food stuff

Yesterday morning I was so excited at the deals I got at our fruit stand. For $8.50 I got ALL THIS!!!

The peaches were on their way out so I cut up most of them to dry in my food dehydrator. Part of the sweet potato was cooked and the other part is awaiting my sweet potato chip experiment (I found on this blog). :) The cauliflower was riced and cooked.

The ricing was for this pizza crust I blogged about a while ago (the post also tells you how to rice). I swear it is the tastiest thing. Chris likes it and the kids and I LOVE it. :) You really must give it a try.

With the leftover "rice", I had the yummiest lunch: rice, sauteed peppers, onions, cabbage, sweet potato chunks, and feta.

I also used it to bulk up Chris' chicken and rice (real rice) bowl. I would say he tolerated the addition of the cauliflower. :)

Later in the afternoon the three of us took our first longer bike ride to a local park. I wanted a fun snack for when we got there and decided to make my own kettle corn. I thought it was really tasty. If you are expecting it to taste like the real thing, you might be disappointed (it's not THAT sweet), but the kids liked it so that was all that mattered. I just put a little oil and cinnamon sugar mixture in a bag with the kernels and meshed them around before adding them to a skillet for popping.

Along the lines of healthy eating, Chris recently joined a 6 week program with his bootcamp class in which all the participants keep track of their progress, post their progress, etc. Here is a pic of him during his initial fitness assessment. I think I could maybe lift one of these for 5 seconds before dropping it. :)

And lastly on a not so healthy note, I came across these little gems and think they would be AMAZING.

Angel Foodcake Churro Bites

coffee creamer

*I use coffee creamer a couple times a day in my hot chocolate. While it's just a teaspoon or two at a time, I decided to at least go "natural" in the sense of no chemicals. Granted, I still drink diet soda but every little bit helps, right?

*So I've realized that taking 3+ weeks off from working out basically puts me back to ground zero. Yesterday was my first workout and I was sore by evening and this morning's workout was brutal. Lesson learned :)

*It was annoyingly windy yesterday so we ventured a couple towns away to a park. What was my favorite part? The fact that it got so warm I had to take off my jacket!

*One of my favorite Christmas presents from my in-laws was a new Kindle. I've already finished my first book. It's also nice because if I ever go somewhere like Starbucks with free Wi-Fi, I can check my email with it (since I don't have a Smartphone). I'm still working on joining more library districts so I have access to free books.

*Chris and the kids watched Despicable Me II yesterday (while I read). They laughed so much and it was the cutest thing.

*School starts back today and I think the thing I'm looking forward to the least is advanced meal prepping. Over the break we had no time schedule so I didn't need to prep snacks, lunches, etc. way beforehand.

IKEA

It's been over a year since we last went to IKEA and Cam has mentioned it several times since. So we loaded up yesterday and made the trek to Covina. We had a great time. Unfortunately the big draw for the kids, the play area, was a disappointment as the ball pit (what they had been really looking forward to) was closed. But it was still fun :)

I used some of my Christmas money to get a new bike. We had never been able to go far on the rides because I was stuck running alongside them. I'm so happy to now be able to join them.

This morning we took our first ride up to the donut shop. I've been much more lax on the healthy eating for the kids over this Christmas break...hence this donut the size of her face. :) 

I cannot begin to tell you how frustrated I am at this library book I cannot find. They are wanting to charge me $25 (a new one on Amazon is $6.50. Go figure). I've turned this house upside down and I'm beginning to wonder if the mistake is on their end. So today we are headed to the library so I can comb their shelves. Grrrr.....

holidays are over...

We have had two wonderful Christmas celebrations with both sides of the family. Here are some snapshots:

*Christmas Eve day was pretty low key, including a viewing of Elf. 

*Later we attended the Christmas Eve service at church. I love this shot of Kendall. Both kids did awesome sitting quietly during the whole service, but you can tell she had reached her limit and was ready to go. :)

*After church we headed to my parents for dinner (and some reading time ;)

*Christmas morning included what we've now deemed Christmas Bread (I've now made this the past few Christmas mornings). After the kids opened their stockings, we hung out and waited for my parents to arrive. Presents and a yummy lunch followed.

*The day after Christmas we headed up north for several days with Chris' parents and his brother's family. Here is our trip to their family favorite restaurant, Espe's.

Making Jello salad.

 Opening presents.

*Here are the cousins in their new Christmas outfits. Believe it or not this pic only took about 30 seconds to get. My SIL had the brilliant idea (after several "How many pictures are we going to take???") of telling them that we'll take as many pictures as it takes to get good smiles. They grasped the concept and ran with it!

*Last night my parents came to watch the kids while Chris and I saw a movie and went to dinner. I don't remember the last time we went to the theater! :)

*This morning I woke up early to start my workouts again. Or...um...more like woke up and decided to start back Monday. For sure. Monday. For real.  :) Instead, I went and cleaned bootcamp and then picked up a couple of these as a treat for the kids' breakfast before heading home.

Later while Chris washed the car, I took the kids to Loma Linda Medical clinic here in town. No, no one was sick. We went to play. :) I often take the elderly man/client there and Kendall has grown to love the outdoors area with the stream and fountain. Cam has always been curious when we talk about it. Since it was New Years and most of the office building was closed, I took them to run around and ride their scooters in the parking lot. Thanks, Loma Linda :)

things

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Puffy vest I wear way too much 2. Skinny jeans I got at a clothing swap that are SO comfy (who finds hand me down jeans that fit great?! Woohoo!) 3. Ponytail...when am I NOT wearing a ponytail? :)

Three things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To find a library book that has disappeared. Frustrating. Frustrating. 2. Caramel frapp vintage my college days: Venti with whipped cream and caramel on bottom AND top plus more caramel around the cup.

Two things you did last night:
1. Went on another stroller Christmas lights walk. I'm kind of disappointed in our area this year. There are not many houses that went all out. 2. Received two plates of Christmas cookies from our neighbors. I love seeing what other people make. I tend to always go the chocolate route, so I was surprised to like a lime cookie included on one plate.

Two things you ate yesterday:
1. Vegetables topped with feta which Chris claimed "smelled worse than your normal veggie concoctions". 2. Skinny Cow microwaved with some graham crackers, topped with Cool Whip.

Two things you did yesterday:
1. Went to church 2. Went on a hike with my dad.

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
Mom, Chris

Two things you are going to do tomorrow: 
1. Go to Home Depot to hopefully get supplies for a craft I'd like to make. 2. Roast Smores over the firepit after our Christmas Eve dinner with my parents.

Your favorite beverage: 
Always Frappuchinos. Always.

Two things that have made you smile in the last 12 hours:
1. Watching Kendall's dance show she put on for me 2. Watching the kids' Advent activity for the day. Chris' aunt sent them a subscription to the most beautiful daily Advent activity on the computer. I actually love watching it with them. 

Two things you will do today:
1. Go to the library if I can find that stinkin book. I'm mainly upset because I don't want to have to pay for it yet we need a good load of books for our road trip up north later this week. :( 2. Watch a Breaking Bad tonight. We are making progress toward the end!

oreo cheesecake cake

*Today was the first day in a week that I felt like working out. So when I glanced at the clock at 5:00 am, I bolted out of bed excited to get back to it...OR...I rolled over and went back to sleep. :) I've actually decided to give myself an early Christmas present and continue my exercise hiatus until after Christmas. Will I pay for it after taking 2 and 1/2 weeks off? I'm sure I will. But oh how nice it will be until then. :)

*This morning's Advent bag included a note telling them that tonight would be, "hot chocolate in the stroller while walking to see Christmas lights". They loved it and I feel badly that this is the first time we've done it this season. It will need to be repeated. :)

*We are celebrating Christmas with my parents on the actual day this year. Among other dishes, my contribution (and most important of the meal) will be this Chocolate Truffle Pie. I made it a long time ago and my dad could not stop talking about it. It's really rich and good.

After Christmas we'll head up to Chris' parents where my contribution will be a dessert I have never tried but looks amazing.

Oreo Cheesecake Cake

*The other night I let Kendall drink way too much so close to bed. Upon entering her room in the morning and discovering she big time leaked through her diaper, she insisted that she had just "sweat a lot". I wasn't in the mood to argue so "sweating a lot" it was :). Sidenote: Even when she doesn't drink a lot right before bed, she still wakes up with a full diaper. Underwear at night still seems to be in the distant future. :(

p.s. Two of my friends were grossed out by my black bean cake I posted about. However after having them try a bite, they both agreed you could not taste the beans in the slightest. :)

black bean cake

*When it comes to paper products (paper towels, napkins, TP), we are middle of the road people. We don't by the most expensive, but not the cheapest either. I am regretting this stance as my nose goes raw from how many times I've been blowing it. I think we need to go primo in the Kleenex dept. next time. :)

*This past weekend we were suppose to have my in-laws stay with us for the night (which got cancelled due to being sick). They are eating grain free so I had experimented in making this Healthier Chocolate Cake. You'll never guess what replaces the flour. You know what? It was really good! It's not NEAR as fluffy as the picture (mine was dense and more flat), but I was quite impressed with the taste. I froze pieces of it and the kids enjoyed a piece the other night...and never knew the difference!

*Kendall is REALLY into "reading" us books. It is the most adorable thing I've ever heard. It's cute when she just makes up the story. However my personal favorite is when she reads a book we read all the time. I get to see how much she picks up on as she tries to retell it correctly. :) Yesterday I was baking cookies and she decided to keep me company with a good book. :)

*Over the years Chris and I have tried different TV shows. We like to watch ones together so I feel badly that I've nixed a lot that he would have liked to continue watching. I've realized I like ones with on-running plots. I don't like self-contained plots within each episode (like all those law/crime shows).

*Right now Kendall is up in her room crying while I wait downstairs for her with breakfast. She refused to wear anything I picked out, yet wanted me to keep helping her. So I left and we shall see A) when she decides to come down and B) what she'll be wearing. Ahhh...what a great start to the morning. :)