Keeping it REAL

I have been putting a post together in my head regarding the food choices that hubs and I make and our philosophy on food. We are very passionate about the 90/10 rule (eat REAL food 90% of the time, and for the other 10%-leave it open to eating in restaurants, people's homes, etc.), as well as a balanced diet high in protein. We eat a lot of grass-fed beef, organic/free-range chicken/eggs, wild fish (never farmed...I just threw up in my mouth a little thinking about salmon force-fed corn and soy...barf!), whole grains, organic fruit (in moderation), loads of organic veggies, raw dairy when we can get it-organic full fat when we can't. I love to bake but have cut back on that tremendously-and when I do, it is with coconut flour, coconut oil, and the good ingredients I listed above (use sucanat, maple syrup (from Gpa V's farm!) or raw honey for sweetener. Any who...I came across this blog post today from one of my most favorite sites for recipes-Heavenly Homemakers, and felt that they did a better job summing up my thoughts that I could. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!!

REAL Food...click here!

Pinterest Recipes

Today, I want to share some recipes that I have made off of Pinterest. For those of you that have Pinterest, you can check out my board titled "Recipes I have tried," but for those of you who don't (MMF and MOM!) here are the links to the recipes as well as my critics review.

Thai coconut Curry Shrimp-you find the recipe here. This was delicious and a nice change of pace from the usual, although it was slightly spicy. Next time I will only use about 1/2 T. of red curry paste.

Mongolian Beef-YUMMY! Even better than what you can find at most restaurants, IMHO. Find the recipe here.

Creamy Mushroom and Roasted cauliflower soup. A great way to use up some delicious organic mushrooms and cauliflower from our organic produce co-op. This is a great comfort food dish, and a chunk of crusty bread would be a great accompaniment! Check it out!

Finally, our dessert! Salted Caramel Pretzel bark. I made this for a party I hosted a few weeks ago, and to say it was a hit, well...that would be an understatement! The recipe is not correct though...the butter/sugar mixture needs to be boiled for 7 minutes, not 3, in order for it to properly harden when set. Make it yourself, it's super easy-see for yourself here!

And that, ladies and gents, are just a few of the recipes I have tried off of Pinterest. I saw someone's FB status the other day-look at the 3rd recipe I have tried from Pinterest. Really? 3? Amateur. As of today, I have made 31 recipes off of Pinterest. 31! The 'unhealthy' stuff I have made for parties or to take to church, or delivered to new moms in the area, and the healthy stuff for me and G. Some have been flops, but others (like the four I shared today) were awesome!

Snow? In Seattle? Whaaaatttt?

Mom says that lots of people have been asking how we survived the snow/ice storm that attacked the Pacific Northwest last week. We did fine, and were lucky to not lose electricity, unlike some areas of the state where people have been without power for 6 days! Graham worked from home 3.5 out of 5 days last week, and the only time I left the house from Sunday morning until Friday evening was on foot. The roads weren't horrible (we have certainly experienced worse!), however neither one of us wanted to deal with Seattle-ites who aren't used to driving in this stuff. We got about 3 inches on Sun-Mon, most of which melted Tues, then another 3-4 inches on Wed, and then about 1/2-3/4 in of ice on Thursday. Of course the ice was the worst, and the scariest. People were freaking out, but you know what freaked out MORE? Trees. There were trees snapping and falling over and crashing into houses and blocking roads ALL OVER THE PLACE. Even the trees couldn't deal with the extreme weather. Here are some pics that we took (sorry there aren't more...I am bad at taking pics!)

the beginning...

3 hours later.

It all melted (more or less) by Sunday morning...back to rain this week :)

Here he is!

Our puppy-at about 3 weeks old! We get him on Feb 18!

That's a face only a mother could love :)

2012 ... Goals?

To follow up from the last post about the highlights of 2011, now I am going to talk about some things that I (or we) would like to accomplish in 2012.

-expanding our family...by getting a puppy! If you remember back, I posted about whether or not to get a dog, and we have decided to go for it! We finally made contact with a Boston Terrier breeder south of Portland, OR and our little boy Boston Terrier was born the week of Christmas. We are supposed to get him at the end of February, however the owner has been incommunicado...looks like I am going to have to break down and call her, as much as I would rather just use email to work out all the deets!

-Continuing to go green/organic/crunchy...whatever you want to call it. In 2011, we switched to non-toxic and/or homemade household cleaners, homemade laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent, and non-toxic, crap-free body lotions/cleansers/shampoos/etc. In 2012, we are already going shampoo-free (read more about that here), the oil cleansing method (I know you want to read this as well), making our own soap (look for a future post about this-my ingredients are en route and I am hoping to make my first batch this weekend), reducing and reusing, using only stainless steel, ceramic, and glass in the kitchen (teflon=POISON). We have also joined an organic produce co-op...LOVE this already. For a small price, we get a variety box of organic produce that I pick up at a neighbor's house. It is great because it forces us to try new things-last week I made collard greens for the first time and this week we will be getting kale. I have made smoothies and salads with kale before, but want to try a new recipe this time around.

-Read more books. I read a lot already, but right now I have about 15 books stacked in the guest room. Gotta get to it!

-Give more to our church. Build our church family. Join the church! Build our personal relationship with Christ. Continue our current volunteering efforts. Spend time every day reading the bible. Pray with my husband every night. Talk to others about Jesus.

-Take a real vacation.

-And lastly-be more organized, live more clutter-free, so life can be focused on relationships-relationship with God, with each other, and with our loved ones.

A BLESSED 2012 to you all!

Oh yeah...hey there!

So yeah. It's been awhile. We've been busy. But-I am back! And determined that I will be a better blogger in 2012!

For this post, I want to reflect a little on 2011. One of the blogs I follow (Simplemom.net) posted a list of questions to help this process along. I won't bore you with all 20, but instead will pick out a few and discuss those. And...GO.

-What was the single best thing that happened this year?
Without a doubt, marrying my perfect match-May 28, 2011. Didn't love my wedding day...but I do love being married!

Look at that handsome fella!

-What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Definitely finding a new church in Seattle. Both of us were NOT looking forward to the process, but feel incredibly blessed to have quickly found a church that is a great fit for us, where we have found an amazing group of friends to surround ourselves with.

-What were the best books you read this year?
I read so much, but here are a few I can remember:

Current fave:

also a great blog at simplemom.net

 

 

 

Highly recommend.

I am really bad at remembering book titles. Maybe I should work on that is 2012.

I think that is all I am going to tackle for now. Next post will either be more of these, or talking about goals for 2012. I'll sleep on it.

Evidence of God's Grace

Had quite the experience this week. It started out not so great...but ended...well, read on to find out!

On Tuesday morning, I was leaving for work around 7:40a. I got in my car and backed out of my spot, directly into a BMW SUV bumper. OUCH. I was parked in a spot that was perpendicular to the BMW, and he was hanging out of the spot by about 3 feet. That's what happens when you don't look in your side mirrors but instead focus on the Ipod. Booo.

Here is what I did to the BMW. 

So I get out, get mad, calm down, take some pictures and get back in my car to write a note to the Beemer driver with my phone number to call if he wants to exchange insurance info. Jump in the car, maneuver out of the spot (very tight), call the hubs, text the boss and spend the morning worrying how much this is going to cost us. The thought "His bumper is worth more than my whole car" definitely ran through my head a time or two.

Around lunchtime, the guy calls me and immediately said, "I can't believe you left a note." I was kinda flabbergasted as to what to say...so I said "It was the right thing to do, and I didn't want to get busted for a hit and run." The guy then proceeded to tell me why he parks the way he does (because the pole blocks him from getting out of his car and he has to crawl out the passenger side...understandable). He was very nice, but I was still waiting for him to drop the hammer. Instead he said, "Are you a Christian?" I replied, "Yes, I am sir." He said, "Well, we will consider this manner taken care of. God bless you," and he hung up the phone. WOW. I was so blown away. My heart felt so full and I immediately called Graham, and we both had tingles. Such an amazing example of how God provides for us in ALL areas and how He is always with us. It has been awesome sharing this story with our friends here, our family back home, and I hope you enjoy it as well. God Bless YOU!!