching a lot of Cowgirl Dora (the Explorer) when the green beans become rattlesnakes and you hear your 2 year old saying "stop rattlesnakes" in Spanish.

"para rattlesnakes!"

Claire's first time eating potatoes... she is a big fan!

Such a cheeser!

Avocado!

2011-11-15T07:40:00.001-08:00

Seattle Children's Museum

2011-11-14T01:54:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the best day. Brian was home and he didn't have anywhere to be or any homework to do. Free days are a rare occurrence lately so we decided to do something fun as a family and headed down to the Seattle Children's Museum.

Claire really liked the tacos... I kept taking them away but Kenley kept serving her more :)
I LOVE grocery shopping so I loved the grocery store area. Kenley really loved pushing the cart around and picking out all of the foods. Especially from the freezer section!
Daddy starting drum lessons early....
I believe that Amy refers to these as "sin mobiles".... She is correct...

We had a lot of fun at the museum but I must say that the Everett Children's Museum is much better! Way cleaner/newer and more educational fun stuff to do!

After the museum we headed to 13 Coins for dinner. It was yummy but much more suited for date night than family night out :)

The girls and I really loved getting to spend that alone time with Daddy!

Chug Chug Chug!! :)

2011-11-13T20:04:00.001-08:00

Escape

2011-11-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Feisty is trying to escape! She dug herself that hole and everything!

Signs of Life via iPhone

2011-11-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Still lovin' the Children's Museum! Its so funny to me how in some areas of the museum Kenley's attention span is like a gnat and in other areas she outlasts me!

She is up to almost 15 pounds!
C.Lo broke out into an "eczematous rash" this week which warranted a visit to the doctor. The thing about "mainstream" doctors (in my experience) is they never seem to care what caused it in the first place but only how to treat it now that its there. In my mind EVERYTHING relates back to food (& lifestyle) so I am cutting back her food choices back to the basics until this thing clears up.

Pitiful!
Kenley and I make pancakes together almost every morning. I LOVE this recipe by Oh She Glows. I use pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon and they are just perfect!

Heffalumps and Potty Training

2011-11-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

Sweet sisters watching Pooh together.

Did you know that there are tons of Winnie the Pooh episodes and other full Disney movies on youtube? Kenley's favorite right now is Pooh's Heffalump Movie.

The time for potty training Kenley has come. It's been interesting....
So far we have had one #2, two accidents, and no pee pees on the potty.... that girl has some serious bladder control!
She definitely loves the new panties!

That's about all that is going on with us lately!

Mayhem & Flo

2011-11-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

We had a little costume bonfire party at our house the Saturday before Halloween with people from Brian's unit. It wasn't quite as epic as Steel Costume Party but we had a lot of fun! Brian went as Mayhem and I went as Flo! I didn't quite get a chance to finish the girls costumes but they were going to be cavemen to tie in with the insurance theme :).

I would say that I proclaim myself best costume, BUT we had 2 Legends of the Hidden Temple Contestants! Go Blue Barracudas! Brian and I were kicking ourselves for not thinking of that idea first!

November Goals

2011-11-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

October Goals

- Read the book of 2 Thessalonians every day

- Wake up and get out of bed before 8 AM most weekdays- I have been an 8:30 girl lately.. but honestly, I am okay with that.

- Make the bed every morning

- Go to bed earlier than 11 PM most nights- Miserable failure! I am such a night owl!

- Read a book- I am in the middle of reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, I just didn't make time to finish it.

- Juice every morning- Bummer! I missed 1 day :(

- Clean juicer immediately after using it

- Go to at least 5 group fitness classes- I am loving Turbo Kick and sort of liking Spin! I even took a Zumba class because Turbo Kick got cancel

led one day. I am uncoordinated and I laughed the whole time but I actually had a lot of fun at Zumba and I think I might take a class every now and then!

- Go walking 8x- Did I even go once? I honestly can't remember... but I think that means it was a no...

- Go to the Children's Museum 3x- Fail!

November Goals

- Read the book of 1 Timothy everyday

- Go to the Children's museum

- Go to at least 5 group fitness classes

- Move Feisty's pen every other day- My dad is sick of me letting the grass die from keeping the pen in the same place for too long.... Side note: Ruby passed away last week... Sad! I'm not sure if and when we will be getting another chicken.

- Read a book- I got the book Midwives at the thrift store yesterday so I am excited

to start that.

- Only keep 1 glass of water on my night stand.... I am a hoarder and it has gotten out of control!

{Why yes, there are 9 water containers on my nightstand}

- Keep cleaning juicer after using it
- Keep making the bed

- Run my first 5k!!! November 18th!!

- A load of laundry every day

{Weekends don't count on anything except Bible reading!}

I think that's about it! What are your goals for the month of November?

She likes food!!

2011-11-01T09:08:00.001-07:00

As long as she feeds it to herself!

Puréed food is for babies :) Claire wants to eat like her big sissy.

2011 Marine Corps Ball

2011-10-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the 236th Navy & Marine Corps Birthday Ball. It is so fun that we have 1 night a year guaranteed that we get to dress up all fancy.

This year Brian was one of the Ball coordinators. Though as the ceremony went on, I am pretty sure that he would rather not have that credited to him.... :)

The Ball was held at the Shilshole Bay Beach Club in Ballard. It really was a beautiful venue for the ball.
Anyone recognize that dress?? It my bridesmaid dress from Jenae and Leif's wedding! I am so, so, so excited that I fit in it again!
As always I loved the Commandant's Birthday Message.
The Hubster designed the programs! They turned out great!
I am so bummed that I forgot to take a picture of my food because it was Ah-May-ZING! I ordered the vegetarian entree and it was zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, herbed goat cheese, and garlic infused chickpeas. Seriously.... best vegetarian entree of my life?! I need to start experimenting on how to make garlic infused chickpeas because they were bomb!

Hubs sure is handsome in his blues!
I don't dance. I am awkward..... But a big part of the ball is the dancing that follows the ceremony and dinner. Hubster participated in a surprise choreographed dance to Party Rock... I did not partake in the dancing this year but I did shake and pinky swear on the fact that next year I will dance.... so I have a year to work on some moves... YIKES!

Happy 236th Birthday Marine Corps!

Perfect!

2011-10-29T11:25:00.001-07:00

Ten months and 0%

2011-10-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Claire Louise is 10 months!
She is still the most mellow baby I have ever met! She isn't quite crawling but she is getting really close. She has two bottom teeth and I know it won't be long before those top ones pop through. She is so happy all the time and she loves when Kenley is around. Kenley has the ability to make Claire absolutely roar with belly laughs!

She is starting to like food more but she still isn't crazy about it. I let her try some Kamut Puffs the other day and she really seemed to enjoy feeding herself!

Claire had a Dr. appointment on Monday. She weighed in at 14 pounds 7 ounces which is 0%, 26.25 inches for length which is 3rd %, and 44.5 centimeters for head circumference which is 50th %. So she is little like her sister with a big head :).

I am not concerned about her weight! We just have small kids, and quite frankly, I don't think that it is the worst thing in the world to be small!

I am just too "hippie" for mainstream doctors :) but I have learned that it is just best to bite my tongue and listen to "Condescending Collins" (The Pediatrician) as she talks about formula and switching Claire to cows milk (even though I have told her that Claire gets super sick when I eat cow dairy) and chemicals to put on her cradle cap and blah blah blah :).

She still did have to do a blood test.
She has such tiny veins that the corpsmen on base couldn't find them so we had to go over to Providence for them to take her blood. The nurses there couldn't find her veins either so 2 hours later a pediatric specialist finally came to take her blood. Waste of a day!

I can't believe that just 10 months ago we were looking at our tiny baby lying in an incubator just longing to hold her! What an amazing blessing Claire is!

2011-10-25T19:52:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Nate!!

2011-10-25T19:51:00.001-07:00

2011-10-25T19:50:00.001-07:00

Plum District

2011-10-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but I am sick and tired of planning something with my friends only to realize that I already had something scheduled and then having to be a jerk and cancel on my friends! I have tried using the calendar on my phone but I haven't kept up with it. I really do best with writing things down on paper. So... I just bought this deal on Plum District for Erin Condren, and I thought you might be interested in it, too.

$25 for $50 Worth of Personalized Erin Condren Holiday Photo Cards, Calendars, Customized Labels, and More...

I think that I am going to go with this style..

But I also like the idea of a photo one instead...

Using this family picture...

Bonus: For signing up Plum District gives you a $5 credit and if you enter the code: fabulous you get an additional 10% off! So you will really get $50 worth of planning goodness for $17.50!

Which option do you think I should go with?

2011-10-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

Need a new soup recipe?

2011-10-22T23:52:00.001-07:00

Click here for my Vegetable Verde Soup Recipe!

Bath time coloring!

2011-10-20T19:43:00.001-07:00

Kenley's loves her bathtub crayons! I love them too (except for the purple one... That one stains)!

This age is so fun, she is actually starting to tell me what she draws now! This was her cow!

Pictures of the kids eating...

2011-10-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yep... It's exactly what the title says :)

How to eat cucumbers according to Kenley

2011-10-17T16:18:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday...

2011-10-17T03:32:00.000-07:00

The Pumpkins!

2011-10-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

Last year Mom, Kimberly, and I carved and painted pumpkins to look like lanterns.

This year we decided to build a fire!

Figuring out pumpkin placement...

Figuring out flame placement...
Halfway done!
We only made it through 3 pumpkins the first night.
Mom and I (mainly me cutting and Mom doing the gunky part) finished a few nights later.
Unlit...
and lit!
I love how it turned out!

Mom and I with our finished pumpkins...
And we were dorks and thought it would be funny to take pictures of us roasting marshmallows over our fire. :)
Now we have 12 months to decide what we will tackle next year!

Happy Pumpkin Season!

A Day at the Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Craven Pumpkin Farm in Snohomish. It is an awesome pumpkin farm because in addition to having tons of pumpkins, there is also a lot of stuff to see and a lot of stuff for kiddos to climb on!

Auntie was home from college!

Kenley did not want to be held by Mommy for a picture, she only wanted Grammy.

Claire still loves her Mommy :)

We will definitely be going back to Craven Farm next year!

Banana Face

2011-10-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

Cheesy Face

2011-10-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

2011-10-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Fun with Grammy

2011-10-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Grammas Birthday!

2011-10-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Gramma Ronk's 40th* birthday was on September 27th! We celebrated at Las Margaritas! I have celebrated the majority of my birthdays at Las Margaritas!

A Brenda/John hug captured on camera...Happy Birthday Gramma!

Nice face Amy! :)
Happy Birthday Gramma!

*not really :)

What?

2011-10-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Disney makes dog food now? I thought it was crazy when they started branding fruit! But now dog food? Crazy!

Lunch w/ GG B!

2011-10-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

Its Great Grandpa Blecken's Birthday today! On Thursday we went out to lunch to celebrate!

Auntie was home from WSU!
Auntie Kris was up from Palm Springs!

Happy 89th Birthday GG Blecken!

Random Photo Dump Part 3- The Finale

2011-10-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this will be the last of the photo dumps for awhile and I will start to keep up with posting all of the random pictures I take!

Kenley enjoys my bed making efforts...

C's face is hilarious!

Hey... that is the wrong baby...

I'm a dork....
She is too :)
I had my worst mothering moment on Wednesday, I was walking from Mom's house to our house carrying Kenley wrapped up in a towel like a baby and all of a sudden I tripped.. She flew from my arms and we both landed hard. :( Thankfully Kenley is okay and my knee is just beat up. It could have been so much worse especially if either of us hit our heads on the cement pavers so I am thankful for minor scrapes and bruises!
Did you notice in the Grandma's Cage picture that the cage is outfitted with an iPad playing Nemo? Kenley asks to watch Nemo twelve thousand times a day...

I think that this bin is labeled Too Big...
This was the only clear picture I got of her like this. I was wearing C on my back in the Mei Tai and Kenley insisted on wearing her baby on her back so that she could be just like Mommy.
I like being their Mom!

Random Photo Dump Part 2

2011-10-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this. Eat your veggies!

James turned 2!

Ball pits are so fun!

Random Photo Dump Part 1

2011-10-07T19:56:00.001-07:00

I have taken so many pictures lately that haven't made it onto the blog yet!

Sweet girl!

Where is Kenley?
I LOVE Nate's face in this picture!

Daddy and Kenley have snuggle time after story time every night... Last night, Daddy fell asleep during snuggle time :)
We are awesome at taking self portraits....