Old habits/ New habits.

As of Monday, May 27, I will not log into my facebook page for a month. I've already begun weening myself off (only checking it once in the evening) and so far, the world hasn't collapsed! Shocker, I know.

As of this Saturday, I will be giving myself cooking lessons. I've always known how to cook (as long as there is a recipe!) but I want to KNOW HOW to cook. To prepare meals from scratch. Meals that are full of love and effort. Meals that deserve a good glass of wine and lovely serving dishes and conversation. My father-in-law, God rest his beautiful soul, had this passion and I want to carry his legacy. I will be using one of his old cookbooks and will be teaching myself as I cook my way through it's pages. Think Julie & Julia... Speaking of Julia, I got to see/ sorta step into her kitchen! At the Smithsonian. Last week. It was beautiful.

As of today, I will stop feeling sorry for myself. Stop comparing my life to others. If I want my grass to be greener, then I must do some landscaping. Literally and figuratively ;)

As of today, I will stop wasting so much time reading about celebrities. They are just people too. It's a little sad that I know so many details of their lives, but not enough about our countries history, or my ancestry, or even math. Actually I really don't care to know more math...but that's not the point. The point is, my life/brain carries around entirely too much useless information and not enough...substance.

project simplify: the shed.

After 2 days of being cooped up inside due to an upper respiratory infection, I had to get out and do something. After enjoying my morning coffee and quiet time out on the deck, my attention was drawn to the shed. I honestly can't say if we've cleaned it out once in the 6 years we've lived here...but it definitely needed some TLC. Something had fallen in front of the door and I had to reach around and shove it out of the way!

clicking on photos will enlarge them for better viewing! :)

It took me about 100 trips, but I got everything pulled out and the floor & cobwebs swept.

DRUMROLL PLEASE....

I'll admit, I overdid it, being sick and all...but man does it feel good to have that giant mess gone!

Oh, and this guy sang to me the whole time!

...he's still out there singing as I type this!

recipe: steak & eggs

This is what I made for dinner last night, and a friend asked me to start posting my recipes, so here ya go!
*I took a picture of my plate, but it wasn't very clear :/ *

"Breakfast Steak and eggs" 

you will need:
1 large skillet
1 breakfast steak per person (that's the specific cut from Sprouts)
1 tbsp butter (or oil, that's what the hubby used)
sea salt & black pepper
1-2 eggs (I prefer large, brown and from happy hens)

* 1 crown of broccoli per person (or whatever veggies you prefer)

1. melt butter in skillet over med. high heat
2. sprinkle in some salt and pepper
3. add steak to pan
4. when it's cooked through halfway, flip and finish
5. here I drained the "juice" into a small bowl to let the meat brown a little more
6. remove steak, pour "juice" back into pan
7. gently crack eggs into the pan and let them sit
8. you can either cook whites through and leave yolk untouched or do as I did and gently flip egg over and let yolk cook for a few seconds.
9. place eggs onto your steak, poke yolk so it will run, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add veggies and enjoy :)

for the broccoli:
roughly chop a whole crown, cover with water in saucepan, boil to your desired texture, remove from pan, add to plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

project simplify.

There is a little blog link up going on this month called "project simplify". The goal is to pick one hot spot/trouble spot in your home each week, deconstruct the mess, implement some organization and breathe a sigh of relief. I have missed one Saturday, but still have 4 Tuesdays (a night when the hubs is usually at band practice and I'm home alone...) so, beginning tonight, the plan is as follows:

1. dining-room-turned-office-are: it's a disaster! there's junk, 2 large dog crates, a desk, a bookshelf full of everything EXCEPT books, and did I mention the junk?
2. bedroom: there's a trail of laundry, possibly clean, all around the bed. There's baskets and totes full of more junk, the dresser is covered in even more stuff.
3. all cabinets & drawers: kitchen and bathroom. need a good clean out.
4. the shed: this will need to be on a Saturday as there is no electricity out there. It's a dumping ground.

I can do this. I can do this.

I will not give up this time.

the Word.

The past few weeks, I have had an enormous urge to be in the Word. I'm not sure where it came from. I mean, I've always been a reader and I've always been interested in the Bible...but sadly, it was never really a priority. Lately, that's changed.
I have given up my regular radio morning show and even the Christian radio show I switched to after that. My morning commute (which takes about 30 minutes) is now spent listening to 90.9 KCBI,  a listener supported station that plays sermons, music, and interviews. I am in the car during Robert Jeffress and Chuck Swindoll... and I am seriously enjoying their messages!
I yearn to be an active member at our local church (which is also the private school that my love graduated from, and the preschool where I worked for six whole years.) The desire is there, but for some reason I haven't been holding myself accountable. That's all about to change. I can feel it in my heart. Something big is about to be thrust upon me. I'm ready, Jesus.
Just speak the Word, and it will be so.

an update.

Made another batch of juice yesterday afternoon...not from a recipe, which I regret. It wasn't yummy. Didn't drink much of it. We celebrated my brother's and sister-n-law (aka my very best friend!) impending arrival with a shower that lasted all day...a regular thing for our family. There's a lot of us, and we are really good at get-togethers. Anyhoo, I ate a reasonable amount of the tex-mex foods and a more than reasonable amount of the sweets. I had one very interesting  bowel movement (I'll spare the details...) and eventually talked my love into taking me home around 10:30pm. I had a mild headache at that point, and went to bed with an ice pack across my right temple. I was awaken in the middle of the night with a throbbing migraine and the urge to vomit. I took some deep breaths, forced myself to relax and fell asleep. I honestly think it was from the foods and the fact that my last 3 "meals" had been juice. I think my body was freaking out.
I had a grilled chicken salad for brunch this morning and am now sitting here drinking a pretty yummy concoction of:

• 3 carrots
• a handful of spinach
• 1 peach
• 1 kiwi
• a handful of parsley

weight: 170
"waist" (biggest part of my belly): 41 in. ...was 42.

cue my excited face. :)

juicing.

In the past week I have watched 2 very awesome, very powerful documentaries.
1. Hungry for Change
2. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

I had heard about both for awhile, and man am I glad I finally watched them! Curled up in bed, eyes glued to my Kindle, I watched them on Netflix.
Juicing is obviously not a new concept, to the world or even to me, but WOW. Why have I not given in before this?! It's so easy, so healthy and so...I don't even know. Life changing? That sounds cheesy but it really is.
I grabbed a gift card left over from Christmas, drove the 2 minutes from my house to Target, bought myself a juicer and a book of smoothie/juice recipes and made my first glass of homemade, pretty, VERY green juice. It was delish. I forget the "name" but here's the ingredients, juiced whole and served over ice:

• 1 crown of broccoli
• 1 golden delicious apple
• 2 collard green leaves
• 1 bunch of green grapes
• about 2 handfuls of spinach

 I woke up clear headed (I'm usually on the groggy side at first) and made a batch of this for breakfast:

• about 2 cups semi chopped mustard greens (a little too much for my taste...not a fan of spicy. will use less next time)
• 2 golden delicious apples
• 1 peeled kiwi
• 2 celery stalks 
•  1 pitted peach

I poured this over ice in my to-go cup and headed off to work. I sipped it in the car and finished it at my desk. That was almost 3 hours ago, and I feel great. Maybe a little hungry, but not like I want to eat from the vending machine. So there ya go, I have officially begun a juicing journey. I plan to have the juices for breakfast, homemade soups for lunch and then a paleo friendly dinner... and I plan to feel and look FABULOUS. :)

beginning weight: 172
I also took body measurements and will be tracking all of the losses/changes...but again, I'm at work and don't remember the specific numbers!