Happy Easter!

Bonjour! Happy Easter jolie!


I am having a great morning remembering the real reason we celebrate today. Not because of the eggs. Or the Easter bunny. Or the chocolate (even though I'd always welcome a holiday in which chocolate were present). I'm thankful I have a living God that loves me and You too, whether you realize that or not.


I made the most delicious, carby, cheesy, thing yesterday....


...Four cheese faralle with proscuitto, carrots, and peas.

I believe I will be attempting Jerk Chicken tonight. Oh, the wonderful memories from our honeymoon in Jamaica! I need to go back there. I think Max and I decided on our summer vacation though. After trying to find a Mexico cruise that would work with that dates we had off we decided we would just go on a week long road trip up the west coast. Isn't that such a good idea? I'm SUPER excited mostly because I know that will allow me to visit my momma in CA and I have been dying to go to Oregon forever!


Hope you have a great, relaxing Sunday.

Fin

Spring Break is almost over for me.....sad. That went by way too fast. Today was great though. I had a great date night with Max and caught a movie with our friends. My friend, Ryan, got voted Teacher of the Month at his school and invited us to eat dinner with him at Outback Steakhouse...yum-o!Congrats to him! I love their sweet potatoes that are loaded with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. So needless to say I didn't cook dinner tonight but I did make Seafood Paella for lunch, Pumpkin Almond Coconut panna cotta (the consistency didn't come out as I'd hoped, but oh well), and used up the rest of a baguette by making Peanut Butter French Toast (so filling! One serving had me full for about 7 hours!)

 Peanut Butter French Toast loaded with powdered sugar

 Seafood Paella (check out that steam!)

Pumpkin Coconut Almond Panna Cotta

drizzled with honey

Do you have any weekend plans? How are you celebrating Easter?

May your tummies have a Happy Thursday

Brian Head was sooo much fun! I am so thankful for fun trips and learning opportunities. This was only my third time skiing and I didn't want to slow down Max or our friend, Chris, so I told them to go ahead and do their runs without me- big mistake. I went on the easiest run and got stuck up at the top because I psyched myself out. It loooked way steep and I did not want to fall! So I sat on side on the run for about half an hour while kids, their parents, and other beginners whizzed past me. It was NOT a good feeling. But somehow I got my phone out and managed to text Max and tell him how freaked out I was. He coached me down and I made it back without falling! From that point all three of us went down the same runs, varying in difficulty, and I did pretty darn good. I love that my husband is such a great coach and really does inspire me to do better. Life would be pretty sucky if I was all alone and not even willing to try for fear I might mess up. Although my butt and calves are very, very sore. I got 5 hours of skiing practice in and had some very funny falls as well.
Pia, our 2 year old pup, absolutely LOVED the snow! She even managed to escape from our condo a few times and we found her jumping around in it. Looking for a white dog in snow pretty much stinks.

So since we were there all day yesterday I didn't get to cook, but Max, myself, and Chris all did put our brain power together to make the most delicious pizza I've ever had. Artichoke, bacon, and pepperoni deep dish pizza after 5 long hours of skiing/snowboarding was INCREDIBLE!

Here's the creations I have made so far this week:

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon and Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing

French Onion Soup with baguette and Gruyere cheese

Sugarcane Rum shrimp skewers with Poblano peppers and Pineapple

with parsley orzo

Today's dish will be seafood paella!

May your tummies have a happy Thursday!

Spring Break

Heeeeeelllllllllllooooo (Mrs. Doubtfire voice)

Julia Child

So for Spring Break I have decided to go on a Culinary Exploration. I am going to be trying recipes I have never tried before and Max and I will be enjoying them together.

First one the list:

• Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon and Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
•  French Onion Soup

.....Look back for pictures!

I am so happy I have a WHOLE week to cook WHATEVER I want!

We'll also be spending a few days up in Brian Head so I can practice some skiing!

What did you do/are you doing for Spring Break?

Feeling blue

It's me again

Hi friends!

I've been gone for quite some time. I just have been preoccupied with some other good things. Here's some updates since I haven't posted in months:

• I am no longer dieting 100% gluten free. I am able to have gluten in small portions every once in a while without getting reactions! This has obviously made me a very happy young lady!
• My hubby, Max, and I are eight weeks into a course on Financial Planning called Financial Peace University. It is taught by Dave Ramsey via workbook, DVDs, and his book. It really has impacted our lives in such great ways. We weren't in debt much (house & student loans) but were almost completely done paying off our student loans (woo hoo!) and feel so much better about our finances in terms of planning for our future children and retirement which takes such pressure off of a relationship.
• My Iphone died last month. It is a little sad how much I miss the convenience of looking up info whenever I needed it but I dont miss the apps which is a relief (except my map; I get lost so easily!)
• I am substitute teaching full time and I love it!! It is so awesome knowing that I can choose where I want to work everyday and can even save gas money by subbing at Max's school =]
• I've been starting back up with running most days (I can feel it in my hips...I might be getting old, ha!)
• Watched The Artist. Loved it!! Just my style.
• I am so excited for a women's retreat I'll be going on next month with one of my best buds, Megan. It's in Zion and were bunking together.
• Afore mentioned bud, Megan, is moving to Colorado this summer. I feel like I can't keep close ties with girlfriends in this state. They all leave =[
• I CAN NOT wait for this summer and the vacays I'll be going on!! Second honeymoon here we come!!!
• I've kinda faded out of my interest for Pinterest and blogging but I'll try and keep updating on mi vida as often as possible.

Adieu.

Mom for a week

This week has been challenging to say the least. But it has been great. My friends Mark and Beth had to go out of town for a conference in Orlando and asked Max and I to watch their 2 kids, 3 dogs, and their home. The biggest challenge has been their dogs. Their great and love attention and love but one of their dogs hates our dog, Pia, and gets in the nastiest fights with her. Nonetheless I have been reminding myself to stay patient and that this isn't a permanent situation. I took the whole week off from work so that I could be available for the kiddos, Noah and Emma, whenever they needed me. Being a "stay at home mom" is tough, really tough. If Max and I were lucky enough to be in a situation where one of us did not work I think I would pass the torch to him, Duties and cleaning just seem so endless. But for the few hours a day while the kids were at school, Max was at work, and the dogs got along I was able to sleep for a few hours. This was sooo nice. The puppy, Daisy, that is 10 weeks old is just about the cutest thing you have ever seen but she gets up every 3 hours during the night to use the bathroom. The second night was the most chllenging. Not only did we have to keep getting up for the puppy but Emma threw up 5 times, including once all over herself and her sheets in bed. I definitely learned a lesson in patience and love that night. Although I don't want children for a while, I think I will be a good mom when that day comes.