First *official* 10K race

Running used to be nearly impossible for me.  I know it was always mental, or at least I liked to believe that it was, but I also believe that my unhealthy lifestyle and additional 30lbs contributed to my inability to run farther than 200m without being completely winded and tired.  I remember when I first met D I had just started getting into running, I was terrible at it.  I trained in the gym and did a little bit of running on a treadmill here and there but not much. He was fantastic at it and I envied him.  *Side note: now I'm better ;) *  He would take me out with him and push me to go a little bit farther each time.  I was a nanny at the time and she had a jogger and everyday the little boy and I would go for a run to the park and everyday I would lengthen the route to the park.  I pushed myself harder and harder everyday until I began knocking out miles like they were nothing. Until my "I'm going for a quick run" was actually at least 5 miles.  Once I moved to VV I had an awesome route that I ran and it was often made into 6+ miles which was a huge accomplishment for me.  ONCE I even did 12...yeah, I think will do a half marathon next.  I now have faith in myself that I CAN in fact do it.  

A little over a year ago I did my first "official" 5K race, and here I am a year later doing my first 10K race which at the end I thought to myself, "I absolutely could have kept going and should have signed up for the half".  I finished 25th/94 in my age group and 137th/558 women.  I started off very slow with a friend who I eventually (and accidentally) lost and figured it was too late to look back now and I picked up the pace and took off.  Next time I'll start at my own pace and hope to come in closer to the top.

Moving to Michigan has put a bit of a damper on my running.  I have a bit of wildlife to be aware of out there. More than here that's for sure.  Wolves, bears, foxes...they are all out there and we have been warned about them.  At least in California the only thing I had to worry about were those cute little owls....yeah, real cute as they are swooping down and clawing my head.  Adorable. Not.

Following in their mom's marathon running shoes...too cute! *Side note part 2: I attribute my awesome energy levels during the race to the amazing rosemary bread their mom made the night before that I (and another girl that ran) ate my fair share of* :) OH and their mom WON the 10K! What a way to go out in your last Davis race! :)

All in all, it was a fun day in one of my favorite cities with some of my favorite people. 

A road trip home

Over the last weekend my mom and I made the long haul home from Michigan to California.  She flew in on Tuesday, we did some touring of the town, a trip to Canada, Christmas decorating (yes, premature I know, but I refuse to let D come home 5 days before Christmas to an undecorated house even if he will only be home for a couple days/nights) road trip snack making, and a little shopping.  We took off on Friday for the loooong days of driving.  We drove approximately 13 hours per day gaining an hour with each overnight stop.  The Friday we left was a brutal one in Sault Sainte Marie.  High winds, buckets and buckets of rain, and flash floods tore through town.  I was SO grateful we made it out when we did.

Our first stop was in Omaha, NE where I found us this GEM of a historic hotel.  The hotel was very neat it was an old building but it was beautiful.  When we checked in (at 11pm) I expected nothing short of perfection.  They ran out to my car, valet parked it, helped unload, etc, etc, etc. WELL, we got to our room which was unlocked and already opened.  We walked in and nothing seemed wrong initially.  It was beautiful! The bathroom was awesome with a shower you stepped up into, the drapes were beautiful and went as high as the ceiling, and the marble countertops were to die for.  I walked into the bathroom and saw chewed GUM on the sink next to the faucet, yes, gum.  I asked my mom if she stuck her gum there, she laughed as if I was crazy for thinking she would ever do that (which I was).  She then noticed that the bed looked like it had been sat on and wasn't that "perfectly made hotel bed". I began searching under beds and in closets because now I was scared that someone was in there. By now it was 11:30 and I was exhausted and livid. I wanted to just leave but knew what a pain in the butt it would be so I called down to the front desk where the manager profusely apologized and brought up a new room key to a different room.  This room was perfect but I was still scared and of course, checked under the beds and in the closets (this is routine for me anyway in both my home after returning from being out and in hotels).  When we checked out the next day the new manager on duty already had heard of our incident and apologized once again.  She ended up taking $60 off our stay! We got on the road for another long day on our way to our next stop, Park City, UT one of my favorite places along this trip to and from CA.

The Magnolia Hotel

While driving to Park City we had to cross Nebraska and Wyoming, both VERY large states.  There was already snow through both and we actually ran into some pretty crazy high winds with snow storms and ice. My mom also pointed to a dark cloud that looked as if it was funneling down and asked "do they get tornados here?" (this was the day before hundreds of tornados tore through that area). YIKES! We were 100 miles from Park City, UT in Little America, WY when the freeway sign read "I-80 Closed please exit now".  There was a HUGE storm roaring through and between the snow and wind visibility was pretty much zero according to some who had turned around and made their way back to this stop.  I was not happy about this.  It was not the "plan" that I had in mind and may have had a slight meltdown here over this.  I had booked our hotels in advance so I had to call Park City and cancel which was where I was SO excited about staying because D and I stayed at an awesome place last time we drove through there.  Also, it just wasn't the plan to stop in Little America. I may have a slight issue with dealing with change...have we noticed? Anyway, the hotel there was nice and thankfully there was a good restaurant there too.  It was kind of a creepy place.  It reminded me of a place you'd see on a horror movie.  It was like a mini town of it's own.  It had a post office, a hotel, a restaurant, a general store, gym, pool, and I'm sure more stuff that I missed.  It was nice and I felt safe, that's all that mattered at that point.

The pretty sky somewhere in the middle of Wyoming

Little America, WY

The next morning we were up bright and early once again, today we were to make it home.  I was determined to get on the road and get through before I-80 shut down again.  We made it to Park City and stopped for a bit so I could show my mom where the Winter Olympic landmark was and to get my first Starbucks fill of the trip! This day was going well until I realized a little late that I should have gotten gas back at one of our last stops.  My gas light came on and it says "60 miles to empty" then from there drops in 5 mile increments.  I figured there would be a gas station before that so I checked on my navigation and it said next gas station 40 miles (by this time my car was telling me I had 35 miles to go). "OH SHIT" is what we both thought.  I began panicking and flipping through my owner's manual to make sure my reserve tank of 2 gallons (which would get me another 80 miles) didn't count in this quickly dropping countdown of miles happening on my dashboard.  My mom was driving and trying not to accelerate gripping the steering wheel pretending not to be worried but after the fact informed me that she was just as stressed as I was praying to God that my reserve tank didn't count until 0 miles.  I couldn't find it in the manual and my gas gage was dropping at a rapid rate.  All of a sudden it said 0 miles to go.  I looked at her and said "I'm going to vomit" and she looked back and said, "grab a bag there's no stopping now".  I had called D and he was stressed but trying to stay calm.  I know he wanted to yell at me because he has warned me before about how quickly it drops and how running a diesel out of fuel is terrible.  I never let it get this low! But, to our surprise, we kept on moving and made it to the gas station! PHEW!!!!!! From here, there was nowhere left to go but home! We made it home at about 8:30p.m. Sunday evening. Thank. Goodness.

And this is the sunset in Nevada at the California state line that welcomed me home. :) 

A hard lesson learned...

When the weather channel says it "feels like 7 degrees" outside, not only does that mean that it feels like 7 degrees and is going to be freezing but it also means that leggings are not appropriate attire to be outside in.  It means that everything you touch is going to be so cold it burns your hands when you hold it for a prolonged period of time.  It means that your patio furniture and BBQ will be stuck frozen to your patio when you decide that maybe it's best you bring it into the garage for the winter (something you should have done at the first signs of snow fall, not 4 inches into it), it means that you should probably absolutely should wear gloves when you go out to move that stuff or else you are going to feel like you just lost both your hands and not even the hottest water can warm them up fast enough to alleviate the pain. Yeah. Lesson learned. OH and you should always wear your snow boots if you're going to be doing serious work like this outside because snow sticks to the bottom of Uggs which in turn becomes slick when you step into your garage and you may fall and seriously injure yourself.  So I guess I learned a few lessons.  Thankfully I didn't actually fall and seriously injure myself, however if I had, D would pay for it because he forgot to move this stuff in before he left.  Oh what fun! 

More snow and a deployment

Well, I spoke too soon when I said we only saw snow for a few days and haven't seen it since.  It began snowing a few days ago, it has all melted, and it is predicted to snow again tomorrow and Tuesday.  Tomorrow is 1-3 inches which to people here is "a little bit".  Funny thing is, the other day when it was snowing I was sitting in our window watching it come down and began to wonder "is this a blizzard"? HA! not quite! :) I am still enjoying it, even though it seems a bit premature, and D and I both agree that it is better than rain.  We both like it.

Speaking of sitting and watching the snow out my window...while I was doing so I spotted a WOLF...yes, a wolf, right by my backyard fence.  Apparently they are back.  They closed hunting for them because they were once offering money for every wolf caught due to an overpopulation of them in the upper peninsula.  The hunting caused them to be nearly gone up here but it seems as if they have repopulated the area and they have reopened the hunting for them.  Runners are being warned because one was spotted following a runner! A car spotted this and tried to veer his car towards the wolf to scare him back into the woods and picked up the runner and drove him home.  My treadmill has never looked so appealing.  As I was saying, the other morning I was watching the snow come down and I spotted one in the forest behind our house just walking by our fence.  I had to take a double take and look really hard and realized what I was seeing.  I thought it was someone's dog, but quickly realized one, it was huge and two no one was following behind it.  My friend down the street has spotted huge paw prints in the snow in her yard and she and I both saw them in her yard yesterday.  Needless to say, I'm a little scared that they are brave enough to be in our front and back yards.

D is officially on his way to B.O. School in South Carolina.  We will be apart until December 27th at the soonest.  It will be the longest we have ever spent apart.  The goodbye was a really rough one for both of us.  I'm hoping being home will cause the time to fly by.  I truly don't know how some of these wives do this so often and it's for months at a time.  The boats here are gone most of the winter.  Major props to them for their strength.

My mom flies in Tuesday and boy is she in for it! There's going to be a fresh snowfall to greet her with high and low temperatures in the 20's. :) I will say, I feel like the temperatures haven't been too shocking for us.  Yes, it's cold, but we've managed to adjust.  The other evening I went to the gym in shorts and it was snowing.  I was cold, but I survived.  I did however, receive some seriously crazy looks from people when I walked into the restaurant to pick up dinner for D.  I'm sure people were wondering who the nut job in shorts was.  People wear hats and gloves and are all bundled up everyday.  I haven't had to wear anything more than what I would normally wear in California on our really cold days.  I haven't as much as touched my gloves or hats or snow boots (which I know will come in handy later in the season).  I feel confident that we will in fact survive this tundra lifestyle.

This is across the street from my house...the first one was taken just last month...ahh the beautiful colors of Fall.  The second one was taken two days ago.  A light dusting of snow turned it from a Fall wonderland to a Winter wonderland.  Stunning in both photos.

25 days of Christmas

While I am excited beyond words to be heading to California for close to two months, I am sad that D and I will be spending all that time apart.  It'll be the longest we have ever spent apart and the first time we will miss both holidays together.  It's even worse because he will be alone both holidays.  He leaves soon for South Carolina where he will be for 5 weeks.  He will spend Thanksgiving there.  He isn't going completely alone, he will have someone else from work there with him but it is still very sad! Then he will return a few days before Christmas and work the first part of their holiday routine which requires him to work through Christmas. He gets off a few days after Christmas and will head to California for a few weeks then we will drive back together.  Now, since we are going to be apart for so long, I decided to do Christmas a little different this year.  

Growing up we always had an advent calendar that we called "The Christmas Board".  I currently have possession of the ORIGINAL Christmas Board handmade by my grandmother.  It is a calendar that has hooks for each day in which a tag with a name hangs on it, we would open one tag a day and whoever's name was on this tag got to find the gift under the tree with the corresponding number and open the present.  It was always little items (nail polish, socks, treats, books, etc.) we did it for the 24 days up until Christmas.  It is my FAVORITE holiday tradition and I plan to carry it out with my children as well.  

So back to this year, I have decided to do an advent type thing for D while he is gone.  I'll finish it and give it to him before he leaves but he can't open it until the 1st of December.  Torture, I know. :) It's a box that is going to have a card, that I made, for each day leading up to Christmas then a card on Christmas.  We will see each other by New Year's eve so we will exchange gifts then.  Each card will have a little note written inside it telling him something I love/appreciate about him.  I also plan to decorate my house for Christmas before I leave for California so he will come home to a decorated house.  Christmas is his favorite time of year and I just can't bear the fact that he will have to come home to an undecorated house so close to Christmas.  

I guess I am excited about this year because of the surprises I have in store.  But, I'd trade those to actually spend the holidays together.  

One year anniversary!

Monday marked a year from our wedding day.  Crazy how quickly time has passed us by! I truly feel like it was just yesterday.  We have had a whirlwind of a year but I'm happy to have D by my side through it all.  I don't know what in the world I'd do without his support through all of these changes! We are looking forward to this next year and of course, all the rest.  We decided to treat ourselves and find a really good restaurant in Canada to go to for dinner.  We succeeded! We found a great place right on the water.  Very quiet and romantic.  Perfect.  We also both had the same exact idea to make each other a card this year.  I actually LOVE the fact that he went through all the work to take the time to dig through my craft stuff and find different things to use to create his card for me.  I loved it. Especially coming from him, he does not do this type of stuff! And of course, he accompanied it with one of my favorite things to have in the house....beautiful flowers! Today was amazing just as it was a year ago.

We also managed to come up with the same idea, to hand craft a card for each other.  From me, this is not a surprise, however, from him...it was a HUGE surprise and I LOVED it! He took the time and effort to look through all my crafting supplies and choose the paper and details he wanted to add to his card.  I loved that he did this because this is so not like him to do.  He is not crafty in that way, so it meant a lot that he did this...so. cute.

Oh, happy day!!!!

Bake and Destroy

I have recently had the opportunity to taste some recipes from this little gem....the verdict? Let's just say after I tasted the Black Metal Forest Brownies I rushed to Amazon and got a copy of it delivered to me quicker than the plate of brownies disappeared...ok so maybe not that fast...It's all vegan and from what I have tasted, downright yummy! It has a little bit of everything in it.

Now, my theory on cookbooks is you can NEVER have too many...D, not so much.  He protested this purchase just a tiny bit stating I have 5,000 cookbooks and we are running out of room and I especially didn't need another vegan cookbook.  His opinion on my purchase changed after he bit into a Chai Berry Muffin (I may or may not have chosen this one to wow him based on my knowledge of his love for chai tea), and he "couldn't believe it was vegan". Sheesh, I tell ya! Some people hear the words vegetarian or vegan and run the other way...give it a chance, I promise...with the right chef/baker, vegan can be tasty.  I swear people think I eat bland "weird" food all the time.  Granted, some vegans do eat boring meals, but so do some omnivores! :) 

Anyhoo, my first recipe I've made from this was the Chai Berry Muffins, I just used blueberries instead of mixed berries.  I've made these twice now, the first time I followed the recipe to a "T" the second time I made modifications (see parentheses).  They were good both ways, if I had to choose, I'd say keep them accordingly, or at least don't sub agave for sugar.

You must try these! 

3/4 cup soy or rice milk (if adding agave instead of sugar, after you boil and steep the tea bags in the 3/4 cup only use 1/2 cup or else there will be too much moisture. It typically evaporates upon boiling/steeping but just in case)

2 black tea bags

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I subbed 1 cup whole wheat)

2/3 cup sugar (2/3 cup agave MINUS 2 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of ground white pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

3 tablespoons water

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil (1/3 cup applesauce)

Preheat oven to 400 (375 if you use agave).  

Heat the sou milk on the stove or in a microwave until almost boiling, add the tea bags and steep for 3-4 minutes.  Remove the tea bags and let cool.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, salt, and pepper.  Stir in the frozen berries.  In a small bow, whisk the ground flaxseeds and water together.  Add this, the tea mixture and the oil to the dry flour mixture.  Stir just until mixed; the batter will be lumpy.  Scoop the batter into the muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (check after 15 if using agave), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool for 1 minute before removing from the pan.  Makes 12 muffins.  These are SO yummy.

Another favorite I have made from the book so far is the Black Metal Forest Brownies.  If you like brownies, or chocolate for that matter, you MUST try these.  I'd say you must try these BEFORE the Chai Berry Muffins.  Yes. They are that good.  I don't like cherry pie and this recipe includes cherry pie filling and my oh my you don't even know it's there. I have NOT modified this recipe yet.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

2 cups sugar (YIKES!)

1/2 cup canola oil

2/3 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I recommend the ghirardelli dark chocolate chips for this recipe)

1/3 cup cherry pie filling (trust me on this)

extra chocolate chips to sprinkle on top.

Prehead oven to 350.  Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment paper or grease lightly.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a small bow.  Stir in the ground flaxseeds.  In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, water and vanilla.  Stir the dry ingredients ingot he wet; the batter will be thick.  Fold in the chocolate chips and scoop into the prepared pan.  Drop the cherry pie filling by the tablespoonful on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it in. sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top. 

bake until the sides are set up- the middle will look kind of wet and crackled- about 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

It's a good thing I am VERY generous when I bake.  I give about 90% of it away and keep very little. I made these brownies, ate one, then took the rest to work and didn't eat another one.  I make cookies, and mail them to friends or deliver them to friends around here and send them to work with D.  

Lastly, these aren't from the book, but I thought I'd share a little secret with you for the most AMAZING chocolate chip cookies in the entire world.  Follow the recipe on the back of the nestle tollhouse bag except use 4 bags, yes FOUR WHOLE BAGS, of chocolate chips to one recipe.  I promise you, you won't regret it and your tastebuds will be in heaven.  I learned this trick from a friend.  I have always loved her chocolate chip cookies and could never replicate them.  Apparently my 2 bags of chocolate chips wasn't enough. Four is the magic number here.  By the way, this literally made me a million cookies.  I like to bake a couple then roll the rest into balls, line them up closely, but not touching, on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer until frozen solid.  Then stick them in a bag, voila! Fresh cookie dough whenever you'd like a couple! :) 

ENJOY! 

You'd think I'm going to come back to California at least 20lbs heavier, but as I mentioned, I'm quite generous, I don't eat a decent amount of what I bake :) 

First snow

I have realized that I have so many blog drafts sitting on my list of posts and they are all partially written, only pictures uploaded, or just titled.  I hope to finish a few so bear with me while I overload your feed over the next few days....

Last month, I can't believe it's already November by the way, we had our first SNOW! YES, in October! At first, I was scared and stressed about it, then I was so excited knowing it was coming that I couldn't sleep.  Every time I woke up that night I would peek out the window waiting for it.  The next morning, I woke up to a light dusting.  I jumped on my treadmill and by the time I got off, there was a decent amount that had accrued.  It was beautiful.  Simply lovely! 

I watched the snowflakes fall from my window, each a delicate unique flake, dancing gracefully down from the sky, by the time I left my house, this was the view from my garage... 

My initial reaction was "OH MY GOODNESS, PEOPLE DRIVE IN THIS"? After a bit of self coercion, talking to myself, and telling myself that a little snow is no excuse to call into work...I got in my car and drove. Very. Cautiously. 

Of course, the kids were beyond excited to go out in the first snow....so, we went for a walk around the LSSU campus with them.  They loved it! 

I know the novelty of this may wear off, and I say MAY because some people here absolutely love it all winter so I will determine this for myself.  We haven't had any snow since the few days that this fell, but I plan to enjoy it as long as I can.  People have constantly told me "oh gosh, you're from California? You are going to hate it, blah blah blah" So initially, I was stressed when I found out it was going to snow.  I was expecting this terrible, miserable day.  I wanted to pack my suitcase and leave before it even arrived.  Then, I realized how beautiful it was and I was so sad I almost let people ruin that for me.  It was cleansing, fresh, and lovely.  Sure, it was cold, but it's cold in California too...yes, it IS this cold in California during the winter.  I walked outside before leaving for work, closed my eyes, and took a big deep breath in through my nose and just took it all in.  I'm here, this is where we live for now, I will make the best of it and enjoy this change for a couple years. 

Oh, and I also learned that apparently umbrellas aren't used in the snow? Yeah. I was THAT girl.  Walking into work with her umbrella. It makes complete sense to me, not sure why it is such a strange concept but people found it quite entertaining and said they will never forget me and my umbrella in the snow.  What!? I don't like stuff (snow or rain) falling on my face. An umbrella solves that probably very easily. Amiright!?

California...once again!

Yes! Yes! and YES! Okay, okay so I am excited, but bummed at the same time.  Why bummed you ask? Well, because me coming to California again so soon only means one thing...D is off to boarding officer school for 5 weeks.  Which yes, you are calculating right, means he will be there through Thanksgiving.  We were pretty sure that since the government had shut down, his chances of going in November were pretty much slim to none.  But, I guess now that things are back, the schools are back open and they couldn't wait to slap him with orders.  It's bittersweet...it's something he has been putting off for years and hasn't really needed to do but because it's such a small station, they need him to go.  It's a great school, actually one of the best in the CG, and helps him for future career routes but it's just kind of yucky timing.

However, while he is gone, means I get to spend about 1.5 - 2 months in California.  My mom will be coming out and we will be driving back mid-November! :) This also means I'll be making it out for one more visit with some friends before they move.

Happy road tripping! :)

Canada...take 2!

Since the restaurant selection here is very mediocre, Saturday we decided to head off to Canada to find some *good* (term used lightly as D says it won't ever be as good as California Sushi, and I agreed that the Thai would never be as good either) sushi and Thai food. It was fairly successful.

One night I sat here researching all the restaurants in Canada and I found a ton of great places just waiting for us over there.  There's an abundance of Italian places, steakhouses, sushi, Thai, and yes...Indian! My tummy couldn't believe my eyes! I have a running list of places we must go to. We ate lunch at a Sushi/Thai place which we both agreed was good and then made our way to the mall (yes, they also have a mall!) that didn't have any stores I recognized but a lot of stores were versions of stores we have here.  For example, they have a store that is setup exactly like Victoria's Secret but called something different.  Same with a lot of other places.  It was nice to see.  Of course, it is no Galleria or anything but it's a mall nonetheless. I may have snuck out with a new pair of glasses from there. :)

Then, we did what I was looking forward to all day, we found the grocery store that I had been anticipating going to for a while.  Pino's. HOLY CANADIAN VERSION OF NUGGET. I was in heaven! It was gorgeous just as I had envisioned, they made and sold gelato, a fresh bakery with goodies galore (a couple of their handmade cannoli made their way home with me), a produce department that reminded me of being right back at home in my very own Nugget.  Oh, AND...they have a Starbucks! Say what?! Only 20 minutes from us there is a Starbucks! Now, granted I have to pay a $3 bridge toll to get it, it's nice to know it's there for when I'm over there doing more than just going for coffee.  Needless to say, this grocery store brightened my outlook a bit on things over here.  Let's be real here, grocery shopping at Wal-Mart is not the business and if it wasn't for being here and not having a Target, I wouldn't go there unless I absolutely had to.  It is stressful, full of rude people, and just not a fun experience.  Our regular grocery store is sub-par but I do go there to get as much as I can and we have a huge fresh produce stand open just about year round. But sometimes, we just gotta go to good ol' Wal-Mart.  I rate my grocery stores (yep that's right! I take my grocery shopping VERY serious) on multiple levels.  Cleanliness, layout, organization, product availability, friendliness of the workers, and overall atmosphere.

and this is what I do when I'm bored...

The rain has started here and nothing sounds better to me on dreary wet days than soups, chilis, and stews.  Today I have whipped up a classic favorite (it's the Italian in me), good ol' minestrone (<---see recipe here) soup.  It may be one of the best I've made! I can't claim all the fame, I did follow a recipe that wasn't mine, but it will definitely be going into my recipe book and made many more times this winter.  It's simple and full of flavor! The recipe is from a blog I follow but it's actually one of Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) recipes.  The best part about it? It's good for you, so eat up! I modified it a bit and made it without the pancetta (duh), with unsalted vegetable stock instead of chicken stock (vegetarian AND I control the salt) and used GF pasta instead of regular. OH, and I added about 1 tablespoon of italian seasoning (not called for in the recipe).  Serve with a toasted crusty bread (I used a crusty garlic loaf that had chunks of garlic throughout it.  I sliced it, lightly brushed each side with olive oil, then baked it at 425 degrees for about 6-8 minutes, until golden and crisp).

NOTE: I actually think next time around I will omit the wine.  I feel it did nothing to add to the flavor of the soup, it tasted fantastic before I added it and I was hesitant to do so but did anyway since the recipe called for it.  If anything, the wine muted the amazing flavor of the soup.  I added it then tasted the soup and felt like I had to add all the seasonings again.  I added more thyme, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning after adding the wine.  After re-seasoning my soup, it tasted fantastic once again! :) So save yourself the trouble and just drink the wine.  Unfortunately, I don't drink white wine so this will be given to one of my oh so lucky friends.  

D was lucky enough to get to come home for dinner tonight...ok, ok, I consider myself a little lucky too that he was able to join me :)

Bon Appétit!

*Up next....3 ingredient honey peach frozen yogurt. YUM! The ice cream maker drum is in the freezer chilling right this very moment! It'll be ready to go tomorrow!*

   

Fall, Butternut Squash Lasagna Rolls, and a government shut down.

Fall is upon us and the weather here since I have returned has been cool and without humidity.  I am enjoying it.  The trees here have changed to vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and other beautiful in between colors that I wouldn't normally see in California.  They say the first couple weeks of October are the prettiest and I will admit, it's beautiful.  One thing Michigan has going for it! I love fall so it's just perfect in my eyes.  I know winter is right around the corner and I know it's rough up here but what is making me feel better about all of it is knowing I can leave WHENEVER I need to if I just can't hang! I am all set in terms of winter clothes but I know I'll still be cold, not that I'll be spending that much time outside anyway.  :) Anyway, it is what it is and we shall take on the winter as it comes.  Truly our biggest concern is our cars with the salt on the roads.  We see so many rusted vehicles up here and it scares us.  I know it's lack of care on the owner's part but it's still awful to see.  We will do all we can to keep our cars pretty, I know for a fact D won't let them get ruined.

Another reason I love fall us because of all the delicious squash that is in season! I buy tons of it all season and cook it in a million different ways.  One of my favorites is butternut squash chili that I make often.  Tonight I made a gluten free version of Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna Rolls from Skinnytaste...they were delicious! I made a few of the lasagna rolls with regular spaghetti sauce just in case D wasn't crazy about the butternut squash sauce but he actually enjoyed it too.  I will admit, her sauce recipe wasn't TOO full of flavor like I prefer so I added a little extra to it and I'd still probably add more next time but the recipe is a keeper.  It even tasted good with the regular sauce and the butternut squash sauce mixed.

On another note, as we all know, the government is in a partial shutdown.  This greatly effects us as D is a federal employee.  Thankfully as of now they are paying military salaries but a lot of things have been cut, it's quite sad.  They took away their government vehicles, their galley's (the kitchens where they can purchase meals while on duty), the trash is no longer paid for (this goes for us in housing as well!), medical COULD possibly be effected, all military schools have been shut down (unless the training is necessary for national security purposes), and if they don't figure this out by the 15th, they will not get paid.  If they remain unpaid for over 90 days all military contracts are void and all personnel are free to get out with an honorable discharge.  If pay is withheld they will get backpay for however long they weren't paid for.  Also, many military banks are offering to pay the members their salaries (loans without interest) for as long as it's needed then once they start getting the backpay, they will pay back the banks. Not only does it hurt the military members here but all the men and women overseas are taking a hit from this as well.  They cut their meals from 3 meals a day to 2, and they will also lose their pay come the 15th if the government doesn't figure this out. Vets are losing all their benefits and reservists aren't getting paid.  Veterans attending school with their GI bills are losing their funding if nothing is figured out by Friday.  How sad, right!? It's so unfortunate and corrupt in a way.  They are all still getting paid I'm sure.  Dirtbags.  Hopefully they get their business in order and come to some sort of agreement.  I'll tell you one thing, if D doesn't get paid for 90 days, we are outta here! :)

Professional Photos...well, some of them!

After much procrastination and many "reminder" texts from our photographer, I finally selected our photos to be printed and received our zip drive of our wedding photos...phew! I had to choose just 3 photos out of about 2,000 pictures to be printed (that were included in the package) and well, I just had the hardest time doing so.  It's not like I didn't have time, I sit on my computer like nobody's business doing mindless activities such as Facebook and Pinterest, yet I couldn't complete this simple task.  Finally last month I sat down determined to choose them.  I was happy to get to go through them again...it's only been just about a year ;)  It was the best 26 hours, yes, I said 26, full of endless food, fun, friends, and family.  <3

My sweet little Rylee, she waited many years for this moment as my flower girl.  I have been a part of her life literally since she day she was born.  

Door signs for guests rooms and invites hand made by my friend and bridesmaid Becca.

First look...

My ring bearer Carson has been a part of my life for his entire 10 years! :) I've babysat him since day one as well. 

Seating charts on the mirrors...

Place setting cards made by Becca

The view....

He walked both ways hand-in-hand with the girls :)

Professional photos in a very very old cemetery...yes!

Beautiful Fall colors...

Perfect sunlight...

Candy buffet bags made by yours truly...

Desserts GALORE! Cake, mini key lime pies, mini lemon tarts, and a chocolate dipping station.

My Rylee Roo.

He's saying "don't you do it".  He obviously sees the look on my face and knows what I'm thinking :)

My little Jake :)

The greatest sister-in-law a girl could ask for.

Guest book was a photo album of engagement pictures.

My little dancing beauty.  She danced the night away!