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!

Thankful Thursday

Two weekends ago, we went to a wedding out in San Ramon. It was perfect weather, good food, catching up with Nolan's UCSF classmates from all over the country, and the site was gorgeous. I just found this picture and thought I'd post it - no reason really.

My excitement for the week was taking Milo to the vet. He's been getting treated for fleas and worms (gross!), and had his last appt on Wednesday. Conveniently, he decided to let us know he had a bladder problem again on Monday, by peeing on everything and hiding in the bathtub (and eventually peeing in there too and ruining his hiding place). Nolan took this picture to document the angry Milo face.

So I took him in for his checkup, and turned it into an exam of his issues too. He ended up staying the night for testing and monitoring, and got lots of food and meds. I called today to check on him and make sure they got their sample so I could pick him up after work, and the receptionist said, "Oh, Milo's fine. He's resting easy now. He ate a little bit, and was trying to lick himself, so we have him in a cone and stuff. He's pretty groggy and sensitive but seems to be doing okay. The doctor said he will probably be able to go home around 3 if he is able to walk..." At this point I'm freaking out like, what have they done to my cat, what are they talking about?!...and then I think of something. "Hang on a sec...can we, uhh...are we talking about the same pet here? Milo - the little white cat?". There's a pause, and then the receptionist says, "OH. So sorry, we have 2 Milos here right now. Yeah, yours is fine. He's been eating all day and he's ready to go home whenever." Eating nonstop? That sounds more like the Milo I know. So now he's home, on meds for a week, and on a prescription diet for awhile to clear up his issues. But! He's happy, mostly healthy, and flea and worm-free. Win.


This week I hosted our first bible study at my house, and was making treats when I got a little hasty (it was almost bedtime and I was still cooking!), and dumped chocolate chips all over the oven and through the burner holes. Oops. However, I learned that perhaps all those games we played as kids maybe do have real-life applications. Here you can see my Operation skillz coming in handy as I retrieve chips with wooden "tweezers" through the burning hot pipes. Oh yeah.

For date night this week, we decided to splurge a little and go for our favourite high-calorie food (ok, ONE of them): Indian. We tried a new place in Sunnyvale and it was awful. Hah. We normally pick such winners, but this one had legitimately gross food. Besides the saag paneer, which was actually really delicious.

This is Nolan giving a surreptitious thumbs-down to the cheesy tikka masala. Seriously: it tasted like it had velveeta in it. Disgusting. Also: they had mango "froyo" as part of the buffet...and it was literally the same stuff as the mango lassi I had, except frozen. Why would you pay for a drink when you could just melt unlimited dessert into your cup for free? That was our first and last visit there. Back to Peacock's amazing buffet for us.

After dinner, we went to Chuck's donuts, and let me just say: I haven't had a donut in like...so many years. I don't even know. But this place is open 24/7, and ALWAYS has people in it. We figured this would be a night of first and last visits to places. Chucks was one. Great donuts, but seriously: I felt like I was eating America. So bad for you.



So with all that...what am I thankful for? A lot, obviously. I have a pretty amazing life, and a pretty incredible husband to share it with. We're super blessed.

1. I'm thankful for Nolan! He's such an amazing partner and friend. I can't get enough time with him, no matter how much I see him! And he puts up with my bad moods and bad habits with love and grace. What more could you ask for, eh?

2. I'm thankful for my bible study. It's great to have a group of such solid girls to meet with each week and learn with together.

3. I'm thankful for Milo's health! You never really realize how dear those little creatures are to you until they're threatened somehow. On that note, if he disappears this Christmas again, I'll kill him.

4. I'm thankful for the future - there are so many exciting things in our near future, and I already can't wait! Who knows what our life will be like in less than 2 short years! It's so great to have fun things to look forward to. Now if I can just remember to live in the present ;)

5. I'm thankful for my car. Sounds like a stupid thing, but I took it in for an oil change and 5,000 service check, and was reminded of how great it is to have a perfectly functioning (and so cute!) vehicle that I can trust. I remember not having that, and it was nerve-wracking and stressful! I love getting into each morning and knowing what to expect. It's like my little pre- and post-work retreat.

What are you thankful for?

Sunday Funday

I thought since it's been just about a month since my last post, it's time for me to get back to posting. I needed a little hiatus from just about everything, so I included the blog in that. A lot of fun stuff has happened in the last month, including of course our tropical vacation (woohoo!), working, weddings, more working, and a ton of planning for the next few weeks and months. We're getting into the Fall swing of things, which means small groups are starting back up, holidays and parties need to be planned, fun outings with friends, and we're seriously planning our next vacation (or trying...). With all that, we need a break every once in awhile. And I know, I'm busy every evening because I make it so...but it's still nice to have some alone time or spouse time to relax. Yesterday after church I met up with ylehsa, who happened to be in town for a few hours. We grabbed lunch, caught up, watched tv shows on Hulu...you know. Then after she left, Nolan woke up from his nap (he's working nights right now), and we got to cuddle and catch up, eat dinner, and we even had the time to drive to our favourite froyo spot in Palo Alto and walk and eat delicious treats before he had to go back to work. Those are the times I most cherish. After that I had the rest of the night to myself, so I did a little workout and just relaxed before an early bedtime. I'd call that a Sunday Funday. My brother and sister-in-law have a Sunday Funday each week as a tradition, and I thought I'd rip it off for my own uses, even if that just means doing whatever I want for a day!

Since I recently rediscovered our vitamix-style blender, I've been getting more into good smoothie and shake recipes, and have been excited that I can really easily make a delicious smoothie into a protein-packed snack (tasty AND functional!). My new favourite breakfast and nod to fall is the pumpkin spice protein shake, to which I add oats to give me my morning grains that I need. Today for my snack, I brought a spinach berry smoothie, so I get my veggies, protein (greek yogurt in there), and tasty fruits...all with no sugar or fat added! Lesson learned over the weekend: actually measure the spinach. I didn't do this, and just threw in handfuls of it. After choking down what was basically a shredded salad, I realized that I probably added twice as much spinach as was called for. Blech. Green smoothies CAN be tasty...if you do them right. Tomorrow: carrot or beet, depending on my mood!

Next on my list of purchases: a good mountain bike. I am a big fan after going a few times (see pic below at Black Mountain), and really need a bike so I don't have to keep renting! We'll see if I can find what I'm looking for so that Nolan and I can start going on days off together.

Tonight after work and my hike with a friend, I'm setting out the fall decorations. I might even make a batch of pumpkin gnocchi to freeze (Nolan's favourite!), and I'm definitely making a chocolate chip pumpkin pizookie (don't worry, it's healthy...other than the chocolate chips in it) for bible study tomorrow night. That link is from one of my favourite dessert blogs. Check it out!

Thankful Thursday

Mmm. It's almost the weekend, and that means more time for cooking. Last weekend we experimented with paleo french toast. No, I'm not strictly paleo. But a lot of the recipes line up with the clean eating we try to maintain, so there you go.

We'd been jonesing for french toast, so I found this recipe to make the "bread", which was spongy and delicious, and the absolute perfect texture when browned in the pan with coconut oil for a few minutes. This is a picture right after it came out of the oven:

And this is after browning slightly, covering in homemade spiced strawberry sauce, and coconut milk. Yum!

The next morning I made healthy, fresh granola sans the oils and sugars, and it was so delicious! I just finished off eating the batch this morning with some soymilk at work, and it was oh so good. So needless to say, I'm excited about the weekend. Plus I have fun things to look forward to: a double date, mountain biking, lunch with a girlfriend...getting ready for our trip next Friday (EEEEEE!!!).

This week we went to our scuba class on Tuesday night after work. Nolan picked me up, we googled some random Chinese restaurant, which turned out to be fantastic, and then we stopped at 7-11 for ice cream bars. Oops. At least we burned off all those calories in the pool for 5+ hours, right?

Scuba was...awesome. It came so naturally, and we found that we were finished with each skill before everyone else in the class, so that bodes well. Being "weightless" and able to breathe normally underwater and play around without surfacing was so fun! Nolan and I were playing catch with a bowling ball for awhile on the bottom, and throwing it as hard as we could at each other. Probably the only circumstance in which we could do that. What I'm not sure about is the ear-clearing thing. I had ear-issues as a little kid, and have never been able to go beyond 7 feet even in a pool without a lot of pain. So I was nervous. With some help from our instructor, I was able to SLOWLY get down to 12 feet (how deep the pool was) and be totally comfortable. But it did take a few minutes, and Nolan was so patient as I waited for the air spaces to slowly equalize. I'm hoping if I just take it slow when we go deeper (60 feet, yikes!), it won't be a problem. But I'm still nervous about it. And so excited. Keep your fingers crossed.

With that:

1. I'm thankful for vacation coming up soon! We're already planning to rent a scooter, snorkel, scuba dive, explore ruins, hike through the jungle, and enjoy the Caribbean for 10 days. w00t.
2. I'm thankful for exciting things happening with people I love. Whether it's having babies, or getting married, or new job opportunities, I love when good things happen to good people. And I'm thankful to have so many of those in my life.
3. I'm thankful for grace. I know I'm a total doof and don't deserve anything from God, or even from those I love...but somehow I receive it anyway. Amazing.
4. I'm thankful for alone time. I'm totally a people-person, but you know sometimes it's nice just to have some time without a schedule or company to just...sit. Last weekend I had to spend a few hours working, but other than that I did things like...take a nap. And do an hour-long stretching "workout" with a cup of tea. It was glorious.
5. I'm thankful for you, who care enough to keep up with this piddly piece of my life. You each mean a lot to me!


What are you thankful for?