Christmas In California!

This was my first Christmas with Josh's family.  We had such a good time!  Some highlights were shopping, Settlers of Catan, Christmas Eve where Fred talked about the Savior's birth and the kids then reenacted it, getting our matching pjs, and Christmas day full of fun.

Josh and Baby Chloe

Shea and Me.  I had so much fun playing with her!

Food Blog

My sister-in-law Collin just introduced me to this great food blog: http://barefootandbaking.blogspot.com/.  It is actually Collin's sister-in-law's blog.  She has a great variety of recipes and everything I have tasted has been delicious!

photo credit: barefootandbaking.blogspot.com

One of my favorite recipes so far was the Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry.  Very easy and tasty.  I added potatoes and carrots to my crockpot as well.  Also, if you don't add the chicken this is a great vegetarian/vegan meal.  Last of all I would add a pepper- we like our Indian food spicy.

photo credit: barefootandbaking.blogspot.com

The first thing I made was the Quick French Baguettes.  This recipe was VERY quick and easy for a yeast bread and turned out great.  My husband said that it was his favorite bread that I had ever made! 

photo credit: barefootandbaking.blogspot.com

Another winner was the Manicotti.  Like suggested, I used lasagna noodles and they were delicious!  This was one of the first dishes where my husband and I actually ate all the leftovers. Also, you can use low fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta, use less cheese in general, or substitute some of the cheese for spinach!  This one is definitely a crowd pleaser.

A Great "Food" Documentary

My brother-in-law Danny was the one who told me about this great documentary.  He didn't really say much about it, just that it was good.  I was so anxious to see it that I signed up for the month free trial of netflixs so I could watch it.  It was by far the best "food" documentary I had ever seen (and I've watched my fair share).

This documentary focuses on the typical American diet and how we can change what we eat to promote a better lifestyle.  It talks about how many of our diseases our linked to how we live our life and how we can change the course of our "health destiny" by what we eat.  They promote a mainly whole food, plant based diet.  I have been a believer of this way of eating for a while and it was only reinforced after watching this movie.  It is startling how damaging meat and animal products truly are to your body.  I know to many they think you have to have meat and dairy to live- that is what we have been told our whole lives!  I use to believe that too.  I slowly realized the negative effects of meat and now I can see how damaging animal products in general are as well.

I wish I could say that I became a vegan overnight, but I didn't.  However, I'm going to cut out meat from my diet and try to stick to around a 5-15% dairy intake.  I know some people may think this is radical but so is eating terribly (but no one will talk about you behind your back for that).  I just want to be healthier.  I don't see how eating more vegetable, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds will hurt me.  It won't! And I know "health-wise" I will do just fine without hamburgers and hot dogs.  

Christmas Time!

Here is a picture of our first Christmas tree.  It's not the biggest... but its perfect for us (small for storing, and we only have about 10 ornaments).  The other picture is in front of Jake and Bronwyn's beautiful tree. 

This is also the first time I have ever had any Christmas decorations to put up (thanks to my mom) and I love it!  My favorite thing is probably my Christmas candle.  I love the aroma of Christmas! 

This year for Christmas we are going to Josh's families house in California.  I have never spent a Christmas with his family out of the three years I have known them and I am really excited.  It will be interesting to see how another family does Christmas- I have only spent it with my family before.  A bummer though is Jake and Bronwyn won't be there (Bronwyn is pregnant and due right after Christmas.)  

Also, my mother-in- law is throwing me a baby shower when we go down there.  She is so sweet and thoughtful.  

Overall, I am ready for finals to be over and head down to California!

Why the Random Posts?

For my business writing class we were supposed to start a blog.  Also, there were some requirements like each post had to be 150 words, I needed to post a video, etc.  So if some of the posts seem random, or long, it's because they are.  Overall it wasn't a bad assignment- it got me to start a blog!  So from now on I will mainly use this blog to post pictures of our baby and our family.  

Couponing!

So I just restarted an old hobby: couponing.  If you have a little extra time it is a really fun thing to do that can save you a ton of money!  I know it may seem really intimidating and confusing so I wanted to add a couple of my favorite coupon sites I like to visit.  My absolute favorite and the most helpful in my opinion is hip2save.com.  Another coupon blog that is very similar to that one is thekrazycouponlady.com.  Also, some great places to find online coupons that you can print from home are coupons.com, redplum.com, http://coupons2.smartsource.com.  Also, the Sunday newspaper is a great place to start.  You can find newspaper vending machines (I don't know if that is what they are technically called) in front of gas stations or even places like Denny's or Wendy's.  You just go on Sunday, put in $2.00 of change and you will get the Sunday paper which is full of coupon inserts.  Couponing isn't for everyone but I really enjoy it.  I love saving money on groceries, toiletries, household goods, and especially getting baby items like diapers for 50% off or more!

My New Found Love: GREEN SMOOTHIES!

Have you had a green smoothie yet?  They are truly my new found love!  I have always been a fan of fruit smoothies, but now I have an even better excuse to drink them.  First I add a cup of water (you can also add juice) and then whatever greens I want.  I typically use spinach but it is great to add other greens like collard greens, kale, lettuce, etc.  Then I add some frozen fruit and a couple ice cubes.  I typically make these as a fast, nutritious breakfast.  I am not the best at eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetable throughout the day, so I love being able to get these nutrients in at the start of my day.  I mean really, who can say they had a few handfuls of spinach and fruit for breakfast?  Also, you can add less juice and substitute water.  I tried just doing water at first but then I had to limit the amount of greens I added because they were so strong.  So I like to add even just 4 ounces of oj and 4 ounces of water and then I can add as many greens as I want and still have a sweet, delicious tasting smoothie.  You have to try one!  You will see just how great they are.