Leah's Favorite Things

There is some absolute craziness in my life right now.
I want to dropkick people.
Over and over and over again.

Instead…I reminded myself that I can’t do anything about this crazy…only he can…God please take care of the crazy.
So while he does that I will watch an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford and ignore the fact that my house is a dump.
Then I will make pizza for dinner.
Pizza with smoked mozzarella (reminds me of our trip to Rome years ago), arugula, prosciutto, mushrooms and olives.
Then I will start to tackle my house.
But for now…I need to walk away and let God deal with the crazy…let him do it without me freaking out in my head.
He can hear what goes on in my head ya know…poor thing.
Thankfully he is God and he can handle it.

Hope you’re day is alot less crazy than mine
Love ya!

Hi friends.
Today I have a list to share with you.
I’m not sure what spurred this idea…maybe the fact that getting in shape and being healthy has been on my mind a lot this week.
Regardless…I wanted to write it all down and what better place than my blog.
And before I start…let me just tell you that I’m no expert and these are just the things I do to stay on track.
I’m also not a fad diet person…unless you consider the whole foods diet a fad…which I don’t

• Drink lots of water…this is everyones basic health tip…and I’m not sure why. But it’s a rule I follow. 99% of my beverage intake is water. It’s my mom’s fault…she never let us drink much else and always made us carry water bottles around with us. My friends will vouch for this…I never go anywhere without my water bottle.
• Exercise – I feel so much better physically and mentally when I am regularly working out. Don’t get me wrong…I don’t enjoy running or sweating like a whore in church (I’ve always wanted to say that) during Pure Barre classes. But I feel so much better the rest of the day. And I’ll be honest…working out is 50/50 for me…50% to be healthy and 50% to look good. Just like every other woman on the planet I want to be able to wear a bathing suit during the summer. And I live in California now…people actually have a reason to own a bathing suit. There is both sun AND beach.
• No junk food in the house – I try to live by the…junk is only allowed in the house if it is homemade. Meaning I can’t buy those chewy chocolate chip cookies from Safeway…but I can make homemade chocolate chip cookies. I have a feeling this has saved me from many sugar headaches simply because baking takes effort and I’m not always willing to expend it. The one example of how laziness pays off
• I do not buy soda…again…this is more a product of my upbringing. I allow myself to have a Coke when we eat out and it holds me over just fine.
• Snack on fruits and veggies – I’ve been eating an apple a day. Acid reflux has been an issue for the last 2 weeks and I read that apples are good for digestion. And honestly, I feel so grownup and responsible when I eat one. I’ve started to make a habit of eating one around 2-3pm to ward off the munchy feeling that hits that time of day. An apple fills keeps me full till dinner time and helps prevent over eating.
• Cook from scratch. I’m a supporter of this idea. I don’t make EVERYTHING from scratch…but I never make a straight from the box meal either. There is a happy medium.
• Buy good quality food even if it means spending  a little more. I understand this might not be an option for some families…but I’m guessing it is for most. Even if it means shifting the budget around and prioritizing. Example…I buy pizza sauce from the store…if there are two brands I read the nutrition label and buy the one whose list of ingredients has fewer items and less sugar…even if it costs an extra $1 or $2. I wanna cut out as much processed ick and sugar as possible. If I’m gonna eat sugar I want it to be on my terms! Pretzel chocolate chip cookie anyone?

Those are some of the “rules” I follow to help stay healthy.
Pretty basic right?
Nothing life changing.
And honestly, even though these are my rules…I fail at times.
I don’t always exercise and some times I buy a bag of lemon cookies from Trader Joe’s and stash them in the middle console of my car after eating half the bag.
It happens.
So…I’d love to hear your health tips/tricks.
What do you do to stay healthy?
I’d love to learn from you!

This weeks menu…

Monday – ( I never got around to making this last week) Slow Cooker Sunday Sauce on spaghetti w/ roasted broccoli rabe

Tuesday – Crock Pot Baked Potato w/ toppings (steamed broccoli, bacon, sour cream, cheese)

Wednesday – Tacos Carne Asada w/ cilantro lime rice

Thursday – Baby pasta shells with asparagus and marinara sauce

Friday – Beef w/ Broccoli

Saturday – Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas (I will more than likely add some ground beef to the filling)

Dessert: Baked Bananas w/ vanilla ice cream  & just because I will not be able to help myself…pretzel chocolate chip cookies.

Is that the best idea or what?
I LOVE CHOCOLATE COVERD PRETZELS!
Adding pretzel pieces to chocolate chip cookies?
That is genius!

Today I was reminded of something I already know.
I need work in the area of hospitality.
The lady that used to live in our home (rental) came by to see if some of her mail had been delivered to our place.
She is super friendly and seems to enjoy chatting.
So, I went out of my comfort zone and invited her in to have a seat on the couch instead of standing on the porch.
Good right?
Well, yeah…but that’s where it ended.
I didn’t offer her anything to drink, a snack or to have dinner with us.
I know I don’t have to do any of those things…but I also know that I should have done all of them.
I got the feeling that she was interested and I’m sure it would have blessed her.
And the bad part…those hospitable ideas were swarming in my head…but the social anxiety/hermit  side of me flared up and I was paralyzed.
Yep…if you didn’t know I was a freak…I’m letting you in on the secret
And to top it off…yesterday Husb and I took cinnamon rolls over to our Swedish neighbor (the one who brought us cookies & coffee 10 minutes after we starting moving in).
And she my friends…has hospitality oozing out of her ears!
I have an open invitation to come visit with her (she doesn’t want me to be feel lonely…so sweet;), she always has tea, coffee and treats to share as soon as you walk in the door and she is lending me her bike this summer when she is back home in Sweden.
I’ve met the woman 3 times.

I’m not comparing myself to Fritta (isn’t that just the perfect name)…I am inspired by her.
I don’t know if she calls Jesus her Lord and Savior…but I know she has a quality that God asks us all to have.
Fritta is teaching me.
And it’s not a comfortable lesson…but with God all things are possible.
Even for a freak like me

I saw this today on Facebook.

Thanks to Laura B…we’ll all look at Dr. Dre a little differently from now on.
Is he stinkin cute or what?

So I just sat down to start a “house tour” post.
But I can’t find the pictures I took.
Dang computers!
So I have to take new pictures.
Which means it will take another million years before I attempt a house tour post.
Sorry.

Instead I will show you two things I plan to purchase…if I don’t win this drawing.

That last one is going in my kitchen.
Cracks me up…both butter and cream are welcome in my kitchen!

How was your day?
Mine was pretty uneventful.
Got some deep cleaning done…the stuff that’s no fun…like those baseboards and closets.
Some laundry, admin work, ribs in the oven.
Decently productive but uneventful.
And obviously Im feeling a lot better.
So thanks for your prayers

I’m sick.
My immune system is a rebel.
It often decides to crash when I eat really well and exercise regularly.
And this California air is not helping…I’ve had the worst allergies the last few weeks.
So, Zyrtec, DayQuil, and Kleenex are my new friends.
While we’re on the topic of meds…holly cow…Walmart brand drugs are so cheap!
Why did I not know this before?
Husb picked me up some generic DayQuil (the Walmart brand is Equate) yesterday for less than $3.
What? Name brand is at least $5-$6 right?
Amazing.

So, being sick means it’s ok to veg out and watch movies right?
Good…cause I finished watching Winter’s Bone today.
Interesting movie.
Not sure how I feel about it.
I appreciate the fact that there was not one single sex scene.
It’s definitely not a kid friendly movie…drugs, some violence, swear words…and it only had a somewhat happy ending.
But I think I kind of liked it.
I’ve also been watching Lark Rise to Candleford.
It’s no Downton Abby…but it’s a decent fill in until they release the second season.
Oh…and last night was the first new episode of New Jersey Housewives.
Wow…it is going to be an entertaining season.
I know its sad…all the family drama…but they sign up for the show right?
Is that me justifying watching a complete family meltdown on television.
Probably.

Headache is starting to come back…so before I retire to the couch…I’d like to share with you one of our newest addictions.

Ramen!
It’s delicious.
Top Ramen…that cheap stuff you get in the grocery store…please…it should be ashamed of itself.
This is real Ramen…and it makes my mouth water.
And do you notice those chopsticks?
I’m proud to say I’ve successfully eaten multiple meals with chopsticks.
And the definition of success being that I didn’t give up and reach for a fork and actually was full at the end of the meal.
I was not fast or graceful…but I did eat

As always, I hope ya’ll are having a great day.
Love ya.

Some one is expecting…

just not me
Haha…sorry.
Kristel? Are you ready to kill me?
No, there is no bun in the oven for me…but the little mama bird that lives on our porch has laid 5 little eggs.

Sorry about the low quality picture…the iPhone is the only thing small enough to get a good look inside the nest.
Last week I heard squawking like crazy and peeked out the front door to find four birds trying to protect the nest as the neighbors cat Lulu sat on the porch eyeing them.

Thankfully she can’t get to them.
I can’t wait until they hatch and we can peek in on the babies.
Husb can’t wait till they get out of the nest…he doesn’t like the mom dive bombing his head when we come home late at night.

I found some more stuff to drool over.
This…

Collapsable basket
So freaking adorable! I want one for my kitchen to put my dirty dishtowels in.
Amber taught me that little trick…having a basket in your kitchen to put dirty dish towels.
Love this basket to pieces!

Slotted spoon.
I don’t have a slotted spoon.
I could have used one today.
This is a particularly adorable one dont you think?

And last…a pot holder.
Cause I don’t have a pot holder.
I use dishtowels.
Which work perfectly well until you get them too wet.
And then the heat transfers right through the dishtowel and to your fingers.
That happend today.
And this is a cute potholder.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my retail therapy tour.
Although, it’s only virtual retail therapy…which might be just as therapeutic when shared with you guys.
At least that is what I’m tellin myself

Today was menu plan/grocery shopping day.
It only took 2 hrs versus last weeks 3 hrs.
I’ve yet to find my grocery shopping groove here.

We were too late to buy flowers at the farmers market this past Sunday so I picked some up from Trader Joe’s.

I love flowers!

Here is this weeks menu plan.
I have decided to add a special breakfast on Saturdays, one dessert a week and lunches for the weekend.
Tonight dinner can be checked off the list…we had pizza…and it turned out great.
Again…Tammy knows her bread.
I conquered chocolate chip cookies…so pizza has taken its role as arch nemesis.
Tonight I gave it a run for its money

Monday – Thin Crust Chicken Bacon Artichoke Pizza

Tuesday – Chili Beef Quesadillas w/ left over PW restaurant salsa

Wednesday – Pepperoncini beef on homemade rolls, w/ sauted asparagus

Thursday – Chicken Gruyere w/ warm green bean & potato salad

Friday – Spice-Rubbed pork w/ Quinoa

Saturday – (B) Lemon Glazed Gingerbread (L) BLT w/ homemade whole wheat bread (D) dinner out

Sunday – (L) BLT  (D) Turkey Sausage Kale Soup

Dessert – ice box cake