Eating your veggies

A couple of weeks ago I decided to do the Advocare 10 day cleanse. I've always been curious about the cleanse but was too scared to try it, until I was encouraged by a couple of sweet ladies I met. I would hear the word cleanse and automatically think {butt glued to the potty} that doesn't sound fun, at all. This was my first Advocare product and I was excited to give it a try. {I'm a Shakeology girl at heart, I love the taste, texture and nutrition so it felt like I was cheating a little}

Turns out it wasn't bad at all, I even lost a few pounds and feel better. I'm not sayin I was 100% clean on my eating. I slipped up a few times, but overall I did really well. No running to the potty either, except to flush out ALL the water I was drinking. I hate drinking water during the day {period} so I made sure and increased my water intake during the cleanse. It's only 10 days, you can do anything for 10 days, right?

Our friends had offered to bring over dinner one night while I was at the end of my cleanse and it was so good. It was a chicken and kale soup. Kevin liked it so much I made a big pot of it this week for dinner and the leftovers for lunch. 

I boiled the chicken with one white onion and chopped carrots (I forgot to get a couple large carrots so I used my baby carrots). I seasoned it with Mrs Dash and a little bit of Trader Joes garlic powder.  When the chicken is done I shredded it into small pieces and added a can of white kidney beans. Before you add the beans rise off the excess starch on the beans. That keeps the soup from having an extra goupie (technical word) texture. 

Once all the veggies are tender I add an entire bunch of organic kale. It feels like a lot of kale but I promise it cooks down. 

I add the kale and stir it around until it starts to reduce. I let it cook about 10 minutes and then I added about a half a bag of quinoa. Then I out the lid on and let it cook another 15 mins. 

Seriously, this is a yummy healthy version of chicken noodle soup minus the noodles. 

I've been obsessed with watermelon Popsicles from Central Market lately. Kevin and I decided we wanted to make our own. 

I'd seen the Zoku Quick Pop Maker at William Sonoma before and had always wondered if they were as easy as they looked. So while Kevin and I were out shopping over Memorial Day we decided to pick one up with one of my gift cards. 

It was super easy to use and clean up. We decided to try watermelon lime bars first. We blended fresh cut watermelon, a teaspoon of cut lime and juice from one lime in the bullet. 

Super easy to make and we were able to freeze 6 for later this week. Best of all no sugar added and they are a sweet treat. Can't wait to try other flavors this summer. 

Weight has always been an issue for me {thanks to PCOS and my love affair with red velvet cupcakes} even as a child. But I've noticed the more we've eliminated carbs and sugar the easier it's been to keep off the weight and even drop a few. 

I just always remind myself where I've been and I'm thankful for changing my lifestyle so I never go back there. 

Picture on left: 2005 (added 52 lbs)

Picture on right: 2014 (2 weeks ago)

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

We are a big fan of long weekends and we took full advantage of it. 

Saturday we had a cheat day before Kevin starts chemo. He picked Papaduexs, his favorite. The weather was beautiful so we sat outside. 

I had some birthday money and gift cards burning a whole in my pocket, so after lunch we headed to Northpark. I scored a pink Kendra Scott Necklace that I'd had my eye on for weeks. 

We found a lot of good sales and after shopping we had an afternoon treat. 

When we got back from shopping in Dallas we had a couple of other errands to run in little D. I'd been wanting to replace our front door for a while but didn't want to pay the price of a new door. We found a great door at Habitat for Humanity's Restore. It just needed a little TLC. 

After sanding off all the old paint (which was a pain) we painted it a mocha brown to go with the brick. I wish I would have taken a better before picture. Kevin had one of his boat (go figure) with the door in the back that I was able to crop. 

Sunday night we decided to try a new burger place on the square for dinner. Their turkey burgers were yummy and the view was pretty too. I love our little hometown square in Denton. 

I'm so excited about my father in laws garden this year. He took some of our organic spaghetti squash seeds, dried them out and planted them in his garden. They are getting close to being ready. We love spaghetti squash and this will save us $10 a pop. 

Today we've just been lazy. We hit up a few more sales, watched movies, did laundry and meal prepped for the week. I love a lazy rainy overcast day. 

Overall a happy and healthy Memorial Day weekend. Thankful for all those who fought for our freedom. 

Sunday Funday

This weekend flew by. 

Saturday Kevin surprised me with a fun day celebrating a good week and doctors visit.

We played three hours of Top Golf, my shoulder is still feeling those three hours. We had a celebratory dinner, we came home and stayed up late watching movie. My heart was full. I love days like that. 

We also got some new patio furniture since the hail finished ours off last month. Really just two chairs, a new fire pit, and umbrella. I got a spool from our marketing team at work after an event and did a layer of Thompson water seal. I love it. We sit outside a lot in the spring and summer, especially on cool nights. 

Sunday was a blur, it went by too fast. 

Kevin made me steel cut oats with fresh peaches and almond milk for breakfast. It was delish. 

It was his family's monthly family birthday party, and we did a little Texas tank fishing. 

Uncle Kevin and Pierson caught a few baby catfish. 

All the great grand kids had a blast fishing, and so did the adults. 

My favorite fisherman by far, he has my heart. Love weekends like this. 

Last picture of the weekend. Kevin loves a good selfie. 

Another happy weekend....

We were blessed with another amazing weekend. The weather was beautiful here on Saturday, so Kevin and I headed to Top Golf where we spent 2 1/2 hours hitting golf balls. It was our first time and we both loved it. Kevin said last night that he we are going back next weekend, so I'd say he had a blast.

We were both starving when we left Top Golf so we headed to lunch and stuffed our bellies full. We then headed to our routine grocery shopping trip at Central Market along with every other human being in Dallas. It was so full of people it was a pain in the butt to shop.

When we got home from Dallas Kevin helped me finish my rustic lamp. I'd seen one like it at the Frisco Mercantile but it was too dang expensive, around $90. So I found a rustic metal ball at Target for under $10 and a lamp shade for around $10. Kevin had all the parts to the lamp, we jut needed the cord. I love it, and it looks so good in my living room.

While he was working on that I cooked dinner. We got fresh shrimp at Central Market and a lot of kale and spinich greens, so I decided to make a yummy salad. I added avocado, red bell pepper, baby bellas, and a tomato. We love Annie's Oil and Balsamic Vinegar dressing, its one of our favorites and low calorie too.

 

We've done really well on our food intake over the past few weeks, minus my birthday shenanigans . I made Kevin and I peaches and cream overnight oats over the weekend that were really good too. I used part rolled oats and part steel cut oats. Kevin really likes the texture better using the mix.

I also fell in love wit Zevia ginger ale. It's amazing. 

And Kevin bought me some pretty pink peonies and white hydrangeas just because. I love them. 

That pretty much sums up our weekend. Kevin's MRI and appointment is on Thursday. Keep praying for him and that he has a clean scan this week. 

Yoga Pants and Netflix

Yoga pants, Netflix and pain pills pretty much sums up my weekend. The surgery I had done on Thursday knocked me down the entire weekend. Kevin started chemo Wednesday night, and he hasn't been sick at all. Prayers answered. The only side effect this round was the anti nausea meds made him a little sleepy. So Kevin was basically my nurse all weekend, and I'm so thankful for that.

We did our best to eat healthy this weekend, even with me down. One of our go to meals that's easy and feels like a cheat is Turkey Mac and Cheese. It's so simple and has three ingredients. I brown the ground turkey in a pan while boiling the noodles in another pan, usually takes about 10 minutes. Kevin's not a fan of broccoli so I chop it up as fine as possible and steam it in the microwave. Once the pasta is cooked I mix in the dry sauce with a little olive oil and add the ground turkey and broccoli. Kevin craves carbs while on chemo so this hits the spot for him. I usually pair this with a salad, right now our favorite salad is baby kale and spinach.

 

My sweet family took care of all our other meals this weekend. We had lots of salads and lean grilled chicken. Eating better doesn't always mean avoiding things you crave. We've made sure that we keep easy meals like this for nights we are both tired and not wanting to cook.

 

 

I've been craving something sweet while on bedrest and this cures my sugar fix. One little square and I'm good. Its 70% cocoa and organic non GMO and super yummy.

 

I keep staring at the sweet addition to my Alex and Ani collection that Kevin gave me on my birthday. It makes my heart happy.

 

Ready for the week ahead and celebrating my birthday next weekend with friends and family. I see Top Golf and a night out in our near future.

 

 

Birthday + Bush Library = A Happy Girl

My birthday festivities started on Tuesday when my sweet work friends took me to lunch and had yummy red velvet cupcakes for me. Brad Pitt even stopped by my office.

When I walked in the door that night I was surprised! Kevin had bought me some beautiful flowers and surprised me with my favorite cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Since he started chemo on my actual birthday we decided to go ahead and have a piece a day early so he could partake. It was so good, and we got the opportunity to share with his parents.

Kevin and I took my birthday off to have a little fun in Big D. We had a couple errands to run that morning in town and then we headed to one of my new favorite restaurants, Whiskey Cake in Plano for lunch. Everything is from local farmers and products from Texas. No trip is complete without the warm whiskey cake and hand whipped cream. After all calories don't count on your birthday.

After lunch we were off to Dallas to visit the Bush Presidential Library. I've always been a Bush fan. It all started in elementary school when I wrote a letter to Barbara and told her how much I loved her pearl necklace she wore. I received a letter back, I'm sure written by a staffer, but still it was sweet. W was the first president I was able to vote for, I loved what he stood for and what a Godly man he was. So, I was beyond excited about visiting the library. One of my sorority sisters actually works at the library but she was in Crawford on Wednesday helping with the wounded warrior bike ride. We were sad we missed her but knew that meant we have to make another trip.

We started with the temporary exhibit of The Art of Leadership and viewed all of his paintings. They were all really good, but my favorite was the painting of himself and his father. Kevin and I both agreed that was our favorite.

 

I really wanted to push the buttons on the side of the desk but I'm sure the staff wouldn't have appreciated that.

The rest of the museum was really touching too. There is a piece from 9-11 with every person who died that day written in a stone memorial. There is a replica of the oval office with the real furniture he had in the oval office, along with a family bible and pictures. Laura has several of her inaugural gowns, W's speeches, Ranger memorabilia from the days he was an owner and a Katrina decision room. Needless to say we loved our visit and plan to go back when we can get a tour with my friend Megan.

 

I bought a book and a key chain in the bookstore. Kevin bought some socks, seriously, he bought W socks and he loves them. Its the little things in life.

After the library we stopped by Northpark to do a little shopping with my birthday money that was burning a hole in my pocket. After the mall we did a little grocery shopping at Central Market and headed home after a full day. When we got home Kevin had another surprise for me, a sweet card and two more Alex and Ani bracelet to add to my collection. We are really celebrating next weekend after chemo so this was a mini celebration. He also bought me a hot pink FitBit but it is back ordered for 5 weeks. I can't wait to test it out. I've been checking out the Tory Burch FitBit covers, but they haven't been released yet. I can't wait to snag one when they are released.

Kevin's white blood count was up this week, they said last week was a fluke more than likely from allergies so he started chemo on my birthday. He's almost halfway through wit this months treatment. Yesterday I had a surgery in Dallas, and Kevin has had to do pretty much everything for me. Help me on and off the bed, on and off the potty, in and out of the shower. AND those compression hose tights they make you wear, he was a champ helping me get those on and off.

I'm so thankful for him, his parents and my parents, I don't know what I would have done without them. My sister made us a yummy dinner last night and I ate like I hadn't eaten in a week. Technically I hadn't eaten al day, but it was sooo good. I'm still pretty sore but should heal quickly (and I will talk about my surgery soon).

Next weekend we plan to live it up and celebrate the end of chemo this month and me turning 32. Got to stretch out that birthday as much as possible. I'm still on LOTS of meds and in a foggy haze of anthestia so no judgment on spelling or grammar in this post. Next week I'm doing my very first Advocare Cleanse, excited and a little scared. I'll fill you in on the details.

Happy Friday!