Hallowe'en e'en

This weekend was spent in preparation. Other than devoting Saturday morning to friends, I spent the rest of Saturday working on our costumes Nolan's costume and baking pumpkin pie cupcakes for a big Halloween party we had that night. More on that later.

Sunday, though, was all prep for the party. Well, mostly. After church and doing our workouts, we went to our office to do work (meaning the doctor in the house), and to a friend's to pick up Halloween supplies and decorations. Then it was off to Costco to start loading up on stuff for our party...which is tonight. But as a reward? We went out to ramen for dinner with our Missouri people. And it was delicious. It may have put us all into a sodium-induced coma for a few hours, but at least it was tasty. Oh and hey, we walked into a bar afterwards to see the last 5 seconds of the Giants winning the world series. Does that mean I can stop hearing about it on my facebook feed? Because I'm tired of that almost as much as the political stuff.

Nolan with his ramen.



Ladds with their big bowls!



 As to our costumes, they turned out great on Saturday! I already can't wait to wear them again tonight, though it does get a little bit tiresome having to walk sideways through doors and crowds with my frame. Can you tell what we are from this tiny picture that I can't get to enlarge? Nolan was obviously trying to get me to crack my poker face pose - I think he's doing the sprinkler in photo 2 :) You can click on the image to enlarge at least a little bit.

Da Vinci and his Mona Lisa! It's amazing how many people don't have any idea who painted the Mona Lisa - we had a lot of people guessing successfully who I was and then asking if Nolan was, therefore, either Van Gogh or even Michaelangelo. What is this world coming to, I ask you.

I'll have more pictures from tonight! I meant to take some of all our work last night - we invited a friend over for dinner and ended up making him work until 10:30. Granted, the last hour was stabbing marshmallows, dipping them in chocolate and rolling them in grahams...so I don't feel too guilty. I know how many chocolate covered strawberries they ate.

Favourite treat of the week:
Peanut butter banana (and chocolate!) protein shake
1 tbsp raw peanut butter
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use the good kind - 23 grams of protein a scoop and almost no sugar!)
1/2 of a banana
1 cup light vanilla soymilk
3 tbsp nonfat plain greek yogurt

(when I need more sustenance, I double up on the banana and peanut butter)
Blend and enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

This week, we finally got around to some good ole Fall activities. We went to a pumpkin carving party, and drank hot cider and ate gingersnaps and pumpkin pie. And the Giants won the pennant. It was fantastic.

Nolan's pumpkin is on the far left, and mine is 2nd from the right.



 I had to take a picture of the little curly tail on Nolan's pumpkin because it was so cute how it lit up. Glad I took it then because it fell off in the car on the way home :)

Tonight we relaxed with some dinner and watching Game 2 of the World Series. We planned our Halloween party for next week while we savoured our tasty mixed pudding desserts (both are healthy, of course!) and snuggled with the kitties on the couch.

They like to curl up with us at night, but the rest of the time, this is generally what they are doing:

I can already tell Milo will miss Harley when she goes home!



This morning we woke up to warm steel-cut pumpkin pie oatmeal that was waiting for us in the crockpot, ready to be eaten and savoured! How can anyone not like Fall?

So much to do this weekend, and I still have to put together our Halloween costumes...ahh! So let me stop and take a breather here:

1. I'm thankful for so many fun nights with Nolan. We've loved his new schedule of having evenings off. We may be turning into that old couple, but it's such a nice change! Plus I think he likes coming home to a hot cooked meal :)
2. I'm thankful for a great weekend with family the last 2 weekends!
3. I'm thankful for answered prayers. I've been seeing a lot of them lately, and it's kind of amazing and humbling.
4. I'm thankful for Pinterest. Don't laugh! I've gotten probably 100% of my Halloween party ideas and recipes off of there. Makes holiday planning easy (or easier anyway).
5. I'm thankful for my doctor at Kaiser, who switched one of my prescriptions to one that has almost zero side-effects. I was tired of always being kind of under the weather since January! It's nice to be able to email your doctor and have her actually listen and respond.

What are you thankful for?

Argo

This weekend I was in Pville again, having more family time, and getting to spend quality time with parents, grandparents, and siblings. Between really good food, wine and some decent sleep, it was a win overall. I also brought Milo back home, and that always makes me happy.

Sunday was our date day after I got home around lunchtime, so we hung around in our pjs and talked for awhile, then decided on seeing Argo and going to a new Thai place for dinner since our fave spot is closed on Sundays. As for the Thai, it was a fail. Not really bad food, just not really good. But Argo! You need to see it. It was excellent. I thought I was going to have a heart attack the last...HOUR or so of the movie. And be shocked: Ben Affleck is actually pretty great in it. Plus who doesn't love movies based on true historical events?

Mountain biking still hasn't happened, due to all sorts of circumstances, Sunday's being that Nolan was exhausted. But one of these days, I'm telling you...it will be awesome!

Last night I made pumpkin curry for dinner (delish!)with just a little chocolate mousse (the tofu kind!) for dessert. So we ate curry and did something rare: sat down in front of the tv and turned it on. We switched between the presidential debate and the Giants game, and let me tell you, it was an exciting night!!! So afterwards we talked about our finances, because you have to temper excitement with boring things, right?

Harley's staying with us for the week, and after 2 days of hissing and slinking around, I think she and Milo have finally agreed to be in a relationship again. It always takes a few days of him wooing her.

Thankful Thursday

Phew, another week gone by. When I was filling out my form for a flu shot, it asked my age, and as I was writing the number, I thought maybe I was mistaken because there is no way I'm that age already. How has life started to fly by so quickly? So many changes happening around us that it feels like the next time we open our eyes we'll be sitting in our rockers with our grandkids at our feet. Time to really savour each moment before it's gone, eh?

This weekend I'm returning to Placerville, and working from there tomorrow. Which means I'm driving up very late tonight. Which means: latte time. I've been getting up before 5 a lot recently, and it's starting to wear on me since I haven't been able to make up for it with early bedtimes. Is this a taste of what it will be like to be elderly and awake at all hours (except afternoons and after dinner, hah)?

Speaking of which...

1. I'm thankful for the chance to rest this weekend and sleep! Even just 2 nights will do me some serious good.
2. I'm thankful for extra energy. It would have been so easy to not do that load of laundry or not take 10 minutes to make Nolan a nice breakfast, or not do my workout...but I would have regretted it. So many times this week I've been amazed at the little extra motivation to keep getting stuff done when I just wanted to be a blob.
3. I'm thankful for a great small group. I can't even tell you how encouraging those girls have been this past week, and how thoughtful and kind!
4. I'm thankful for Milo coming back this weekend (if I can find him, grrr). It's just a little bit sad to cuddle on the couch and have an empty spot on our laps where Milo would fit perfectly.
5. I'm thankful for the holidays! Talk about a picker-upper! I'm already planning Thanksgiving and Christmas things, not to mention all the baking, and prepping for our Halloween party and all that good stuff. Best time of the year. EVER.

What are you thankful for?

pom

I've never really gotten into Pomegranates or Persimmons or Figs or any of those other less-common and less-loved fruits. But I've been seeing Pomegranates pop up all over the stores recently, so I thought I'd take advantage of it. I'm so glad I did! I had a salad for lunch that was just the right mix of sweet, spices, and savoury.

Last night I figured out how to de-seed the pomegranate (in water!), and I thought it would be tasty to toast some pecans and spices too. They were fall and spice and everything nice in one nutty concoction. Here's what I came up with:

Spiced Pecans

- 1/2 cup pecans

- 2 tsp coconut oil

- 1-2 tsp xylitol

- 1 tsp cinnamon

-1/8 tsp ground cloves

- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

- pinch ginger

I tossed everything in a saucepan and just stirred until they were warm, crispy and fragrant. It's okay to scorch them a tiny bit! As they cooled I sprinkled a tiny bit more xylitol on them, and they were perfect. As for the rest of my delicious, autumn salad?

Autumn Pomegranate Salad

- 2-3 oz. plain grilled chicken breast

- 1 1/2 cups greens

- handful pomegranate seeds

- 2 small spoons of goat cheese

- 1 oz. pepitas

- 1 oz. spiced pecans

- 1 oz. organic light balsamic dressing

I know, the food thing again. I'm not trying to turn this into a food blog, but I thought I'd better start documenting my discoveries on here or I'll forget about them!

Speaking of food, tonight Nolan and I are checking out Vesta with friends...yay for specialty wood-fired pizza, and yay for our splurge night!

a case of the mondays

Maybe it's because I got my flu shot this morning, but today has been tiring. Also because I am running a little bit low on sleep after the weekend? Who knows. Either way, I'm secretly hoping my bootcamp after work will be low-key (it never is though!) so I can be lazy. Ah well.

This weekend Nolan and I headed up the hill to visit the fam in Placerville. Sadly, our mountain bikes went from the car to the work palace, and never saw the dirt. But! There is always next time. And we did other fun things. Like going to sushi with Nate at one of our fave spots:

Having an egg-cracking contest to see who could crack their share of 250 eggs into this bucket the fastest. I think Nolan would have won if he didn't cheat by leaving an eggshell in there. Don't worry - it didn't go to waste! The eggs were eaten by 90 men the next morning and apparently delicious. But still.

 Check out all those shells!

 We hung out with Gramma, who is the newest magnet for the animals with her fuzzy blankets.

 And as usual, the not so fun part: leaving to go back home. Milo anticipated this as he always does, and picked a bomb hiding spot. If Nate hadn't secretly seen him crawl in, we never would have found him. Check it out - can you see him back there?

 Here's the zoom-out (below).

He was in the left cabinet behind all the photo albums. I don't understand how such a pea-brained creature can always outwit us. Like the time he hid behind my mom's books in her room and blended in with the white wall. Or when he tucked himself under the covers at my in-laws house, and we couldn't find him for ages because he had laid so flat we thought he was just a wrinkle in the bed covers.

Anyway, he eventually came out, but went back into hiding (in a NEW place!) right before we had to leave. Since we didn't find his hiding place that time ($5 says he was under the house, since we caught Hagrid sneaking out of there when Nolan brought treats to coax them out), we had to leave him up there temporarily. I guess I'll pick him up this weekend since I'm going back anyway. But this time I'm putting him on lock-down.

We also took our Christmas pictures while up there. I am amazed at how quick and painless it was this year! So excited that Christmas is just two and a half months away!

Thankful Thursday

Newest obsession:

This little cup o' joy is so tasty and good for you that I just can't resist! It's super low in sugar for yogurt, super high in protein, and SO delicious. My friend Julie introduced this to me on top of baked apples with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds, and it was heavenly. So I went and bought a cartful. Not really. Almost. I'm already looking forward to my afternoon snack.

This weekend we're headed up the hill to Placerville to visit the family and get away from it all. We're probably definitely going to test out my mountain bike too, EEEEEEEE! Either way, I slept terribly while Nolan was away at his conference (cue: awwww), and I'm looking forward to a few good nights' sleep. We always sleep SO well at my parents'. And so:

1. I'm thankful Nolan has a few days off and we can take advantage of it to relax! We need a nice weekend.
2. I'm thankful for this recovery week of my workout program. My body needed a little break, and I'm really enjoying this week of yoga, stretching, and really low intensity exercise. I feel stronger and ready to jump back in next week! I love that they build in a week of recovery for every 3-4 of hard work.
3. I'm thankful for all the fun social things we've had going on. Even though I'm tired and busy, it's all good stuff, so I can't complain about stress...unless it's the stress of what to make for lunch the next day (it's a big deal to me!).
4. I'm thankful for food. I'm obsessed with it. I really need to somehow make a career out of cooking and eating because I could just do it all the time. And I do. I cook (and eat) a lot. It's awesome. God is good for deciding to give us tastebuds. I'll share one of my new fall favourite recipes below!
5. I'm thankful for my job. Sometimes I hate the commute and sometimes I don't fully appreciate how great my work is, but then I realize how fortunate I am to have work that I enjoy, a place I like, people I like, flexibility...the list goes on.

What are you thankful for?

Recipe Sharing Time!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Ingredients

2 /1/2 cup oats (old fashioned)
1 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
2 eggs
3/4 cup xylitol or other natural sweetener
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup pumpkin
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of ginger
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon
*add the ginger, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to taste - I didn't actually measure so I'm guessing at how much I put in*

Note: The paper liners don't work well when baking with a base that does not include flour unless you grease them. So don't forget!

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease liners or pan.
2. Place the oats in a food processor until finely ground, then add all the other ingredients.
3. Divide batter among cupcake liners (full recipe makes 12), and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
4. Enjoy! When muffins are this low in calories, fat, sugar, and this high in protein and taste so delicious...why wouldn't you?

Fun tip:
*You can substitute the pumpkin for 2 bananas, or a cup of strawberries and remove the salt, ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to make either banana muffins or strawberry shortcake muffins!*

Monday, twice

I don't know if it was having dinner out on Friday, or waking up early Saturday to work out and therefore having a lot more of the day (Sunday, too), but I was stuck all day Saturday thinking it was Sunday...and so when I woke up Sunday, I thought it was Monday. I was very confused. Even by 4pm after we'd had a little coffee date and I'd dropped off Nolan at the airport, I thought, "well, I've already had a full weekend. So now what?". So I watched some shows online, did a fun Pilates video that I was curious about, and ate pudding. And now it's actually Monday. Confusing!

Really, though, I love those weekends for the most part. I distinctly remember being up early and going to the grocery store, and it was so crisp and delicious outside, and I was wearing a sweater and sipping my cup of coffee and oooh, it felt like fall. So I bought red pears that looked festive. I can't wait to try them. After I let Nolan sleep a little bit, we had our delicious steel-cut oatmeal together, played a new boardgame, and then got ready to have friends over for lunch. Pumpkin gnocchi, meatballs, and delicious baked spiced apples with pomegranate seeds and amazing Icelandic yogurt (thanks, Julie!) all enjoyed over card games and cooing at their baby made us happy (and full) campers. Sadly, this is the only picture I took - I'm so bad at remembering to take pictures of things! But anyway:

I love that face! This is one of our favourite ways to spend mornings! As Nolan said, we were pretending it was a rainy day (even though it was gloriously sunny and cool and we probably should have been outside). I love the fall!

Thankful Thursday

I'm not going to even say anything about how I'm putting another picture of food on here. Except that I am, and I'm so excited about it! We love good food here...can you tell? This morning we had overnight steel-cut oats, and added in blueberries and the suggested cinnamon almond sauce. It was GLORIOUS. And filling. I usually don't get that full from breakfast. Check out the recipe here! It's amazing.

So that started my morning off right. Also yoga. Thursdays are yoga days, and even though the first 15 minutes of super early morning yoga are rough, once my body is awake, it's really nice. Another reason I like Thursdays? I get to list off 5 things I'm thankful for! It always makes me feel even more grateful. So here we go.

1. I'm thankful for date nights! We've had a lot recently (tonight is another one!), but have been managing for quite a long time to be consistent with setting aside at least one night a week to spend just the two of us doing something fun. The other nights are just bonuses :)
2. I'm thankful Milo's a healthy boy again. Phew, I was tired of little bugs and him moping around and peeing on things...gross. Plus he's so much happier now!
3. I'm thankful for fun recipes. Cooking and food really ARE a hobby, and it's SO much fun to experiment with new recipes and ingredients and taste the end result. I like hobbies like that.
4. I'm thankful for my new bike Nolan got me! Even though we still haven't had a chance to take it on the trail yet, I'm excitedly ordering myself gear and planning where to go when I do get to go! I love having fun stuff that we like to do as a couple.
5. I'm thankful for fall weather. I know, I'll miss the heat when it gets really cold, but this week was a heat wave (it was 94 in San Francisco on Monday...NINETY-FOUR!)...and it was no good. Hosting bible study in my living room with that kind of heat = sweaty girls. So it's nice now that it's starting to cool down just a bit now. It'll be even better when I can turn on my oven and not fear roasting us alive in here.

What are you thankful for?

my big fat greek cheesecake

I know someone who has 2 cats named Wyatt and Cheesecake. I think those are the best cat names ever. Besides Milo. But back to the cheesecake: this weekend I made homemade cheesecake, as in I made the graham crackers, then made the crust, then made the filling and baked it all. The whole process took 11 hours including cooling in the fridge, so it's not for someone in a hurry! But oh, so worth it. The best part? No cream cheese. The filling is made with greek yogurt and tofu and I can't even tell you how delicious it is! No guilt, delicious cheesecake? Count me in!

The recipe, of course, is from one of my favourite blogs again. I don't think I've found another website with so many healthy recipes that have turned out so perfectly! Big fan.

Last night I also made fig nut bars. I hate figs. I think I always have. But my friend has a fig tree and suggested I give them a chance. So I did some searching and found a recipe that not only was easy, but SO delicious and packed with fiber and other good stuff. The only problem is going to be having it and the cheesecake in my fridge! I can only handle so much sweet goodness.

Do I blog about food too much? Is there such a thing? Nolan and I have become WELL aware that most of our vacation pictures consist of us eating. But! We enjoy it so much! We're passionate about food :)

pick a peck of...pumpkins

This weekend was the best ever. Friday night, Noemma came over for dinner with Nolan and I, and we had pisco sour, pudding with fruit, and laughed a lot. Love her. Saturday morning was our first ever significant others brunch with all the other Stanford Kaiser S/Os. There were mimosas, all sorts of casseroles, pumpkin scones, pumpkin muffins, bacon, eggs, crepes with berries, and coffee and more mimosas. It was fantastic. I got in my car to go home and had a message from Nolan saying he'd been sent home for the rest of the day from work...woohoo! His second surprise was that he bought me a NICE mountain bike as my early Christmas present! It was something I was secretly hoping for but didn't want to ask for...and it's amazing! I took it for a spin yesterday and I'm in love. Can't wait to take it on trails with Nolan! Behold:

After getting the bike, we went to Ike's for a late lunch...our favourite! So good.

Then we went home, put on Frank Sinatra and practiced our dancing :) It was a FANTASTIC afternoon. And it got even better! Nolan went to watch the football game with some friends, and I met some girlfriends in downtown Palo Alto at NOLA for drinks and eventually a late dinner. We were there for a few hours chatting and moved the party to Yogurtland for a treat afterwards. Needless to say, my tastebuds were absolutely spoiled on Saturday.

Sunday was a day of work. Whew! So many things to do and errands to run...and I almost adopted a kitten when I was at Petco getting stuff for Milo...oops. Nolan didn't help the situation when I texted him and he said "you should have gotten it!". Oh dear.

What am I looking forward to tonight? Trying the greek yogurt and tofu cheesecake I made yesterday- healthy homemade graham crackers and all for the crust! It smells DIVINE and I licked the bowl after whipping together the cheese part. Only issue is that the process takes 11 hours from start to finish (if you include making the graham crackers yourself). Talk about delayed gratification!