Weekend in Review & Post Cleanse Update

Verse of the Day: What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." - 2 Corinthians 6:16

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Weekend in Review:

The Morales' have another great weekend for the books. Friday night we went to StadiumFest and Switchfoot played. I honestly don't know what I did to get be so blessed as to see both of my favorite bands within a week of each other. Jason and I both LOVE Switchfoot, but we've never seen them together. Thankfully, not only did we get to see a great show together, it was also free. It was awesome.

Me with Jon Foreman when I saw Swithfoot without Jason last year.

StadiumFest with my guy. He's such a stud.

Ahhhh! Switchfoot!!

Getting to see Switchfoot together was such a treat! Man, I love this man :)

Saturday Jason worked and I went to a workshop at church. The workshop was called "Faithfully Feminine" and it seriously was something that I needed and didn't even know it. Do you ever do that? I signed up last weekend on a whim and then I really didn't want to go and talked myself out of going a couple of times. The workshop lasted from 9:00-5:00 so it was basically a workday - and that's the part I wasn't looking forward to. But, I went, along with a friend, and about an hour into everything I knew that I was exactly where God wanted me to be - I'm so thankful for a sovereign Lord. I want to take a few days to blog about some things that I learned, so be on the lookout for that over the next week or so. 

Saturday night Jason and I went to the new coffee shop in Homewood called Seeds. It's pretty cool and our friends Mandi and Audrie were playing at the grand opening. They had good coffee, obviously good music, and we had fun with some friends as well. It's always nice to get out and spend time with friends. We even ended up at Waffle House afterward and I totally had a college flashback - good times.

Audrie (left) and Mandi (right). Our insanely talented friends.

Sunday was rainy and gross so we went to see the Jackie Robinson movie, relaxed, grocery shopped, and then I cleaned and Jason went to a meeting for work. Even though we didn't do a lot, it was a much needed day. 

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Post Cleanse Update:

I lost a total of six pounds - which I'm happy with. This weekend I pretty much didn't follow the cleanse but instead, I opted to eat healthy and just tried to focus on transitioning back into a really healthy eating pattern. Friday was a rough day for me with the whole tomato-eating thing. In conjunction with the gross tomatoes, I also had some personal things going on that were upsetting, so it was just kind of a double shot of feeling like this cleanse was for the birds. 

All in all, I'm happy with the results of this cleanse, but I doubt I'll do it again. I like eating healthy, but the lack of protein was really hard on me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm happy to have added meat back into my life, that's for sure. 

As always, I'll continue blogging about my progress on this journey that I'm on. I will admit that the decision to stop the cleanse was an emotional decision, but I came to the realization that emotions are a component of all of this. Now, that doesn't mean that what we like to call "emotional eating" is necessarily a good thing, because many times we do eat instead of running to God with our emotions. That, in turn, builds our comfort food into an idol.

But, to me, keeping up with the cleanse when I was incurring some tough emotions was more distressful and doing me more harm than it was good. So, after much prayer throughout the day, I made the decision to end the cleanse early and enjoy the weekend, while still maintaining healthy eating habits.

All of that being said, keep praying for me as I walk through this journey. This is a marathon, a lifelong marathon, and it's not a race. This is finding my identity in what's eternal and not focusing on the temporary (if you know anything about Joy Be, there's a little throwback rap for ya).

Have a great Monday, and it definitely feels like a Monday!

I've blogged to you...
Now you can blogbacktome

Asheville Wedding Weekend Recap

Source

Well, hello everyone! I am back after my little vacation/blogging hiatus.

I appreciate all of the prayers from last week for Rock the Block. We had such a wonderful time sharing Jesus with all of those little kiddos. As I mentioned last week, Jason and I taught the lesson on Wednesday. It went really well, but those kids definitely kept me on my toes. Great responses were given and good questions were asked. What else could we have asked for?

We also had a guest "speaker" that day. Jude (age 11) came to share his testimony and lead the group in worship. Jude's dad, Jim, is the owner of Steel City Pops and a friend from our church. He surprised us all and broke out an awesome stash of pops for the whole Rock the Block group!

Jim handing out popsicles.

Thursday we headed off to camp at Shocco Springs. Jason had been hired by the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes to shoot b-roll and some interviews for foster parent promo videos. I used to be an intern with their organization, and I still help out at the Children's Homes doing communications. So, I got to help out with social media and shooting some photos at camp. I always forget how much I love being a part of the Children's Homes until I'm back in the thick of everything. Jason and I also loved working together! We hope that maybe someday we'll be called to do just that...

The lake at Shocco Springs

After we left camp, we stopped for dinner at Sonny's BBQ (a.k.a. Jason's favorite place in the world) on our way to Atlanta. Jason stuck to his usual BBQ chicken, while I hit up the pretty amazing salad bar.

When we got to Atlanta, we didn't waste any time...we went straight to IKEA (a.k.a. one of my favorite places). Jason said that since we'd both worked really hard all day, we could spend up to $100! We came out with some really great ideas, a couple items, and we only spent $50!

What I would like our kitchen to look like someday.

What I would like our bed to look like...we bought the curtain and curtain rod!

After IKEA, we went to Jason's best friend from childhood's house. She and her husband live in such a cute little home in Atlanta. We had a great time visiting with her, and we're so thankful she opened up her adorable home to us.

Friday morning we hit the ground running. We were on the road by 9:00 (Atlanta time...so 8:00 to us) after a brief search for a Dunkin Donuts (COFFEE).

I drove most of the way to Asheville, NC, which actually ended up being really fun. I don't know why, but sometimes I just really really enjoy driving and then other times I hate it. I'm weird, I know...

We arrived in Asheville and went straight to Men's Wearhouse to pick up Jason's tux for the wedding. We had to hang around that area for a little while because they had the wrong size pants for Jason (try six sizes too big)...but that was okay with us. After we were done there, we drove around Asheville a little bit and snuck into a Sheraton to use their public restrooms to change for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (hey, at least it was clean...that's all I've got to say about that). We attempted going to the Biltmore...but after seeing the $60/person price tag, we decided we'd come back when we could make a day out of it (we only had about an hour and a half).

The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were fun and beautiful. It was great for Jason and I to see a lot of friends.

Jason and the groom.

Sarah and Cameron practicing their "I do".

Jason and I at the rehearsal dinner.

Samford groomsmen picture with the groom.

Saturday was the big day! Jason met up with the groomsmen at the mall in Asheville, which was 100% okay with me since that meant I got to shop! I found some great deals on what I'm calling "cruise clothes" (basically shorts, shirts, and dresses for our honeymoon cruise). I got Jason some "cruise clothes" too! His swim shorts ripped last time we were in Destin, so I found some on sale while I was shopping. They are the "Speedo" brand, but they're just normal board shorts. You should have seen Jason's face when he heard I bought him "Speedo" swim shorts :) I also got a pair of sandals for $3...how can you beat that? You just can't.

It was time for the wedding! I'll just sum up the whole thing with a couple of bullet points:

• Sarah looked incredibly beautiful
• Cameron is a super blessed guy
• Jason looked awesome in his tux (even if it was a little big on him)
• The food was good
• The friends were great
• I'm overly excited for The Free's! 

Being at Sarah and Cameron's wedding made me realize that my wedding is getting super close! I spent a lot of time on the phone with my mom this weekend going through decoration ideas and wedding plans. She even made all of the boutonnieres (along with a bunch of other really cool stuff)!

Red burlap boutonnieres for the guys.

Aren't they awesome?!

Monday, Jason and I went to our first pre-marital counseling session. I was really excited about beginning this phase of our engagement, and it definitely lived up its expectation. We really loved it and are so thankful for Pathway's Professional Counseling and their services in providing Christian counseling to Alabama. I can't wait to go back next week!

And with all of that said...GUESS WHAT?

Only 87 days until I'm Mrs. Morales!

Moving & Moving Forward

Wow -

As I began this Monday I now have a sister who is a high school graduate. Jason and I enjoyed Carlee's graduation weekend in Destin/Fort Walton.

Friday consisted of good food, lots of family, and that memorable moment when they said, "Carlee Anna Sansom" and she walked across the stage. After graduation, my parents and Carlee's boyfriend's parents had put together a wonderful party for them just down the road.

Carlee and Tyler (her boyfriend) were "Preschool Sweethearts" (as we like to say).

They're old pros at this whole graduating thang :)

My wittle swister is moving forward.

By the end of this week, Jason and I will hopefully

• Have Jason moved in to his summer residence 
• Have a lot of Jason's stuff moved into my apartment for storage
• Have a working and functional washing machine (finally!)
• Have tons more wedding planning done
• Have our engagement pictures taken (finally!)
• Have done tons of random things in between all of these huge things and both worked a 40 hour week!

Jason and I are moving forward - and Jason's a-movin'! 

In the midst of all of this, I MUST get back to eating right. Last week I got my blood work results and everything was fine except my cholesterol was a tad bit high and my insulin levels were high. Praise God that there is nothing more serious. I know that I MUST focus on eating according to the plan that the doctor gave me (I'll share that later this week) and exercise regularly. I also know from experience that during a time of lots of celebrations and transitions, it's very very hard to stay focused on a healthy lifestyle. I am praying for focus and discipline during this time.

I am wanting to cook dinner at home a couple of nights this week, so stay tuned for recipes. If all goes as planned, I may have some good ones up my sleeve :)

Now that you all feel sufficiently caught up on my life, I'll quit rambling. Happy Monday everyone!

Prayer Focus of the Day: Today I am praying for focus and discipline. Titus 1:7-9 says, "For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it." I am praying myself and for each of you friends and readers that these characteristics would define our inward and outward lives. 

Summer Nights - Looking Forward

Last night Jason and I had a great, normal night.

We both worked until 5:00.

I made dinner - pizza for him and feta turkey sliders for me.

We watched Person of Interest.

We went to the Apple Store to exchange something.

We went to Target to buy a wrench.

We went to our friends' townhouse to watch The Bachelorette.

We went home.

Jason went home.

Jason finished his washer/dryer project (for now at least).

I read.

I went to sleep.

The end.

Haha...just kidding. It's not the end. I of course have to give you at least a few pictures and a recipe. Duh...

I've been wanting an iPod Nano for a little while now. I had one that I used to run with, but around the time I got my first iPhone, my sister lost her iPod so I gave her mine. Then, last year, Jason bought me an iPod Shuffle to run with. I love it, but it doesn't hold a lot of music and I can't figure out how to select the music I want to listen to. Plus, I like the Nike+ app.

Lately, I've been using my iPhone to run because my shoes have the Nike+ sensor and I like to measure my distance, pace, etc. I'm not a fan of running with my phone though because I'm terrified of dropping it, I'm scared of sweating on it too much (that's one nasty form of liquid damage), and honestly, I hate holding it.

The solution to all of this: a new iPod Nano.

Yesterday I finally broke down and bought one (using Jason's Apple employee discount of course).

I told him I wanted red. I've always gone for the cute pink or green electronics, but I decided that red is my color right now. It's my main wedding color, it's the color of my lunchbox and tumbler, and it's the color of my purse. I've gotta match, right?

Source

Poor Jason thought he'd done such a good job. He got me the pink nano because he knows I like pink. When I opened it, he realized his mistake, but I told him I'd keep the pink. I do like pink. But he insisted we go up to the Apple Store and exchange it for the red one. My man is so good to me...probably too good.

After the Apple Store, we ran to Target really quickly to buy a wrench. We've (well, he's) been trying to get the pedestals off of our new-to-us washer and dryer since they're too tall for me. We've both lived either on campus or in an apartment for the last five and eight years, so we don't have many tools. I was supposed to bring the one bolt he could get off Sunday night, but I forgot it (oopsies). He ended up finding the right tool anyway, and then we were on our way.

After Target, we headed to our friends' townhouse for Bachelorette night (the TV show, not the pre-wedding party). Last season, Jason was only home for Monday and Tuesday nights, so in order to see a lot of our friends, he partook in Bachelor night. He actually got really into it...well he got really into making fun of it :) This season, he's back full-time, but we've really become accustomed to Monday nights with friends. So last night, we showed up and per the usual, Jason was the only guy.

My friend Rachel took this pic and put it on Instagram.
Someone commented, "You taught a dude to watch this show? Nice!" That's my man :)

After The Bachelorette, we went home and went our separate ways. I've been really enjoying going to sleep before 11 p.m.

So...where are we on the checklist? We've got two pictures and we're missing a recipe.

As promised -

Feta Turkey Sliders:
Ingredients

• 1 pkg. lean ground turkey
• 1/4 c. feta cheese (I used garlic and herb crumbled feta)
• 3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning to taste
• Garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Mix everything together (I used my hands).
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Form mixture into the size and shape burger you want (my first few were kind of thick, but my last ones were thinner and it was much easier to cook the thinner ones).
5. Cook until all the way through. There should not be any pink in the middle. Flip them every few minutes.
6. Sprinkle a little bit of feta cheese on top.

I didn't put mine on buns, but you definitely could! I just ate mine with a little bit of honey BBQ sauce and a sliced orange.

No more time for rambling, I've got to post this and get to my doctor appointment (more on that later).

A Picture-sque Weekend

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm actually really sad that the weekend is over. I took a half vacation day on Friday and I literally had the best weekend I've had in months.

Here's the weekend-in-review-via-pictures (I like combining words today):

Friday Jason and I went to see one of my best friends graduate from Samford's nursing school. I am so proud of her and it was also great to see my Little (little sister in Phi Mu)!

Yay MK!!!!

After graduation, Jason and I drove to Decatur, AL to see our friends Mark and Lindsay. Lindsay was on the Casting Crowns tour opening for the band while Mark, her husband, was also on the tour as an assistant tour manager. Jason and I became friends with them in the fall and we were excited to get to see Lindsay play at Soul Stock.

Lindsay McCaul - and yes, you should go buy her album, right now!

The event was sponsored by Show Hope, which is an organization that helps people adopt from overseas by raising money for grants and also raising awareness about orphan care. If you've ready my blog at all...you should know that I was totally excited about going to a Show Hope sponsored event (I cried like three times while we were there).

One of the cool things that is connected with Show Hope is called the Red Bus Project. It's literally a big red bus that goes around to college campuses and it's set up like a thrift store on the inside. It's super awesome and if you ever see this thing, you should definitely check it out!

After Lindsay played, Steven Curtis Chapman's sons played. I'd heard a lot about their band, Caleb, but I'd never seen them live before. They were great and Jason and I had a great time relaxing outside listening to their music.

After Caleb, there was a speaker from Show Hope who talked a lot about adoption and what the organization does. Jason and I listened for a little while, but then we got super hungry so we hit up the booth that was selling Chick-fil-A sandwiches. YUM! Jason also bought us matching-ish Show Hope t-shirts! Thanks Jason!

I promise the top shirt (Jason's) is blue, not pink.
The editing made both of these shirts look super girly.

The headliner for Soul Stock was Steven Curtis Chapman. He and his wife started Show Hope after adopting their three little girls from China about 12 years ago. It was only appropriate that that headlined for the first Show Hope sponsored event, right? I definitely re-lived ages 6-9 since he played a lot of his older music.

I loved everything about the event (except the bugs).

Saturday morning I woke up early, per my usual weekend routine. I waited to get a text from Jason saying that he was awake. We were able to go for a walk and do some work around his apartment and mine. I made us some lunch to save money. I hadn't been to the grocery store yet, so I literally threw together random things for myself, but it ended up being pretty good!

I had Italian seasoned green beans with shrimp and a baked sweet potato on the side.

Later that evening, Jason and I went to Chili's for dinner. I had the chicken fajitas with no sides while he went for the chicken crispers with corn on the cob and fries. We had a coupon for a free molten lava cake (hello splurge day), so we split that for dessert. It was good, but not sure if it was worth the calories (that sounds like crazy talk coming out of my mouth, but it's the truth...my how things have changed). Jason made me promise I'd never tell him how many calories are in that cake.

Saturday lunch, Sunday lunch, Saturday dinner

After Chili's we used another coupon and saw What to Expect when you're Expecting at the Edge Theater. It cost $6 for both of us to see a movie and for Jason to get popcorn. Now that's what I call a cheap date :)

The movie was actually really funny...and surprisingly clean. It has some language in it, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Sunday was the greatest day of all. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was great for some reason! I was actually able to sleep in (which is unusual for me), and then Jason and I went for another walk. After our walk, we made lunch and caught up on some TV shows. After TV/lunch time, we went to the pool for the first time this season (it was Jason's first time ever).

When we walked up to the pool, there was a man laying on a float in a teal speedo. Last year, my mom came up to stay with me on Memorial Day weekend and this same man was in the back of my apartment (I guess his backs up to mine) doing yoga in his chair. Well, yesterday Jason decided that it was too hot  to just sit in the chair, so he got in the pool (Jason, not speedo man...he was already lounging on his float). Speedo man started talking poor Jason's ears off. Turns out...he's from Miami and he's an alligator wrangler.

I couldn't help it. I had to take a picture.

I texted my mom while Jason was talking to the man and she said, "Well, it's official. Jason will literally talk to anyone!" So much truth.

After about an hour at the pool, we had to go back to my apartment to wait on the guy from Charter to come fix my internet...again. After he left, it was time to head to church.

Church was great, dinner was get (yummy yummy Thai food), and then we went to Jason's apartment to work on getting the pedestals off of our new washer and dryer.

They're so dusty, which wasn't a big deal. The pedestal came off of the dryer super easy. But the washer was a whole different story.

After about 45 minutes of trying to get the bolts out, Jason decided we'd go buy a better tool later. Poor guy, in the middle of all of that, he killed at least two spiders (probably more) and had to clean off all kinds of bugs and nasty stuff that we apparently purchased with the washer.

Overall, great weekend. I honestly didn't want it to end. But next week is a long weekend (WHOOHOO!!!) and I'm sure it will be great as well!

Enough of the rambling from me...what did YOU do this weekend?

In Case You've Caught the Mondays

Happy Monday everyone!

After two posts on Friday, I decided to take the weekend off from blogging. But don't worry, I have plenty to share today!

I will catch you up on my weekend really quickly (meh, kind of quickly).

Friday, I left work a little early because Jason and I had friends in town.

When I arrived home, a birthday/wedding present was waiting for me.

At first it was a mystery, and then on Saturday my sisters called and told me that the gift was from them! I love it (and so does Jason)!

We took our friends to New York Pizza, which was really fun. Jason and I just hung out for the rest of the evening.

Saturday was a busy day. We started out at the 5K Walk for Foster Care. I took us to the wrong park...oops! But once we got there, we had a great time. The weather was perfect and it was nice to start the day out early.

From there, we attempted to run some errands, but it honestly didn't happen. Everything we needed to do was closed. So...we went to lunch.

We hit up Stix by the Galleria thinking that they had a lunch menu, but they didn't. I got the teriyaki chicken with double veggies and no rice. I'm slowly but surely learning how to spell teriyaki (even though it's showing up as misspelled on my computer right now...uh oh).

Saturday was my sweet little neighbor's 87th birthday. Jason and I bought him a cupcake, card, plant, and balloon and left it for him Saturday morning. I ran into him as I was coming home from the grocery store on Saturday though and he said he didn't have dinner plans.

I was making dinner for Jason and myself, so I took some over to him.

Then...he told Jason that I need to go into the catering business.

Not sure what to think about that!

Anyway, here's what I made for dinner:

Jason's dinner is on top - Ziti Bake - and my sandwich and salad is below.

Once again, Jason and I ate together but separately. His dinner wasn't unhealthy, but I really wanted some frozen yogurt Saturday night, so I decided to use the remainder of the turkey from last week to make a sandwich.

I adapted the recipe for Jason's ziti bake from a recipe I found on Dashing Dish.

Three Cheese Ziti Bake (or, Three Cheese Pasta Bake):
Ingredients

• 3 c. cooked whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 c. fresh spinach leaves
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1.5 jars three cheese marinara sauce
• 2 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened 
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. oregano 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile cook ground turkey in a large nonstick skillet, until meat is cooked through, (no longer pink). Stir in cream cheese, crushed tomatoes, spinach, and spices and turn off heat. When pasta is done, pour into a colander to drain. Add pasta to sauce mixture.
3. Pour everything into prepared casserole dish, and sprinkle mozzarella over the pasta. Cover casserole dish with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 5-7 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted.

My sandwich consisted of whole wheat bread, an avocado, black forest turkey, and colby jack cheese. I grilled it on the skillet for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

I had a blast cooking Saturday night, as you can see. Usually, I'm alone on Saturday nights, so I either just make something quick for myself or go out to dinner with friends. Have I mentioned lately how much I love having Jason home?!? 

After dinner, Jason and I went to go see The Avengers...finally!! We are huge fans of the Edge Theater in Crestwood. We started going there when Sharing Spree sold tickets for less than $2. We bought tons of them...and unfortunately they're all used up/expired now. We still have coupons and Sharing Spree deals that are $5 for $10 worth of tickets or concessions. So, for two tickets and a popcorn, Jason paid the difference of $2 for us to see an incredible movie!! That's what I call a deal!

I loved everything about Saturday night. The food, the company, the movie, the price...absolutely everything...except for the kid who sat behind us in the movie and coughed, sneezed, and sniffled the ENTIRE 2.5 hour long movie! By the end of it, I felt like I needed to wash my hands for 15 minutes straight...or maybe take a shower.

Sunday was a normal Sunday for me. Jason went back to volunteering at church working the lights during all three services. I taught my 8th grade girls small group. We went home for lunch, ate leftovers, and watched Property Virgins. Then we went to the Summit to look for some colorful jeans for Jessica and we hit up Target on our way back to church. Church was great, our pastor and his wife are pregnant with their 4th child! We're so excited for them!

After church we went to Maki Fresh where I ordered a salmon salad. It was great, but I'm usually not all the way full after eating that. That shouldn't be the case for a salad that costs almost $10 from a counter-service restaurant. Oh well...

After church, Jason and I went home and read. We've never done that before and I'm not sure why. We both enjoy reading. So, we sat on my couch, Jason with book in hand and me with my Kindle. We read for about and hour...and then I fell asleep on the couch. Have I mentioned that Jason and I are glad we're done with school? I don't have the stamina to read like I had to in college anymore!

So, that about sums up my weekend. This morning I got up and went for a run around my apartment complex for about 30 minutes. I saw Jason's Asian next door neighbor doing tai chi or something in the parking lot.

GOAL: Get a picture of that for tomorrow's blog!

Also, isn't always more fun to get ready for a Monday with new things?

New matching red and black lunch box and tumbler.

QUESTION: Do you prefer a busy weekend or a laid back weekend at home?

Enough rambling for this Monday morning. Let us turn our focus to prayer...

Prayer Focus for the Day: May is National Foster Care Mother. Yesterday, the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes held their annual day of prayer. Will you join with me in praying for the fatherless both domestically and internationally? Here is a printable 40 day prayer guide: http://www.pearpod.com/oc/downloads/40DaysofPrayer.pdf

Birthday Recap

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday! I was so overwhelmed by the Facebook comments, Twitter @mentions, text messages, emails, and in-person friends who wished me a happy birthday. It was indeed a happy day. I'm so blessed.

Jason surprised me at work yesterday and took me to lunch. He showed up carrying pink impatiens and a birthday balloon.

Then, he whisked me away to Urban Cookhouse for lunch. While we were there, I reminded him that we ate there last year on my birthday too! I think it must become a tradition.

While we were at lunch, he went ahead and gave me my birthday present. He bought me beautiful diamond earrings from the same store that he bought my engagement ring. I'm telling you, that man needs a frequent buyer card at Helzberg Diamonds.

Best. Fiancé. Ever.

After lunch, we walked down to Savage's Bakery and Jason bought me a red velvet cupcake. It was the perfect amount of cake for my birthday. And it was magically delicious.

I went back to work and counted down the hours until I got to go to dinner. At 5:00, I battled the rain and Hwy. 280 traffic to get to Chuy's. Jason was already there so that he could get a table and we wouldn't have to wait.

We took full advantage of Chuy's nacho bar. For those of you who don't know, Chuy's offers a free nacho bar from 4:00-6:30 (or 7:00) on the weekdays. I could have honestly made a meal off of that...but of course I didn't. I ordered the Monday special, which was enchiladas blancas. Yummy...but I didn't even make a dent in my meal after the nacho-fest.

Friends started showing up around 6:00. I was so excited to celebrate with my friends. It's always fun when different groups come together and you get to fellowship with everyone. We ended up staying at Chuy's until almost 8:00. It was so fun just to sit and talk and laugh.

I can always count on Rachel to remember to take pictures on special occasions!

Again, I'm so blessed.

After dinner, Jason and I went back to my apartment just to hang out. My roommate and her fiancé are in grad school and they were busy writing papers. Props to them for sure...but Jason and I decided we don't miss college (or at least that part of college) one bit. To all of you in grad school: you are a more determined person than me...and smarter too!

This morning I decided it was time to get back on track. Time to stick to my rules and my plan. No more splurging in the name of birthday!

Breakfast: sliced strawberries and blueberries

Jason and I have small group tonight, so we'll have to eat a quick dinner before we head out the door this evening. I'm planning on making Caribbean chicken, so I'll have the recipe for that up tomorrow.

I am also going to try a recipe I saw on my favorite blog yesterday. Vanilla Avocado Soft Serve sounds like it would be right up my ally. I even sliced up and avocado this morning and put it into the freezer so that I come make this treat after small group tonight.

Well, until tomorrow, I'll press pause on my rambling.

Prayer focus of the day: Today I am praying for my sweet neighbor, Mr. Fritsch, who lives next door. His wife passed away this year after battling Alzheimer's disease for over three years. Will you join me in praying for him today?

Both Ends of the Rainbow

Good morning everyone! Today is a special day...especially for me!

Today, I turn 23. It's the first of my "adult" birthdays. I know that people say that you're an "adult" when you turn 18, and then some people say you're an "adult" when you turn 21, but I don't believe any of that boondoggle. In my opinion, you're an "adult" when you go to work on your birthday.

Don't get me wrong, I could have asked off for today, but the truth is I kind of wanted to come to work. I have great friends at work and I love being around people on my birthday. It's also hard for me to take a lot of vacation days pre-wedding.

I even got some presents! Folger's Vanilla Biscotti, Summit gift card, cute earings, and a summer scarf!

I'm super blessed to have great friends at work.

I also realized this morning that this is the last  birthday that I'll ever have as Jessica Sansom. Next year, I'll be married woman and rockin' a new last name!

I'm super excited to celebrate with Jason and some more friends tonight! Stay tuned for that post tomorrow :)

Now it's time to backtrack to Saturday night-Sunday. I'm still trying to get my blogging schedule down pat, so you'll have to bear with me on the weekends for now.

Saturday night:

 I made some cookies to welcome Jason home and also to give to my sweet next door neighbor. Mr. Fritsch (my neighbor) is in his 80s and his wife just passed away a couple of months ago. I try to give him some sort of goodies and a note just to let him know that I'm thinking about him and praying for him whenever I can.

Cookies and Cream Cookies (recipe adapted from Lovin' from the Oven blog):

Yields 24 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick softened margarine
• 6 Tablespoons Stevia in the Raw
• 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt substitute
• 11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.  
2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in the Oreos and chocolate chips until just combined. 
3. With a medium spoon, scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft.
4. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 

Each cookie came in at about 56 calories. Not too shabby for a yummy treat!

The outcome = delicious 

Sunday:

The day had finally arrived. Jason was coming home for good! I woke up thinking that I was going to be late picking him up, but in actuality, I woke up about three hours too early. Oh well. Better early than late, right?

I took it slow, ate some breakfast (boiled egg), drank my coffee (yum), and did the 30 Day Shred (ouch). Then I hopped in the shower and headed to Montgomery where I was supposed to be meeting the buses. 

I arrived about 30 minutes before they did, so I hit up Ross Dress for Less. I had a successful little shopping trip. I walked out of there with a new welcome mat and wreath for the front door, a can opener, new lunch box, and a dress for less than $60. 

Finally, I got the call. The bus had decided to stop at a different exit, so they dropped Jason off at a Raceway gas station. A few minutes later, he was in my car and we were headed off to lunch!

We decided to get back on the road, so we stopped for lunch in Prattville. I was being a very indecisive eater, but we (I) finally settled on McAllister's Deli. 

Jason went with the French Dip with macaroni and cheese while I rocked the Veggie Club with fruit. 

When we finally made it back to Birmingham, we just relaxed and hung out. I couldn't believe that he was home for good and we didn't have to squish a whole week's worth of time together into two or three days. It was seriously so nice just to chill. 

After a little relaxing, we got ready for church. While we were driving there, we came across the most amazing rainbow I've ever seen. 

It looked like we could see the beginning of it and we drove under its perfect arch. I was just reminded of God's promises, which I know might be a bit cliche, but who cares. We serve a Savior who is faithful to the promises in his Word. 

Birmingham rainbow - the beginning

I sent a picture to my sister Carlee, and she sent this back to me.

Destin rainbow - the ending

We were five hours away from each other, but connected by rainbows. God is truly amazing.

At church, I felt so blessed to be able to dive into God's word specifically referring to a place where I am in life. The sermon was on Matthew 19, which is primarily about divorce. But, being engaged, it was necessary to truly listen and get everything I could out of it because to be divorced, you have to first be married. The whole entire sermon I kept thinking to myself, "I must be a wife who depends on solely on the Lord. My marriage must reflect Christ."

 I've heard him say it multiple times, but when David Platt said, "Take heed lest you fall," it pierced my heart like never before.

After church we grabbed dinner with  some friends who we haven't spent a lot of time with lately. It was so wonderful to reconnect with them! 

When we got home, Jason came over for a little bit. We had so much fun just talking and laughing. Like I said, it's really nice to just be able to hang out and relax. I don't like feeling rushed. 

Welp, that's about it as far as my weekend goes.

I did find out this fun fact today: 

Yes, while this was happening, I was being born. What a wonderful day May 7, 1989 truly was :)

Instead of rambling on, I'll leave you with a gift...

For all of you fellow Nutella lovers, here you go.

Eats and Little Treats

One of the biggest realizations that I've come to in the last week and a half is that to maintain a healthy lifestyle is that I must do my research and plan ahead!

Since I've been really bad about posting my meals over the last few days, I will go through from Sunday-Tuesday and explain what I mean by researching and planning ahead along the way.

Hopefully, at the end of this post you'll see that it's not hard to change your eating habits. I'm not eating "diet food" nor am I eating nasty cardboard stuff. I'm just following the rules and guidelines that I set up for myself and I'm not letting anyone or anything persuade me to get off that course of action. 

Sunday
Sunday I drove back to Birmingham from Destin. I know that I always get hungry on this drive, and my usual reaction is to stop about an hour and a half in and get something from McDonald's like an ice cream or a McFlurry. If I'm feeling healthier, maybe I'll just go for a smoothie. But Sunday I ate Great Value nonfat yogurt before I left Destin and packed an apple for when the hunger would strike.

By the time I got back to Birmingham, I was still not hungry, so I went on to the grocery store, and then finally made it home. I had about 20 minutes to kill before Jason got back in town, so I made myself a smoothie for lunch. It was around 1:30 or 2:00 when I did this, so the yogurt and apple really held me over.

I don't have a picture of my smoothie because I drank it too fast, but here's the recipe -

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie:
4 oz. skim milk
2 very ripe bananas
2 tbsp. natural peanut butter (creamy)
6 ice cubes (this may vary depending on the size of your ice cubes)

I really meant to drink half of the smoothie then and half before church, but I was kind of really hungry by then so I drank the whole thing. Jason and I were going to the 6:00 service at church, which means no dinner until 8:15 or so. I decided on a super filling snack to hold me over.

Nutella Yummy Oats:
1/2 c. whole wheat oats
2 tsp. Nutella
1 c. water

This will be a breakfast meal in the near future.

Stir all of this together and then put in the microwave for about two minutes. I honestly couldn't even finish this snack because I was so full. I also wasn't hungry until about 8:45 that night.

After church, Jason wanted to pick up sushi and take it back to my apartment. I decided to just make a salad when I got home.


Dinner Salad Galore:
1-2 c. spinach leaves
1/2 avocado chopped
1/4 c. fat free shredded cheddar cheese
1 slice roast beef from the deli
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Since Jason picked up food from Maki Fresh, I decided to pretend I did too and I used one of our many Maki cups for my water.

Here is my calorie count for the day:

I think the smoothie and oats snack made my calories a bit too high for the day.

Monday:
Monday was date night. Here's where the research comes in - Jason had mentioned going to Stix for dinner. I usually get the teriyaki chicken without rice and I substitute double veggies. So I looked up the nutrition facts on that meal and it was pretty decent, especially for dinner. Then, I thought about another restaurant that Jason and I like a lot that is a Mongolian grill type place. You pick your protein, veggies, seasonings, and sauce and then they cook it for you. I looked up their website to try to find the nutritional information, and guess what? They let you build your own meal online and they count the nutrition facts as you're building it.

I built my meal and recorded the nutritional information. After that, I called Jason and asked if he wanted to go there instead. He was all for it, thus I had a super healthy dinner, even though we were on a date!

No special recipes today, but here goes a "normal" day for me:


Breakfast:
1 c. skim milk
1/2 lb. watermelon
Coffee - Millstone Foglifter

Lunch:
2 oz. turkey from the deli
Great Value nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. cucumber slices
1 tsp. wasabi mustard (probably less)
25 pistachios (no salt added, also this was throughout the afternoon)

3:00 Snack:
Sliced orange

Dinner:
Genghis Grill bowl - Chicken, shrimp, yellow squash/zucchini, celery, spinach leaves, broccoli, green beans, red pepper flakes, salt, island teriyaki sauce.

This comes with a starch, but I ordered tortillas on the side and I didn't eat them.

Once we got home, I made a little snack because Jason popped some popcorn. I mixed up some fat free/sugar free chocolate pudding with skim milk. While that was gelling, I got out the Nutella (can you tell I'm a big fan?). I spooned some pudding into a bowl and put an even teaspoon of Nutella right in the middle. It was the perfect dessert for less than 200 calories.

Here's my calorie intake for Monday:

Tuesday:
Today was a little bit harder for me to research because Jason and I decided to meet for lunch about 20 minutes before we actually met. Luckily, I brought my lunch to work today, so if he picked some place that would be hard for me to eat at, I was just going to bring my lunch with me or eat after. Luckily, he chose a place where I can eat pretty decently and that has their nutritional facts online.

Breakfast:
1 c. skim milk
Oikos 0% Greek yogurt, vanilla
Coffee - Folger's Black Silk

Lunch:
Taziki's Chicken Feast with basmati rice (although I only ate about 2 bites of the rice) and a small Greek salad (but I didn't use the dressing).

Doesn't this look yummy? I even ate the tomatoes...but I still don't like them!

Dinner:
Things got tricky at dinner tonight. I've been so excited about making Mini-French Dip Sammies for Jason, but that's not something that I can eat. So before I left for work today, I pulled from my stock of frozen tilapia and left two filets out to thaw. I recently saw a recipe for "Fish Cakes" on a blog and I've been wanting to try it. Tonight seemed like as good a night as ever!

My dinner -

Fish Cake Spinach Salad (recipe adapted from the Fit Cook blog):
Ingredients

• 2 filets of white fish (tilapia)
• 1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp mustard (yellow or Dijon)
• 1 egg white
• the juice of half a lemon
• Emeril's Fish Seasoning
• salt + pepper
• 2 c. spinach leaves
• 1/2 cucumber sliced
• 1/2 avocado sliced
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil** in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the red pepper, and cook until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add another 1/2 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides, and cook on each side for about 3 minutes, allowing the fish to brown (brown = more flavor). Use a spatula to break up the fish, then transfer it to the bowl with the onion and pepper.
3. Add the Greek yogurt, mustard, fish seasoning, egg white, and lemon juice to the bowl and stir with a spoon until well combined. Set bowl aside and let mixture cool.
4. Prepare spinach, cucumbers, and avocado on a large plate. 
5. Serve 1/4 to 1/2 (depending on how much you want) of the mixture on top of the salad.
6. Pour balsamic vinegar on top and it's ready to eat!

**I used nonstick cooking spray instead of EVOO.

Jason's Dinner -

Mini-French Dip Sammies (recipe from Plain Chicken blog):
Ingredients

• 1/2 pound deli roast beef, thinly sliced
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• Arby's sauce, horseradish sauce, or ranch dressing
• 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 packet Au Jus Gravy mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles.  Spread 1/2 teaspoon Arby's sauce or ranch dressing on each crescent.  Top each crescent with 1/2 slice provolone cheese and roast beef.  Roll up crescents and place on baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.
3. While crescents are baking, make Au Jus according to directions on packet. 

I also had the second half of my pudding/Nutella dessert tonight.

Here is my calorie count for today:

If I can live a healthier lifestyle, so can you.

Goodnight everyone!

...and until tomorrow, happy ramblings!