Radio Silence

As you know if you know me at all, any silence for a prolonged time on this blog means I've been busy. And busy in a bad way, because blogging is something I really look forward to each week. So I'm not going to attempt to catch you up, because it's nothing interesting.

This morning I was walking out the door to work, and Nolan eyes me and says, "So...what's that you've got around your neck, eh?" He has a thing with me wearing what I think are unique and pretty accessories. This was the offender this morning (sorry not meant to be a chest shot):

What's the vote: terrible like puffy blisters around my neck? Perhaps. Maybe I'll just wear it when Nolan's gone.

Also this weekend: Oma visited and we did a lot of baking and fun stuff. Among the products was a gluten-friendly graham cracker:

Which was AMAZING and tasted better than the store-bought ones. We crushed them up and used them to make a not-so-healthy peanut butter pie, with graham cracker crust covered in chocolate. Also amazing.

On Saturday night, my parents were visiting, and so we all went out to dinner at a local German restaurant/beer garden. Oma felt right at home:

And I had to pose with the liter of beer, even though I loathe beer. My choice beverage was the cider at left. Delicious. And the food? One entree option each night, so you show up and that's what you get. So we had meatballs with potatoes and cabbage...and it was super tasty. Nolan and I decided that we're officially going back sometime.
The real germans with their beer:

Sometime before the peanut butter pie, I was making healthier desserts. So I made Nolan's favourite blueberry-sourcream coffeecake. With some changes. If you ask nicely, I might post the recipe. But basically, I subbed out butter for milled flaxseed, subbed out flour for almond meal and flaxseed, subbed out sugar for splenda, and switched out sourcream for nonfat greek yogurt. Guys, I made TWO of these coffeecakes last week. TWO. We were devouring at a rate of 4ish pieces per day.

A not-so-hot but oh-so-healthy new treat:
Took a few tries to get a flavour I liked, but spinach, protein powder, frozen blueberries, and water = a tasty, healthy protein smoothie!

I've been doing my workouts at 5am each morning, and that smoothie makes a delicious breakfast post-workout!

Since I've mentioned tasty stuff, I'll also post a recipe that's one of my new favourites: natural fudge. I know the ingredients sound bizarre, but just trust me on this one. It got Nolan's approval, and that's saying something.

Coconut Fudge

-3 cups raw walnuts

-1/2 cup carob or cocoa powder

- 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

- 5/8 cup light agave nectar

Grind the walnuts in a food processor until buttery. Combine with other ingredients and mix well until all blended. Press into a glass baking dish firmly until 3/4 inch thick. Freeze at least 1 hour, then slice and enjoy! I like to keep mine in the freezer after the fact too, since it keeps it firm and cold. Enjoy! And thanks to Elli for the idea!

Thankful Thursday

In the spirit of my new nutritional plan that I'm following, I thought I'd start experimenting with some delicious desserts that meet my needs/wants. So in the next few weeks/months/forever, I'll start posting recipes that I deem a success! Tonight, I made my first one, and although it was good and I've had 4 cookies already, it still needs some perfecting (as Nolan will tell you!). But let me just say: not only are these cookies vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and low-carb (and flourless!), they're also chocolate-oat with just a hint of peanut butter and banana goodness. Yum! I can't wait to post the recipe! Next to invent after I perfect this one: almond-flax cookies! Sometime during the summer I'm going to attempt to make a coconut chai ice cream (dairy and sugar-free!).

Fun hint: did you know you can substitute flax seed and a little water for butter in some recipes?

But since it's just Thursday, and my recipes aren't ready yet...

1. I'm SO thankful that I can finally announce that I'm going to be an aunt! And Nolan will be an uncle! My lovely sister-in-law is expecting our first niece/nephew in July. CANNOT WAIT!!!

2. I'm thankful for my newfound love for healthy food. Seriously, other than being ridiculously full all the time (which I'm still struggling to get used to), I'm really loving learning about how to feed my body the right things, and I'm seeing positive results with things like my energy levels and stamina during workouts.

3. I'm thankful that I get to spend time with Nolan in the evenings, even if he is uber tired all the time. If we just sit on the couch and argue about whether my new cookies are delicious or weird all night, and try to find a cool new tv show to follow, I'm happy. I just like seeing him. Plus, he's useful: last night I came home in a funk. REALLY grouchy for no good reason. Plus irritated because I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and can't do a lot of plank-exercises for awhile. Also affects my ability to do the YMCA properly. ANYWAY: after storming around the apartment grouching about what to eat and my crappy week, it took about 10 seconds of Nolan sitting me down, massaging icy-hot into my shoulder, and whispering into my ear for me to forget everything. Grumpiness? Gone. Bless.

4. I'm thankful (again) for old and new friends. Spending time with both on Saturday and cannot wait! So wonderful to have amazing supporters in these girls!

5. I'm thankful for my job. I have to say it. Even though it's been a relatively crappy and hectic work-week, I do love what I do when it all comes down to it. I was walking to work the other day (and by that I mean I had already driven 30 minutes and was walking from my car to the train for the other half of my commute), and was struck by how I was looking forward to getting to the office. I don't know if I could ever not work. I like having projects and challenges to keep my mind engaged throughout the day.

6. I'm thankful for my brother, Nate, and what a great man he's turning out to be! Had such fun with him this weekend when he was visiting.

What are you thankful for?

RAK fail

Nate came to visit this weekend and it was an absolute blast. I wish I had more holidays and more time with my little brother! Nolan got us going in the morning with the most amazing blueberry pancakes made with flaxseed and almond meal. Yum! As you can see, we went into the city on Monday and had sesame ballz:

obligatory pizza at Golden Boy:
walked through chinatown...
and took a very touristy chinatown picture in too much sun.
I have no idea how far we walked, but I was pooped afterwards! So after Nate and Nolan and I went mini-golfing, I was pretty easy to talk out of spin class and into Thai food at our fave place, and then polenta and a movie later. Nate and I made up for it after Nolan went to bed with a late night Insanity session. Whew!

Saturday seemed like a pretty normal day, except that I cleaned our ENTIRE apartment on my hands and knees. Or...mostly the kitchen, actually. And then I went to watch the 49ers game with some friends and the rest of the day was a loss. Heh.

Sunday was pure awesome. We got up (no alarm because it was Nolan's day off - woo!), stopped at Starbucks, and then headed to The Highway for church. Then we lunched at a fantastic Vietnamese place in our 'hood, and I went home to work out, start dinner, and wait for Nate to arrive. That night we had several friends over for a full-on German dinner with Spaetzle, Knoedels, Schweinebraten slow-cooked in beer, and german potato salad and gravy. Mmm! We finished the night with 6 of us playing Settlers and noshing on Erin's amazing polenta-pecan apple crisp.

Not much else to update on, except that my resolutions are still going well except for the Random Acts of Kindness one. I'll be honest, I thought of buying the person behind me at Starbucks their drink, but that is the only good thing I've come up with. It's tough! So I'm not going to hold myself to it anymore (I suck!) but instead just do those things when the opportunity strikes.

Thankful Thursday

Let me take a minute before anything else and write a quick Haiku. Ahem:
Kaiser I love thee,
the pinnacle of health care;
and Nolan agrees.

Okay, maybe not the best Haiku ever written...but really. I bet Nolan is rolling his eyes as he reads this, because ever since switching to Kaiser health care I'm SOLD. I'm considering tattooing "THRIVE" on my ribcage. Let me show you why:
- Last week I needed to make an appointment with a specialist. So I signed onto the website, and searched for one that I liked, and bookmarked her. I chose not to book online for whatever reason, but that's definitely an option.
- The next day, I called the advice line nurse, and she told me exactly what I needed from my appointment, and asked if Friday worked for me and listed off a bunch of times that were open. Holy cow!
- When I told her a good time, she confirmed that I was booked with "Dr.____" which was the doctor I had bookmarked online...I totally forgot to even mention that to her but she knew!
- I showed up on Friday at 10am. Free valet parking - booyah. The parking attendant told me where to go. Then as I was getting near my building, the ambulance driver hopped out of the vehicle, asked if he could help me get where I was going. Yes, I'll take a free escort!
- I checked in. 30 seconds.
- I put my slip of paper in a window, and then my name was called before my seat was warm.
- Nurse took b/p, weight, info, all that good stuff. Super friendly.
- Doctor showed up. 2 MINUTES LATER. If that. Super, super nice and helpful.
- Appointment was efficient. Doctor put in order for a prescription and told me I could pick it up at the lab DOWNSTAIRS. Holy cow. Also put in order for bloodwork. Also downstairs.
- Took number for bloodwork, was called 3 minutes later and painlessly drained of a few ounces. Sent on my merry way.
- Took number for prescription, number called and prescription explained...maybe 5 minutes total.
All in all, the whole thing was less than an hour. And I can do everything online! My doctor immediately emailed me my test results, and let me know if I need to refill my prescription I can do it online and have it shipped to me. Sweet! So anyway: if you've ever had a doctor's appointment, you'll see how truly wonderful this experience was! I am thoroughly impressed! Also: I stopped at Starbucks afterwards as a treat and they only charged me a dollar for my latte. Score!

So, moving on:
1. I'm thankful for our fantastic health insurance for which I don't pay a penny! It's amazing.
2. I'm thankful for fun new gym classes! I tried spin class with Erin on Monday and OMG. My quads are still burning and I don't think I stopped sweating for hours afterwards. Also today I tried Zumba and it was actually fun! So there, Mom, now I'll zumba with you. Worst part was my realizing how uncoordinated I actually am compared to how graceful and athletic I thought I was. Also: terrible at dancing apparently. Upswing? Had to laugh at myself and that's always good for you.
3. Thankful for the long weekend coming up! Nate is coming to visit on Sunday-Monday, so that will be a hoot. Plus it's been a weird week. I would say stressful but I feel like I'm not able to justify saying that anymore, seeing as how my work life is a drop in the bucket compared with Nolan's crazy schedule.
4. I'm thankful that Nolan is going to start wearing a helmet when he bikes.
5. I'm thankful that I've managed to stick with my new year commitments, because I'm already noticing a difference in my life! How refreshing.

What are you thankful for?

loser cat

As part of my post-holiday organizing of my life, I started a plan to eat healthier. I wasn't necessarily eating badly before, but I wasn't getting enough nutrients or things that my body needed. Since I work out quite a bit, I suspect some of my tiredness came from a) all the holiday candy/sugar and b) not meeting my body's nutritional needs. So I started using the Insanity Nutrition Guide (linked there), and let me just tell you. I'm having a hard time with it! And it's not the reason you may think. I am loving the meals they list, and using the tables of foods to come up with things that I like to eat, but the amount of protein I'm consuming now and the frequency of meals (5 actual meals, not just snacks) is making me uncomfortably full all the time. By the time I get to the meal in the late afternoon, I'm dreading having to eat again. All that said, my energy levels have been up and I've lost a pound in the last few days(which is not what I'm trying to do, but hey at least I'm not gaining either). I guess we'll see how it goes and if I can get used to it or not.

My dad drove down to the Bay yesterday to have lunch with me and drop off the little turdlet at our house from his extended vacation, and when I got home I noticed that he had left me a copy of and amended the LOST CAT sign my brother had posted all over the neighbourhood:

I guess I'll just have to make sure Milo leaves a nice turd on his pillow next time he visits.

This past weekend I was at the wedding of some friends from college, and it was AWESOME. The wedding was fun, the weather was nice, and most of all I got to see tons of dear friends from Davis. So much fun!!! However, I took all of 1 picture from the entire weekend. At least it's a good one of Chels and Tim:

So I guess I'll be waiting for more people to post pics on Facebook before I poach them and stick 'em on here.

Happy Tuesday!

Thankful Thursday

So much to be thankful for so far this year. So I'm going to jump into it and update a bit later with normal stuff, since I'll undoubtedly have tons of pictures from the wedding (read: college reunion) that I'm going to this weekend.

1. I'm thankful for unexpected time with Nolan! January so far hasn't been as bad as we thought (though I know we're only a few days in, blah).

2. I'm thankful for Milo being safe and sound! You never really realize how much you love a little pet until they seem to be gone. I need that little turd to follow me around and cry in the mornings and snuggle with me at night.

3. I'm thankful that our candy supply is slowly starting to dwindle. When it's cold outside, my self-control goes out the window.

4. I'm thankful for a fresh start. 2011 was a doozy, but December was even more so. What a month. I'm ready for a clean beginning to an amazing year, with new commitments (doing well still on those, thank you very much) and new adventures.

5. I'm thankful for the chance to see college friends this weekend and celebrate Josh and Renae's marriage!

What are you thankful for?

Quote of the day (taken from Facebook, a post I found from my wall in 2006):

Nolan: " If I was hanging in a tree with bars all around, and a bunch of monkeys came walking by taking pictures of me, yah Id throw feces at them too" - A role reversal as told by Nolan Caldwell 4/5/06

A New Day

Yesterday was the first day of the new year, and I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I was grouchy and irritable, and woke up to find Milo gone. He had disappeared outside of my parents' house, and now 36 hours later, I've just had news that he's been discovered. I shed some tears and didn't sleep at all last night for worrying, but my first reaction (besides overwhelming relief and happiness!) to hearing that he had turned up was to resolve to spank Milo for causing so much grief these two days. This past month has been a rough one for me in a lot of ways! Happy Holidays indeed.

But since that was just yesterday and today, let's back up a bit, shall we?

Finally after a few months, I've got pictures of my DIY project for this year! A few weeks ago I finished making my homemade vanilla extract to give to friends and coworkers for Christmas, and it turned out splendidly! I even got to sample several batches of cookies and bars made with it, and they were oh-so-good.

To get in the holiday spirit, before leaving for the holidays, some friends and I made these gorgeous gingerbread houses! Mine is the boring one on the left. Apparently I had a little photobomber when I took this picture:

I was able to visit my parents for Christmas, and am so glad I did, although I was really sad that I couldn't see Nolan on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He was working until the 28th, so I wouldn't have been able to see him even if I had stayed at our house. Sad, but unavoidable. I was stoked when he was able to join me on the 28th and spend some time with all of us! Christmas itself was a low-key, fun day. We went to church, had breakfast with our whole "original" family (my parents and both brothers, with no significant others), had our annual silly string extravaganza, and opened presents before a huge feast with my gramma and Opa. It was good times.

Also over the Christmas break, I had myself a little charge. A cocker spaniel pup named Sadie, who was SUPER cute and mellow, and generally such fun to care for! She made having a puppy look easy!

That picture and the one below were taken by me on ylehsa's camera, and the one of me was taken by her. We walked around Placerville with her boss's fancy camera and played with different settings (not that I know a thing about cameras! I just like taking pictures). Doesn't she look great?

And I love this picture below that she took, because I look so carefree. That's how I was feeling at that moment, and I like that she captured it :)

Nolan's parents joined us at my parents' house for New Year's, and it was such a treat to have a big fun group together! There were a lot of board games that went on.

The Caldwells...
The Akin clan at breakfast:
My mother and father-in-law!
Since my in-laws were visiting, they also brought their canine friends, so in total, we had 5 dogs and 2 cats in the house. Needless to say the cats spent their days in hiding while the loud mutts took over the house. Here are 3/5 of the pups. Sadie is in the act of trying to join the other two with my mom on the couch.

Generally I don't make New Year's Resolutions because the only thing I can count on myself doing is failing to keep them. So this year I'm simply calling them "commitments" to inspire myself to stick with them. Here are my big three:

1. Have a quiet time every day. So far, so good. I tend to prioritize this behind everything else, and it generally falls by the wayside.

2. Exercise healthily. I tend to get obsessive about my workouts, and put exercise above other more important things (like quiet times) I should be doing. I need to be willing to swap out a workout for a nice walk sometimes or just be flexible about priorities.

3. Practice random acts of kindness at least once a week, if not more often. I love thinking that I could change a person's day for the better, and I need to commit to more than just thinking about it.

What are your commitments for this new year?