Just Thankful

Biggest news in ages:

Nolan and I are the proud aunt and uncle of Tyrus John Sicheneder, born 8:15am on June 21. As this is our first nephew (we have no nieces either :( ), it's pretty exciting! And so far I've seen all of 3 measly pictures of him (hint, hint to my in-laws). Looks to me like he has a lot of Caldwell in those features!

It pretty much makes everything else seem lame. So that is going to be my big thankful post for this week, since I'm so glad he's here, and happy and healthy.

Since I got to work from home today (thank goodness for a wonderful extra hour of sleep + no money spent on a commute), I spent my lunch making delicious treats. One was a snack for this afternoon (since I NEED my snacks every 3 hours!), and the other is dessert that I'm bringing to a friend's tonight. And probably sampling with Nolan before then. The snack was chia seed porridge with berries and nuts, and it was SO good! Nolan turned up his nose at first, but then wanted some of his own, and was sad when I said it takes 40 minutes before you can eat it. As a compromise, I'm making the overnight version for our breakfast tomorrow. I can't believe 1/2 cup soy milk + 1 1/2 tbsp of seed can be so filling! I only made a half recipe and it was plenty for one, trust me.

The dessert is from a book my mother-in-law sent me (thanks, Anna!). Coconut muffins! Pretty much eggs, coconut flour, honey (we were out of maple syrup), shredded unsweetened coconut, coconut oil, baking powder and sea salt. I just took them out of the oven, but they smell AMAZING and the batter tasted like coconut macaroons. Swoon!

Perhaps not the healthiest thing for you ever, but it's Friday night, right?

moving along

Last weekend was so hot here, that I had a literally unproductive day on Saturday. I laid on the couch and moaned about the heat and didn't do a single thing. In the morning, I had done my workout already and gone to meet Noemma in San Jose for breakfast (guess what I had? scrambled egg-whites...GASP!), and when I got back it was like Death Valley had descended in our house. The AC didn't help (not that it cools more than 300sqft anyway), open windows and fans didn't help...misery. Sunday we came up with a plan before even leaving for church, so it was a little cooler inside that day and I was SUPER productive. So it balanced out.

Friday night was graduation for the 3rd year residents who are moving on to fellowships and appointments. Nolan's officially a 2nd year! Then last night was our first night meeting the incoming intern class at Stanford. I can't believe the first year has already come and gone, and now we have less than 2 to go. Time flies, and thank goodness in this case.

After months of pledging allegiance to Insanity, I finally gave in and switched to P90X to vary things up. I'm only a few days in, but so far:
- It's definitely a lot more varied. This is a good thing. Though Insanity is tough, it starts to get a bit boring when you do very similar things in each workout.
- My muscles are already changing. I know, it's too soon, right? I'm telling you, I've never had this kind of strength in my arms. My back and chest were majorly hurting me yesterday, and that's with me increasing my daily protein intake in a big way.
- I don't sweat as much during the workouts. At first I was wondering if they were too easy for me (the first day, I did an hour of P90X and then went for a 5k run to burn off extra energy!), but I paid more attention the next couple days and got a lot more out of it. Plus, the routines were harder those days :) I'm thinking it has something to do with it not being quite as cardio-heavy as Insanity? Might also have to do with the temp in the house - I'm back to 5am workouts instead of afternoon or evening.

I'm sure I'll have better informed opinions in the next few months, but for now I'm intrigued and thoroughly enjoying it!

Thankful Thursday

Yesterday, we had breakfast catered to our meeting from La Boulange, and I had not one, but two servings of quiche. That would be odd enough, but today I was royally craving it again, so I got a mini quiche and greens for lunch and it was so.good. Can you believe it? Egg? It's like I don't even know who I am anymore.

Today I sent a text to Nolan that said, among other things:
"ps-my mom named her feral kitten Hagrid"

To back up a bit, my mom told me last week that she discovered a litter of feral cats (1 mom, 3 kittens) living by the house. The mom and 2 kittens were caught and taken to animal shelter, but I think my mom's resolution (and my dad's) must have wavered on seeing the third, because I've been informed that it's a part of the family now. I may laugh at a feral kitten named Hagrid moving in, but Milo was also a feral kitten once (found abandoned on someone's property), and look where that's got us. Plus, Hagrid is kind of a winning name.

Speaking of winning:

1. I'm thankful I get to work from home tomorrow, and sleep maybe until 6:30 instead of 5:30. I have my first real doctor's appt since who knows when tomorrow (just a checkup). I told Nolan that it's been so long that I feel like an old car going in for an oil change after too many miles. He rolled his eyes, partly because he isn't sure what getting a simple check-up is going to solve. He might be right.
2. I'm thankful Milo's okay. He is apparently sensitive to some meds I put on his neck, and was acting weird for about 10 hours, including excessive cuddling (don't laugh - it's weird!) and excessive drooling. He's fine now, despite losing a lot of the hair in that spot...I hope it grows back or I'm going to make him wear his vampire cape 24/7!
3. I'm thankful for our air conditioner, even if it only cools our bedroom. Our house has been SO HOT (almost 90 indoors) and I am just grateful our bedroom is cool enough to sleep in.
4. I'm thankful for my body. So many people out there have really serious issues and limitations, and though I may have less than perfect joints, I'm constantly amazed at what I can physically do. It's something I hope I never take for granted - good health.
5. I'm thankful for breakfast. You may snigger, but breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. It's the most relaxing, since I generally eat my quinoa and blueberries or my kashi while watching squirrels and birds out my window at 6am. Plus coffee goes with breakfast, and coffee is great. I'm already seriously looking forward to breakfast tomorrow morning - I could skip right over dinner!

What are you thankful for?

two sides of the same coin

Since our house is eating low-carb these days, we've been experimenting with fun new ways to eat delicious things. One of our new favourites is crepes. I promised Nolan I would find a way to make him Sunday morning crepes, and I have to report that it was a brilliant success! I mean, looking at these ones below, would you guess that the only ingredients were ricotta, 2 eggs, and a pinch of splenda and cinnamon? 

Especially after Nolan practically made his into a blintz with berries (minus points for added carbs). So delicious and so easy!

 On the flip side, I made these sweet cupcakes (with Nolan's help) for my coworker's baby shower on Wednesday. Homemade double-chocolate, strawberry filling, with a delicious strawberry-cream cheese frosting...yum!

 Definitely not healthy. At all. And I've had 3 since baking them on Monday.

Last week we also went to a wine-tasting party, complete with a master sommelier from Napa, who guided our blind-tasting. We submitted my dad's '08 Cabernet to the blind-tasting, and are proud to say it was the favourite! No big surprise to us, of course, but validation from a large party and from a professional is always nice :)

Currently reading: Cutting for Stone. It's fantastic and I highly recommend it. Then again, when was the last time I didn't really love what I was reading? I'm reading The Hangman's Daughter next and am curious to see if it lives up to its great reviews. Stay tuned!

Thankful Thursday

One good thing about blogs: they remind you what you've been up to. In my case, reading my recent post reminded me that I have a wedge of farmer's market cheese still waiting in my fridge. Glory!

I'm so excited for a weekend without plans (mostly), and that Nolan has Saturday and MOST of Sunday free! Yippee! The last two weekends he's had one day off, and we've spent it getting food, laying around, and playing bocce ball. Last weekend (or two weekends ago? I can't even remember) we spend his day off doing work/chores, working out together, lunch, playing bocce ball, then seeing the Avengers and getting food at Fresh Choice afterwards. I know, we're super classy - but we love that place! Where else can you get freshly baked garlic pieces to put on your salad? Since discovering a fantastic place to play bocce ball, we've been playing quite a lot. And the last time I DOMINATED. The games are always pretty close, but he was so confident about winning last time, that he bet 1 minute of massage for every point difference between winner and loser. And so I beat him by 12 points. Hah! The local community college, which I'm pretty sure is fancier than the University we went to, has a ginormous astroturf field and an unlocked gate 24/7. So the balls roll totally smooth, there's never mud, and it makes for glorious games.

Anyway, all that to say I'm looking forward to winning more massage time this weekend. Speaking of which:

1. I'm thankful it's the weekend and I get more time with Nolan! No amount is ever enough.
2. I'm thankful for a fulfilling week of work. Feeling productive and good.
3. I'm thankful summer's here, and even though I don't have any extra free time, all my teacher friends do! Makes it easier to hang out.
4. I'm thankful for our new oven. I've been cooking again every day, and it's so great to not have to work around having to bake something.
5. I'm thankful for sleep. I've never been a nap person (since I was little!), but very recently I started honing my nap-taking skills. Even just an hour after I get home before I head out to meet up with friends. It's a good thing.

What are you thankful for?

Farming

Last week, I hit up the Farmer's Market in San Carlos with 2 friends. my intent was just to get zucchini, but I ended up with a few other items I just couldn't resist. I mean, you KNOW I clean out the rhubarb at Lucky's when I go, so I had to stock up at the market. And blueberries? We burn through fresh blueberries, so that was a must. The eggs just looked delightful, and I can never say no to thin-stemmed asparagus (yum!). The cheese in the middle? That was unintentional. We stopped at his booth to taste each of his cheeses, which were all amazing. The one we all really loved was the only one that was sold out...except for one block of it in his cooler. So he chopped it into 3 and sold it to us each for a lower price :) I've been nibbling at it all week.

Yesterday I put the zucchini to good use, and even had to pick up more at the store. I found a low carb (no flour, no sugar, no oil!) recipe for zucchini bread that was delicious, and I also found a recipe for the most incredible zucchini lasagna. Zucchini and spicy homemade tomato sauce layered with light sausage and mozzarella...so tasty!

Looks like I'm going to have to write San Carlos into my Thursday night activities going forward - so many good things come out of it!