Milk Winner

Ahh almond milk. My new love. I have both you and soy in the fridge right now ... but I am reaching for you more and more over soy ... which I'll choose over cow milk (which I also keep in my fridge ... I have a milk problem, I know). I apologize, my dear soy. You taste so yummy to me, like the snow ice cream that I made as a kid ... but the almond milk is thicker and creamier and so almond-y delicious! I had to acquire a bit of a taste for the almond milk, yes. But the taste has been acquired now and it's a BIG taste! :)

Anyway Zoe was playing on the couch just now, and I had to share the cuteness!

For dinner I wasn't very hungry so I had a glass of almond milk (well 2 of them) and a small piece of GH honey whole wheat bread with hummus and a sprinkle of honey.

Exciting.

Yes this is a rather boring picture. But I'm trying to take pics of it all. Even the boring stuff. I'm tempted to spice it up by purchasing some discount plates.

Tonight I am evaluating my finances - something that's not too exciting, but it must be done, especially in lieu of my upcoming surgery. I will have a post about my thoughts on the surgery soon, and I'd love for my family to read them.

SIAB - Green Monster!

I'm a little late this morning posting so here's breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast was an experiement with oatmeal again ... I wasn't a huge fan of what I did today. I tried frozen strawberries in my usual mix, and they tasted like, well, heated frozen strawberries in oatmeal. I'd honestly rather have fresh flaverful ones or just leave them out entirely. They didn't add anything to my oats, but it is always fun to play with food, right? :)

- 1/2 C oats

- 2 C almond milk

- unfrozen frozen strawberries

- a small banana

- 1 TBSP chia

- nutmeg, cinnamon, salt

- almond butter

- a sprinkle of granola

Lunch was at 11:15 - I made a bonafide GREEN SMOOTHIE IN A BOWL! CAN YOU SAY YUMMO! I will be making a ton of these things in the future.

- 1 cup spinach

- 1 cup soymilk

- 1 small banana

- about 1 1/4 C semi-thawed frozen fruit (I used pineapple)

- I scoop protein powder

- 1 TBSP chia seeds

- sprinkled with almond, a little chia, granola, and coconut

It tasted SO GOOD! I'm going to make my mom one soon because I think I can turn her into a SIAB Green Monster lover too!

This smoothie made me so happy - I think I'm gonna bike a bit! :)

~ M



Good Tidings

I called my dad tonight, and he told me that the barn and trailer on the ranch wasn't burned ... only 200 acres and some poor ancient, beautiful cottonwoods on the creek. I hated to hear about the trees, but honestly, I was expecting to hear that the entire place had been engulfed in flames! Like Dad said, we must count our blessings in this instance.

My cousin said that the old 80 year old ranch house on my dad's brother's side of the ranch was nearly hit by the fire - it was about 100 yards away, and 8 fire trucks were there keeping it at bay. Thankfully everyone stayed safe, the house wasn't burned ... and the land will re-grow even greener.

Dinner was a green smoothie (L did not partake), and of course I forgot the protein powder!

Measurements go something like this:

- 1 banana

- 1 C almond milk

- 2 clementines

- 1 TBSP chia seeds

- a teaspoon coconut

- a small handful spinach leaves

- a sprinkle of granola on top

*I like mine just fine warm, but you could freeze this or stick it in the fridge to make it cooler ... or add ice!*

I also had a snack before bed - 2 eggs on toast. It was PERFECT. No I didn't photograph. :)

Tonight I'll be thinking well on the ranch, the memories, the present, and the future ... and on this year's fire season. I hope our dear ranch will be spared any further run-ins with the blaze for a long long time.

~ M

Please Pray

Our family ranch is burning due to the terrible fires/high winds today ... families on the outskirts of our town have lost their homes. Fires are running uncontrolled, people have no electricity right now, and things look uncertain for our area right now.

Please pray for everyone.

Lunch-Brunch

Wow, I just looked at weather.com, and we have a wind alert with gusts up to 54 mph ... averaging at 40 mph. I snapped a picture of the dirt that's on roof the house across from us:

Doesn't it look nasty? Like snow ... only dirt being blown around! The picture is gray-ish, and it's not my camera - it's the dirt! :(

But I'm feeling much more level now (can you see now why it's called bipolar, lol?) and cleaned house a bit. I also had a little salad with spinach and some of that leftover pasta from last night.

Now I'm thinking about biking a bit.

~ M

A Most Smooth Lunch

Sometimes a great lunch can help a girl's moods out (plus a HUGE nap ... I ended up sleeping my mood away like I predicted).

L and I have a most wonderful blender, the Magic Bullet. It was a gift from his mom, and she definitely knows her blenders! We both use it a ton. I pulled it out and made a smoothie for lunch.

- 1 C almond milk

- 1 large organic banana

- 1 large mango (L might kill me because I used the last one and he adores them!)

- 1 heaping Tbsp chia seeds

- 1 Tbsp shredded coconut

- Topped with some coconut and a little granola for crunch

Now that I'm feeling better, I think I'm going to power-clean the house a bit. That always makes me feel better and productive.

~ M

Low Morning

This blog is not all chipper fun and games, internets. The "nutty" part refers to both nut butters (my fav) and, well, ME. I'm nuts.

An M fun fact: I woke up so low that my head could be on the floor. In case you missed the memo, I'm manic depressive. If you want to get technical, I'm a crazy mix of bipolar I and II ... I've got the characteristics of both and pretty badly when they hit.

Depression has hit me badly today, internetz. I've been in a low state for a while. I wonder if it's time to ask Dr. J about changing up my meds a schosh. I've been on a combo that changed my life, ya'll. But sometimes meds stop working. I also realize that I'm under a tremendous amount of stress - I just learned about surgery - plus I'm having to save up some money that I didn't ever think I'd have to be saving up (reality hits a twenty-something), and March is an awful time where I live. The winds reach up to 50 mph, and they really hit my mood hard. Can you tell I can't wait to move?

Honestly I may just go back to bed today. I'm not going to act like it won't happen and I'll jump on my bike and work out life's problems in a constructive way when I'm this low. Sorry people who are looking for a blog that's always uplifting. I work in a realistically terribly bipolar world some days. :)

Moving on to breakfast - I made a wonderful bowl of oatmeal.

- 1/3 C oats

- 3/4 C almond milk

- salt, nutmeg, cinnamon

- 1/3 C granola

- 1 small banana

- almond butter

Maybe a mid-morning nap will help?

~ M



Raw Smoothie

"For someone who cooked such a great dinner, you sure have some strange ideas about smoothies."

Thanks, L. I'll try to keep exceeding your expectations.

~M



Errand-y Afternoon

Lunch was a salad with hummus, low fat ranch, two eggs, bell pepper, broc, and spinch.

Then we ran errands - GH is by the healthfood store, and L wanted lunch, so we stopped in. I wanted a choc mint cookie!

We also tried this rice shake ... which turned out to have practically no nutritional value except carbs, sugar, and fat. Like 400 calories for the whole thing. It was delicious though, and we each had about half. We probably won't buy it again!

I had a free slice of honey whole wheat and a bit of L's tomato soup. :)

Then my moods got me today after errands (the wind is so bad here ... it's up to 50 mph! AWFUL), and I had to take a nap. Louis was not impressed with my nap. He wanted attention!

A snack before dinner around 5:30 - almond milk, my fav.

~ M



Apple Experimentation

Most of my life, I have hated apples. I still hate apple juice with a passion. But as a kid and until about half a year ago, I wouldn't *touch* the fruit. No sir, no how.

That changed one day when I met the honey crisp variety one fall when my mom baked an apple cake made by Civil War ladies ... I couldn't pass up a piece of history, and I fell in love.

So I started trying apples - I still stay away from the really juicy, too sweet Red Delicious at the store, but most other varieties are game (who knew there were so many apples?!). My favorites so far are the really flavorful ones that are gently sweet and not terribly juicy like the Jazz, the Honey Crisp, and the Pacific Rose ... you know, the ones that cost $2.00 a lb. But if I buy the 3 for a dollar ones that taste like nothing, they just sit there and I don't eat them. Sorry, Gala. I'm just not a huge fan!

Today I am out of bananas (I'm starting to use just organic - they last longer and just taste fresher ... worth that $1 more a lb) and decided to use a Pacific Rose in my oatmeal instead of a banana. It was an yummy experiment indeed.

- Quaker oats 1/3 C

- a teaspoon of chia on top

- about 1/2 of a Pacific Rose Apple (I ate the rest)

- nutmeg, cinnamon, pinch of salt, vanilla

- 1/4 C Cascadian Chocolate O's on top (cuz apples and chocolate = YUM)

- spoonful of almond butter

Next up on my list for oatmeal? Pear. :P

~ M

Almond Milk

Lately when I get munchy at night, I've been pouring myself a cup of almond milk. It's the *best* snack for a grumbly tummy that's still getting used to all of this regularity.

My table lions apparently love almond milk too - after all, they are both a creamy white!

L and I also shared an apple tonight after I biked - slowly and gently - for 40 minutes and played with the weights on my biceps and triceps. I'm such a weakling in the arm department, but L, who could practically be a personal trainer, says you just gotta start somewhere!

I have been playing with my hair for the past few days, unsatisfied with it. I love love love having it long and rather layered - it's just my style - but I think bangs might be the way to go this spring and summer for a "pick me up." The last time I had bangs was in 2008, but I think this time I'll do longer, sideswept bangs. Yes, it'll be more upkeep, but my stylist is awesome and could pencil me in if I need a quick snip.

I also found an interesting site: Marie Claire Virtual Make-Over where you can upload your picture and play with new hairstyles and colors, makeup, skin treatments, and such. All seems innocent until you get to the "anti-aging" section ... it's really a guise for what you'd look like if you underwent pretty serious procedures like a face lift and a nose job.

Want to see my finished product? The product that supposedly "society/Marie Claire" dictates is "my ideal"?

The left one is Moi sans makeup ... the right one is apparently my evil twin from a different dimension. I'm amused that Marie Claire doesn't think my broad English nose is acceptible .... plus those eyebrows give Evil Twin the look of being purpetually startled. That's a no go for me - my brows are shapely enough, thanks. And my lips ... well, they've always been thin thin little things. But bright lipsticks and pencils really do the trick. Why pay $$$ to have foreign crap injected in them when I could pay $3 for Burt's Bees and $7 for Revlon Orange Flip and a $2 pencil to shape my top lip a bit? Evil Twin has some serious buck tooth going on there ... I'll take my thin lips over fluffy lips with bucktooth anyday, thx.

I think I'm fine without any of that "your face is not good enough" propaganda a la Marie Claire.

L and I are watching one of our favorite movies, Super Troopers, tonight. :)

~ M

Cereal Dinner

Tonight I was craving cereal. Yes, I just had it for breakfast, and I also had a pretty calorie-laden lunch, but I wanted to bike a little more tonight and also play with our new weights! My tummy was also telling me that it was time for some dinner around 5:30 so I decided to eat - the serving size is a cup for 110 calories so I measured out a cup (as I do) along with 1/2 C soymilk and 1/2 C almond milk. I also added 3/4 of a medium banana. My stomach stopped complaining after that, and I figured it's a pretty low-cal meal even if it's kinda carb-y.

I also had a lil clementine. They are just so perfect and tart.

Tonight the puppers were playing on the couch. :)

~ M

Chili's and Mall

After biking for 30, L and I decided to hit up Chili's (it's his day off and we wanted to eat out for something different) and the mall.

I did remember to bring my camera this time!

Busy hands L. He always plays with paper at Chili's.

We got the small nachos. I ate two of them. Tasty!!!!

And the the main course - which I ate all of - the guiltless grill Chicken Sandich with dressing on the side. Can you say BEST THING AT CHILI'S?!!?! I'm not kidding. I have eaten everything at Chili's (even though they're sneaky and recently changed up the menu like ten times) since about 1993 when it first came to my town. I have had IT ALL. But this sandwich ... SO GOOD.

I spent about $50 at the mall on two marked down cardigans at Dillard's, a belt at Charlotte Russe, and a 70% off cami at New York & Co. All in all, I'm pleased! I'm trying to buy more stuff locally and less online at Anthro - I don't want to be such an Anthropologie clothes horse (not to mention it's less expensive ... don't worry Anthro, you're still my No.1!). It's more fun to have variety, right?

~ M

Not Too Hungry

I was not very hungry this morning so I didn't have my usual oatmeal ... just some coffee.

At 10:15, my tummy told me "Feed me at little bit!" so I measured out a cup of Cascadian Chocolate O's and a cup of soymilk - that did the trick for breakfast. Those little chocolate O's are perfectly yummy!

~ M

Weights Galore!

Ooh readers, I have tons of pictures tonight!

First up is my lunch no-pic-take. :(  L and I went to Great Harvest. I had a most delightful and fresh chicken salad ... and didn't bring my camera. BUT I shall return to the GH soon, get the same thing (it was that good), and take a picture for reference. 100% recommended! I also snuck one bite of L's lemon bar!

I also had a plethora of snacks today (these were before lunch).

A little bit of Ezekiel bread with almond butter and oats ...

Plus an organic banana.

Then I had lunch at 12:30 with L - GH.

I had a clementine (so perfectly tart and yum!) around 4:00 and a Greek yogurt with Cascadian Farm chocolate cereal ...

Then at 6:00, I wanted MORE yogurt!

This has wheatberries, chia, a clementine, and almonds.

And then around 7:00, I wanted a Pacific Rose apple (best apple ever!) ....

A little bit of organic tomato soup (I forget who it was by, but it was not canned but carton) - it needed some extra salt and pepper ...

And the most random dinner item ever:

Ready Rice (probably the most unhealthy thing I ate all day) with cherry tomato and spinach.

L and I did something that L has wanted to do for a long time (and I have too!) - we bought a weight set and a pull up bar set from Academy (the pull up bar is primarily for L ... he used to beat Marines in pull up contests when he was in the Army because he's rather light and very strong in the arms!).

L's domain!

My favorite, the 2.5 lb and 5 lb weights! The 30 lber there is L's, of course (the set also came with a huge weight that L has been using ... I couldn't begin to use it like he does!).

My sweetie, you see, is going to school to become an EMT come summer/ fall - he wants to buff up even more in preparation. This is ironic to me because L is already quite buff. No, really. The boy can also eat like a horse and never gains a pound. Quite the contrary. He loses weight and gets mad!

We are thrilled to have these new weight sets - we both enjoy exercising and watching our TV shows. I don't mind going to the gym, but L now prefers just coming home and staying home after a long day at work. Having equipment at home is ideal for him. Eventually we'll acquire more equipment, definitely; I'd love a treadmill or an elliptical.

While I biked for 40 minutes and then played with the weights (and Luke just did his insane Army moves), Miss Zoe flopped on the couch, laid her head on the arm, and snored snored snored. When she's full grown, that dog will shake the house with those snores!

She's also getting a bath soon. Stinky puppy.

L has the weekend off until Sunday, and I'm elated! I love spending extra time with L - it's so much easier to walk the pups with him! :P

I did make it to the store today ... and spent about $70. I still need to make it to the healthfood store, but first I need to go over my budget for the month before I run off spending right and left. Don't you love a good ol' fashioned budget? :)

L and I have been talking about dinner plans. Instead of each of us scrounging around each night for our own dinner, I'd like to make an actual dinner each night. With a protein, several veggies, something different each night, etc. stuff that L usually doesn't get in his day - he eats a crappy sandwich from Subway most of the time for lunch and a fast bowl of cereal for breakfast (if he eats anything at all). As the woman of the house, I feel it's my responsibility to help L out a bit (and help myself too by doing so).

I just need to look over Ye Olde Budgetttt tomorrow. :)   Will get back to ya on that one!

~ M