Currently...

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Remember back in the good old days of blogging (pre-pinterest) when people did these survey thingys? This morning my fav Flower Patch Farm Girl did one and I am nothing if not a copy cat..

Here we go!

Reading...I just finished Sheila Wray Gregoire's The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex.

Awkward. But seriously this book is fantastic! I REALLY wish I would have read it when Brian and I were engaged! It is so hard to make the switch from prudish virgin to loving approachable wife... but God specifically created sex for marriage! It's not some dirty thing that God pretends doesn't happen.... He created it! Anyway I could go on and on but this book is great and you should read it! I'm totally going to make the girls read this before they get married... I'll also probably be that lady who gives this book out at bridal showers from now on.

Playing... Nurse to Kenley. She was up coughing a lot last night :(


Watching... Season 8 of Psych on Netflix while I pack and clean... Plus there are my regulars like Once Upon a Time and New Girl

Trying...to not lose my sanity amongst this packing mess.. its not working...

Cooking... not much.. Packing is taking up all of my brain space.. But I need to get it together so that we stop eating fast food!! Tonight we are going to have chili and sweet potatoes, tomorrow will be salsa chicken tacos, and friday will be slow cooker BBQ pork with sweet potato rounds and avocado

Eating... shame shame... at this very moment I am eating a Toaster Strudel

Drinking... So much coffee.

Calling...hopefully no one, ever.

Texting... Emma.. about coffee and magnesium and pretty much everything... The Husband... Thinking about changing his name in my phone to The President.. Also I am bound to text Amanda a bajillion times this week!

Pinning... I just got all my oils in and I am obsessed!

Tweeting... no twitter for me! I can barely keep up with this blog and the last time I posted a picture on facebook was probably a year ago.

Crafting... I bought supplies to make myself a diffuser necklace yesterday at the HobLob. I'm also working on end of year gifts for my sweet CC students and working on some personalized timeline cards for kids at our campus. More on all of those in another post!

Doing... So much packing and organizing. We are having a garage sale this weekend so I am rushing to sort through every single thing we own and purging a ton! Please come! 8-3 Friday and Saturday at our house!!

Going... to move to Las Vegas! I can barely believe it is real! Also we are planning a trip up to Washington this summer! I can't wait to hug on sweet baby Hadley!!

Loving... Waking up next to my sweet Claire. She doesn't crawl in bed with me in the mornings nearly as often as she used to so its super special the mornings that she does!

Hating... Claire had to have 2 cavities filled this morning. Halfway through she just started crying silently with big crocodile tears streaming down her cheeks. It broke my heart! She did SO MUCH better than I would have done! Just the thought of all that makes me gag! I took this picture so she could see how "silly" she looked....

Enjoying... New night time reading time with my Man. I sure love him!

Hoping... That Timillian travels well... In addition to obsessively researching oils I have been obsessively researching how to move with a cat

Celebrating... Warm weather so the girls can play outside while I pack!

Thanking... God for allowing Brian's VEERP to go through and his job in Vegas to go through! We are really going to miss our friends here but we are starting to get really excited for this new adventure!

Considering... Doing the 21 day fix once we get to Vegas. I'm running on 89% sugar and caffeine...

Finishing... Our first year of homeschooling! We have loved our CC family here in New Bern and I am so thankful that there is a campus in Vegas for us to join!

How about you???
Tell me everything.

Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars

Tuesday, April 7, 2015


Treats and temptations everywhere! One way that I am keeping my hands out of the candy bowls is to have homemade healthier treats prepared so that when that sweet craving hits I can satisfy it without junk ingredients! My Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch bars contain amaranth, which is a teeny tiny seed that is an excellent source of protein, iron, calcium, and fiber.

Word of caution: Buy more amaranth than this recipe states. Even though I have been making popped amaranth for quite some time, I burn a batch almost every time I make it. Don’t let that stop you though, just toss the burnt batch and start over!


Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars

Ingredients:
- 1 bag Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1 Tbsp uncooked Amaranth
- 1 Tsp Mint Extract

Directions: 
1. Place a pan (with a tight fitting lid) over medium heat. Allow to heat up for about a minute.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of amaranth to the dry pan, cover and shake pan for about 30-40 seconds and then continue to shake off of the heat for another 20 seconds or so. Pour popped amaranth into a separate bowl. (If it burns, toss it and start over. Burnt amaranth is just about as bad as burnt popcorn.)
3. Slowly melt chocolate chips via a double boiler or microwave.
4. Gently stir mint extract and popped amaranth into melted chocolate.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into molds and place in the refrigerator to set.
6. Once set break into pieces and serve or return to the refrigerator to store for when that sweet craving hits!

*If you don’t have chocolate molds, pour chocolate mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Once chocolate is set break into pieces and you have Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bark!

Enjoy!

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Saturday, April 4, 2015


Most nights, as soon as I get my girls tucked into their beds, my sweet tooth really starts to kick in. I love baked treats but Brian isn’t a big fan so it is way too dangerous to have an entire batch of cookies sitting around just waiting for me to eat all of them! To satisfy my cookie cravings, I like to make small batches of healthier chocolate chip cookies. This recipe makes either 4 large or 6 small cookies. Just the right amount for snuggling on the couch and catching up on the DVR! 


Small Batch Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 4 or 6 cookies

Ingredients: 
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
2 Tablespoons Maple Sugar
½ Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg Yolk
¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
6 Tablespoons White Whole Wheat Flour
1 ½ Tablespoons Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine melted butter, nutritional yeast, and maple sugar.
3. Add vanilla and egg yolk. Stir until combined.
4. Add in baking soda, salt, and flour. Stir until combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Form dough into 4 or 6 balls and place on a cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes

Enjoy!

Florida 2015 - Day 3 Part 1- Animal Kingdom

Thursday, April 2, 2015

We spent the first half of Day 3 at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We almost didn't come here because I thought it might just be a big Zoo but some friends convinced me that we needed to come and I am glad that we did! 

The Expedition Everest ride has a single rider line which was awesome since Brian and I couldn't ride together anyway we got to go right to the front of the line! 

Brian's reaction was a bit different than mine :). That's what happens when you watch YouTube videos of all the rides before your trip... you aren't as surprised :) 

Meeting Daisy! 


We were soaked from having just ridden the Kali River Rapids ride where we all got drenched! 


Mickey and Minnie! Claire LOVES Minnie Mouse when she saw her she ran right to her and totally bypassed Mickey. :) 



The Safari ride was really neat! The girls really loved seeing the animals! 


The Dinosaur ride... It was pretty scary and we probably shouldn't have taken the girls on it... Shannon told me not to but I didn't listen (because I wanted to ride it) :) ... She was right. It was too scary for the girls! Kenley has informed me that she will not ride it again.. ever... 

Goofy and Pluto! 




After this we headed over to Epcot! 

Honey Lime Melon Trio


I wrote this recipe right after Brian and I had just returned home from celebrating our 7-year anniversary on an Alaskan cruise. We had such a wonderful time enjoying each other’s company all week. Another thing that we enjoyed all week was the food! I had been in a little bit of a food rut, but all the wonderful food on the cruise has inspired me to try lots of new recipes! One of our favorites from the cruise was a Melon Trio appetizer that I knew I had to recreate as soon as we got home! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!


Honey Lime Melon Trio

Ingredients: 
1 Cantaloupe
1 Honeydew Melon
1 Personal Sized Watermelon
3 Limes + Additional Lime Zest for Garnish
2 Tablespoons Honey

Directions:
1. Use a melon baller to scoop all the flesh from the honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Place melon balls in a large bowl.
2. Zest the limes over the melon balls.
3. Juice the limes and whisk the lime juice with honey until combined.
4. Pour honey lime mixture over melon balls and stir to coat.
5. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
6. Garnish with additional lime zest.

Enjoy!

Feta Guacamole

Wednesday, April 1, 2015


Mmmm! Warm weather makes me want Mexican food! Chips, salsa, and guac are about one of the greatest food combinations ever! You already know about my love of avocados right?! Next time you have a surplus of avocados, you should try this unique version of guacamole! The addition of feta adds an unexpected flavor that keeps drawing you in and the apple cider vinegar pulls it all together with a bit of tang! 


Feta Guacamole

Ingredients: 
2 Large Avocados (or 5-6 Pee-Wee Avocados)
¼ Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
3 Tbsp Prepared Fresh Salsa
1 Tsp Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Smash avocados in a bowl until desired consistency is reached.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients. (You may need more or less salsa depending on how spicy you prefer your guacamole.)
3. Serve with chips. This is also a delicious addition to taco night!
Enjoy!


 
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