Backyard Bombshell

Literally. When we first moved in, you could have told me that a bomb exploded in our backyard and I would have believed you.  That's how I saw it at least...Mike on the other hand is a completely different story.

Ok, let me back up a bit. I need to start by explaining the most creative, innovative, and determined person that I know. My husband, Mike, has the unique ability to dream of an idea, start it...and finish it. This is quite an unfamiliar concept to me-I'm lucky if I finish a project without hurting somebody in the process. I'm quite picky about my work.  He does an amazing job, creating something that looks like it could have come out of a magazine.

Mike can see an idea, take it, and whip up something completely different, making it his own.

So here is a before picture....when it looked like a bomb exploded in our backyard. The woman that lived in the house before we moved in did an impeccable job of landscaping around our back patio, but beyond that was just....trees and weeds.  Let me rephrase, uprooted trees, fallen trees, never-ending weeds, more rhubarb than I've ever seen...
So where I saw a bombshell....Mike saw heaven.  We've lived in our house for 2 years now and he has lived and breathed this backyard, the garden.  A place where he can live off the land and make it his own.  I didn't know where to begin. Mike couldn't get his hands on a tool fast enough. I've helped along the way, but the mastermind behind all of this is...Mike. He is amazing.

From the beginning...

2010
Our house...notice the front yard. So full of weeds! Yuck. The grass itself was going to take some time, and it did.

On to the back yard bombshell.....
You can see where Mike rented a chipper to grind up all the trees that he cut down into mulch (it's the little bit of yellow.) We had a huge, massive pile of mulch that came in quite handy. We were able to mulch around our entire yard our first year with the mulch that was recycled.

The impeccable patio that I mentioned before....thank you to the lady who lived here before us!

So for the majority of 2010, we maintained the landscaping around the front of the house and patio, and used the mulch from the chipper to do this. We knew we wouldn't be able to transform the backyard into our "oasis" overnight.

Eventually, the trees were cleared out, and Mike added a barrier wall to mark the "entrance" of the garden and the beginning of our adventure...here we go!!  He propped a cool wagon wheel upon a tree from his grandfather's land. Nice touch.  Rock me mama like a wagon wheel....:)

Bring it on, 2011!!

2011

 ...was a busy year for us. We were on the road, a bunch, since the majority of our family lives anywhere other than Charlotte. Mike and I don't seem to have the word "no" in our vocabulary.  Is the excuse,  "I have to work in the yard this weekend" really a good enough excuse?  Maybe. One day. 

So Mike and I fell into a normal ritual of coming home from work, finding a little project around the house to work on, or finishing something we had started from the day before, and then meeting on the patio with a glass of wine or in the house to cook a meal together. Simple, to say the least, but a great way to end the day. 

Everything started blooming in the spring and summer and it was gorgeous! 

So in the fall of 2011, we installed a fence. Wait, let me rephrase. Mike, Roger, John, and Sean installed a fence.  Sandra and I....watched.

...and took pictures, of course :) 

This is the left side of our property which runs along 4 of our neighbors' backyard property lines (it's hard to imagine without seeing our property, but the house next to us is on a corner so all of these houses face west, while our house faces south)  Either way, we needed a fence for privacy, to keep out other peoples' pets, or to maybe have a pet of our own one day. 

The weather had started to cool down, so Mike was only able to get one coat of stain on the fence. Stain doesn't set as well when it is cold outside (fun fact for ya.) Stain #2 will come in the summer of 2012. 

Next step, GARDEN!  Mike created another garden entrance, a gazebo you could say. He wanted something that people could walk underneath, but it would be surrounded with vines or wisteria.  I tried to be a good helper on this one. Similar to the fence, there was only so much that I could do. I helped Mike measure the distance between holes, and then held the pole while he filled in cement and dirt. 

View from the front...

View from the back...

Nice Pajama pants, Mike!

 The wisteria that we added has already started climbing all over the place!  I can't wait until the flowers come out :)

2011-2012 (he created the garden fencing since we had such a mild winter) 


WOW, 2012 already! Time has flown by.
Mike created the garden, planted the garden, and pretty much worked his tail off to get this ready by Spring. I went out of town one weekend and he got the job done. Wait, does that mean I slow him down? I distract him? Hmmmm, may need to ask him about that one :)

Drumroll, please!!!! ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum......

Ta-Da!!

The completed garden with scarecrow and all!

Mike and his buddy, John, created a fire pit towards the back. In the background you can see that we won't be running out of firewood in a long while. 

Mike used my dad's old fishing nets to protect the lettuce from the birds. So far it has worked really well!

Potatoes...

A special house for our garden gnomes :) We have yet to see them, but they are there! 

Garlic...

Lettuce as of 4/1/12....

My little contribution so that we can identify each vegetable! We are going to hang them on hooks in front of each kind. 

Mike joined the Arbor Club last year and in return for his membership he was given 12 tree seedlings. We received 2 of the following trees: Dogwood, Eastern Redbud (this tree buds the pretty pink flowers that were in the picture that I posted above), Crate Myrtles, Sargent Crabapples, Washington Hawthorn, and Goldenraintree.

So we planted them behind the garden. They are the teeniest seedlings and only have baby buds. They take a few years to get big.

The rest of the garden will be planted mid-april so I will keep you updated!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and maybe it will be a bit of inspiration to plant some of your own...a couple of seedlings can go a long way! You can't fail. If anything, you will be making the world a little bit greener :)

Comment and share your planting stories! :) 

Our Weekend of FOOD!

I tried out some amazing recipes this weekend. Some turned out the way I wanted...others turned into completely different recipes, lol.  Either way, they were all delicious!

On Saturday, Mike and I had another couple over for dinner.  Lately, I've been cooking more and more--such a relaxing activity (when everything goes according to plan...) LOL

This was the menu for Saturday night:

Appetizer
Pecan & Craisin Brie

Main Course:
Grilled Swordfish

Sides:
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Corn
Grilled Peaches

Dessert:
Blueberry Pie (fresh blueberries from Gma McLean-YUM!)

So I was in charge of the appetizer, the twice baked potatoes, and the dessert while Mike was going to do the grilling. Well, the brie and the blueberry pie turned out great....but the twice baked potatoes, well...they turned into mashed potatoes. ooops! Mike talked me into boiling the potatoes to save on time (instead of baking them) and they got all sorts of messy. The skins were coming off, they weren't cooking fast enough, etc.  So I threw them into a bowl, added all the fixings and compromised by having the next best type of side. You can't go wrong with mashed potatoes and I told Mike to stay out of my kitchen! (jk-Mike is a great cook!)

I first made the brie for Thanksgiving in 2010 and it's still one of my absolute favorites :) Thought you would enjoy this one. It's so quick and easy!
I forgot to take a picture of it so I found one online so you have an idea of what it looks like.

Pecan & Craisin Brie

Ingredients:
Puff Pastry Sheet (I find them in the frozen food section with the whip cream and quiche  cups)
1 brie round
1/4 cup craisins
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup crushed pecans (or any type of nut)
2 TBS of honey or butter-I've used both and they are both good
Butter (you can also use spray butter or egg)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Let Pastry thaw to room temperature. Unroll pastry onto a lightly floured cookie sheet (make sure it a cookie sheet that has sides so that if brie runs out it doesn't spill onto oven floor) .  Mix craisins, brown sugar, pecans, and honey/butter in a bowl.  Scoop mixture into the middle of pastry.  Place brie on top of mixture.  Pull up sides of pastry and seal so that there aren't any gaps.  Flip entire pastry over and brush butter butter/egg on the top.  Cook for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool for a bit and then enjoy with your favorite type of cracker! YUM :)


So the next morning, I was craving some sort of breakfast involving eggs (gotta get that protien!) and I was going to try to replicate a frittata recipe that I tried out the weekend that my Trafalgar Girls came to visit (that turned out to be a hit--I'll have to post that one sometime as well.) So anyways, halfway through breaking eggs, etc. I decided to nix the frittata idea and make a quiche (I had an extra pie crust from the 2 pack that I had bought for the blueberry pie.) Well I've never made a quiche before, but didn't think it could be that difficult. You just mix everything together and pour into the pie and bake? Yeah, I think I got lucky on this one. I'm not usually so good as guessing and I was bound and determined to not look at a recipe. I like making up my own! Well, you are going to have to trust Mike & myself on this one but let's just say it was kiiiiiindof delicious. We both loved it and had it for breakfast AND lunch! There is only one slice left!

 I threw in random things we had in the fridge and this is what I came up with...

Kelly's "born to be frittata and grew into a quiche" Spinach Quiche


Ingredients:
1 pie shell/pastry
6 eggs
1 cup of spinach
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup cream (I'm sure milk will do too)
1 cup of dried bread crumbs (I actually used herb seasoning stuffing-lol. Couldn't taste the difference!)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you like a little kick)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Let it sit for 5 minutes so that bread crumbs can soak up the egg.  Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for 15 minutes at 400.  Then cook for 15 minutes on 350.  You may have different cook times depending on your oven, but you'll know it's ready when you stick and fork in and it comes out clean! I also sprinkled some cheese on top when I pulled it out. Here are some pictures of before....and after. I remembered this time! :)

Enjoy!

CVS for dummies

A lot of my friends have been asking me to explain the whole couponing "game" and how to get things for free.  Well, let me start with saying that I haven't not even scratched the surface of couponing the way some people have.  Unfortunately, the use of coupons has started to get somewhat of a bad reputation  because of the TV shows and the exposure of people that have gone too far a.k.a hoarders or people without a life.  But couponing has been happening for years!

I do have a binder, though. Yes...I have a binder. I'm a very visual learner and don't know any other way that I could have organized my coupons. For a while (before the binder), they were lined up based on their category on my counter.  Yeah, that got old.

So instead of rambling on, I'm just going to get to it.  I'm going to attempt to explain how I use my coupons and shop at CVS and then wrap up with the purchase that I made today where I got $35 worth of products for $1.65.

There are a few things that you will need to understand about CVS to get started:

*Extra Care Card: this is the card that you attach to your keys and is going to allow you to get Extra Care Bucks, sales, in-store coupons, etc. It is like your MVP or VIC card.

*Extra Care Bucks (ECBs):  These are rebates that you get back from qualifying purchases that are printed on the bottom of your receipt.  They act just like cash on your next purchase.  You want to build up your ECBs so that you can use them on your future purchases.

*CVS coupon center: This center is located close to the entrance of the store and looks kind of like a redbox that you get movies from except it says coupon center in a yellow box on the front. You can scan your extra care card here and get coupons daily. I have a CVS right across the street from my neighborhood so I will carry my card with me when I go for a run, put it in my sportsbra, and scan it on my way past.  You can stop by a CVS on the way home from work, or wait until you actually go in to make your purchase.  It becomes profitable when the coupon center is giving away free products. For example, I've gotten random free candy bars, pantyliners, green bag tag, etc in the past.  It can't hurt to get free products!

*CVS green bag tag: This is a green leaf-looking tag that can be attached to your recyclable bag. It has a bar code on the back that is scanned everytime you make a purchase. For every 4 times you make a purchase and it is scanned, you get $1 ECB on your receipt.  It costs 0.99 (I just happened to get mine for free from a coupon center coupon) and you are bascially getting free money. You get your money back after your 1st 4 purchases and continue to get $1 back over and over.  They are located next to the recyclable bags that are for sale near the cosmetic center and are sold to encourage people to use recyclable bags. You get money for going green! :)

*Websites that do all the hard work for you! 
These websites have people already doing the dirty work for you.  They take the sales inserts that are online, analyze the great deals, and then attach where you can find coupons online or reference the newspaper inserts that they came from, price out the deals, etc.  They may look like this:

Efferdent 78-90 ct $3.99 = $1 Ecb (limit 2)
Use the $1/1 coupon found here or the $0.75/1 PM coupon found here or the $0.75/1 coupon found in the 7/31 P&G
Pay as low as $2.99
Get back $1 Ecb

Final cost as low as $1.99!

So in the example above, you see that the product & quantity, the original price, and ECBs are listed.  Then it gives you where you can find all the available coupons, what you will pay, and then what you will get back.  If you are just now starting to get Sunday coupons then you will be a little behind, but it doesn't take long to build up a stockpile and you will slowly realize how many products you will be able to get at a discounted price!

My favorite two websites are  www.hip2save.com and www.southernsavers.com

*CVS emails: I know that these can be annoying, but you get really good deals. Every week I get an email that is 15%, 20% off purchase...or $5 off %25 or more, like the one I used today (below)

OK! If you aren't already completely overwhelmed with this information and you are still reading then congrats! You will be successful since you are not giving up so easy :)

Here is the walkthrough of my purchase today:

1. I took 15 min on the hip2save website and wrote down the purchases that I wanted to make, the money that I would spend after the coupons I used, and the ECB that I would earn on my purchases. I made a list that looks like this:

Purchase cost 
after coupons           Product                                            


0.99                  Skinny Cow Single Bar
                         1 oz. 0.99        
                         Buy One, Get One (BOGO) coupon
                         $0.99 ECB

5.99                  Gillette Fusion Proglide $9.99                  
                         $4/1 coupon
                         $5 ECB

4.24                 Colgate Sensitive prorelief toothpaste
                         4oz. 4.99    
                         0.75/1 coupon
                        $3 ECB

2.99                 Oral-B Cross action
                        toothbrush 5.99              
                        BOGO coupon
                         $3/1 coupon
                         $1 ECB

2.57                Met RX Protein Bars
                         BOGO coupon

2.57                  Met RX Protein Bars
                         BOGO coupon



So ALL the original prices are added up at the register first.  So even though I had 2 products for my Buy One, Get One coupons, they are all rung up first.  So my subtotal came to $33.23.  Below is how I brought my total down to $1.65. Always use your  coupons in the following order:

1. Scan Green Bag Tag
2. CVS coupon that was emailed to me for $5 off any purchase of $25 or more. This brought my purchase to $28.23
3. All manufacture coupons and BOGO coupons. This brought my total down to $13.78.
4. ECBs from last weeks purchases that totaled $13.50.  This brought my total down to 0.28!  With tax it came to a final total of $1.65.

So I got 10 items (because of BOGOs) for $1.65 and $10 in ECBs that I can use on next weeks purchases.

I would have gotten 11 items, but they were out of one of the products that I wanted (sometimes the really good deals are already taken) so when I went to the register, I was written a CVS raincheck. This guarantees that when CVS gets this product back in stock, I will be able to purchase it, use my coupon, and get the awarded ECBs even if it is two weeks from now.


I would start here by doing the following:
1. Sign up for an Extra Care Card
2. Purchase a Green Bag Tag (0.99)
3. Sign up for CVS emails
4. Look at this week's CVS insert and make purchases that you only get extra care bucks for (even better if you try to use some coupons from today's paper-7/31)  You may have to spend some money on the front end to get things for free on the back end.  I spent $20 the first time at CVS and got $24 worth of ECB (I went with a friend and she gave me a bunch of coupons.)

The trick is building up your ECBs and stacking coupons on top so that you can make money (in ECBs) for your next purchase.

Ok...now that I have talked you to death. What do you think? Is there anything that still doesn't make sense? Let me know what you think.
Good luck!

Kelly's Kitchen

I'm going to try to start posting some of my favorite recipes.  I usually take a recipe & alter it some how or sometimes come up with my own crazy concoctions. All are very tasty...and the ones that aren't won't be posted! :)


As always, I highly encourage buying your veggies from your local farmer's market. This not only supports your local farmers, but also supports your local economy and not overseas production.  Call me crazy, but local veggies always seem to just taste better.

So lately, I have been obsessed with sweet potatoes. I have made sweet potato casseroles, baked sweet potatoes, or mashed sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes make me so happy. I know that sweet potatoes are typically a fall veggie, but I have created some awesome combos with them and can't seem to stop! The following is one of my faves. 

Tofu & Sweet Potato Jambalaya

I was substituting and playing around with a shrimp jambalaya recipe that I had and wanted to create other recipes using different protein packed ingredients and this is what I came up with!

Ingredients: 

1 package firm tofu (14 oz.)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 cloves of garlic, or garlic powder (I love garlic so I just add however much until I feel as if there is enough! :)

1 can of broth ( I use veggie broth, but chicken is fine too)

3/4 cup uncooked whole grain rice

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 can of black beans

3/4 cup onion (red or white)

Directions:

1. Drain tofu and cut into 3/4 cubes. I usually drain my tofu by placing paper towels on a plate and pressing to remove water.

2. Heat skillet over medium heat. Cook tofu in oil for 6-8 min, until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

3. Add sweet potato and garlic to skillet, cook 2-3 min until SP starts to brown. Stir in broth, rice, and cayenne. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover & simmer for 10 min.

4. Stir in beans. Cover and cook for 8-10 min, stirring here and there. Make sure rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. You don't want it to be soupy! Stir in tofu and onions last and cook for 1-2 min.

Serve with fresh veggie/salad or eat a bowl by itself! Enjoy  and let me know what you think! :)

My Life on the Road

Literally. Well, almost....
I spend about an hour and a half of my day on the road getting to and from work and that is not including the traffic that I might sit through during rush hour, wrecks, etc.  Interestingly enough, I think that most of my greatest ideas come from my time of solitude and/or singing at the top of my lungs (AND I am the next American Idol!) But I've also had a chance to come across some interesting drivers during my lovely commute and over time I've begun to catagorize them and thought it would be fun to share some of my "fun" experiences and thoughts....

1. The all to famous "grandma" driver--everybody knows this type of driver and has probably, during one time or another, yelled at this driver who is engaged in some sort of fantastical reverie that causes their foot to fall asleep.  Or maybe this person has no other reason to be on the road other than to drive so slow so they CAN smell the roses on the side of the highway.  I'm ok with these types of drivers, until they park it in the left lane (a.k.a the fast lane) and then there is a stream of naughty words running, not walking, through my head.  If you can't already tell, I have a bit of a lead foot, which leads me to my next driver :)

2. The "I want to smell your exhaust" driver-- they are in such a rush and get so close that they end up enhaling the smell of your behind.  These drivers are mad at the "grandma" drivers because they won't get it the right lane.  ahhhh that joy of looking in your rear view mirror and seeing the nose hairs of the person driving behind you. 

3. The "I will get you back hahahahhahah you can't mess with me!" driver--I came into contact with this type of driver when I was having a "I want to smell your exhaust" type of day (yes, you know you have had one of those "oh crap! I overslept! days and need to get to work on time.) So I'm very annoyed that this person is going 55 in a 65 when I'm trying to go teach the children of the world, but no no no, instead of moving over this person decides that they will get revenge! muahahahahah! They not only get over, they proceed to get back behind me, get as close to me as they can (keep in mind that I am now going 10 mph over the speed limit) and swerve back in forth behind me WITH their bright lights on! Come on now...I wasn't that mean when I was suggesting that you move over. Seriously. My question is...if you had gone this fast to begin with, couldn't this all have been avoided? Case and point.

4.  The "topsy turvy" driver--this type of driver is just plain dumb.  They would rather rummage around in their bag and find that oh so important, must have now, lipgloss than watch the road.  Guess what driver? You are always suspected of drunk driving! At least, that's what I always think.  Keep your reputation clean by keeping your eyes on the road, mcdrinkerson!

And last but not least....
5. The "I'm so angry and need to express myself through raaaaaage" driver.  This is my absolute favorite because who doesn't like a good dramatic soap opera for the road? Why DVR snookie when you have THIS type of entertainment?  Which brings me to my Oh so favorite story of the week....

This past Wednesday, my school system had an Early Release Day (yay for students, uggghhh for teachers!) So word has it that there is a super nasty wreck on I-77 South that had been backed up since 11am. At this point it is 3:30 and there is a handful of us that need to make it home.  So we caravan it up and follow each other taking the backroads.  Eventhough we aren't at a standstill, we are in stop and go traffic with stoplights, stopsigns, slow drivers, etc.  So it took me about 2 1/2 hours to get home.  By then, I have a decided that I need to go straight to my chiropractor appointment so that I'm not late.  As I merge off of the highway, I get into the left lane with the intent to turn left in the direction of my chiro.  At the exact same time I look at the clock and decide that I have a few minutes to spare and would rather turn right and go home so that I can change into a more comfortable outfit.  I immediately check my blindspot and swerve over two lanes.  HONK! HONK! HONK!!! I slam on brakes and realize that I have (accidentally) almost ran a motorcyclist off of the road and he is yelling BIITCH!!! at my passenger side window as he goes by. I have my hands off of the steering wheel in the air and I'm saying, "Sorry!!  I didn't mean too!" and I'm cringing inside because I'm thinking of all the "what-ifs" and the "thank-gods" of the situation.  How did that happen? I checked my blind spot! Ohhhh it must have been the fact that I swerved over two lanes to get to where I'm going at the last minute. Huh.
But the story doesn't stop here, my friends.
I'm now behind this angelic motorcyclist and he is chug-a-lugging on his bike in front of me. Literally. Chuga-chuga, chuga-chuga, chuga-chuga.  I'm starting to calm down and about 10 seconds goes by and he decides he has not gotten enough of me. He turns around on his bike, throws his hands in the air, and yells (yes, I heard it over my music) at the top of his lungs, "You BIIIIIIIITCH!!!! F$%*@ You!! (you can only imagine what gestures he is using with his chubby fingers) He totally had the O face as he held out the vowel note in the B word! The funny part is that I was in complete agreement with him about my idiotic driving and so I yell back, as loud as I can, "I KNOOOOOOOWWWWW!" with my hands also in the air minus the lude finger gestures.  Mine were more like fingers together, flat and angled, as if I were welcoming people to my dinner table type gesture.  That dude was angry.  You might want to hug me the next time you see me because I almost died. Victim of road rage. By motorcyclist. Whew!

Ahhh, fun times on Exit 28 off of I-77.  At least I know that he probably slept like a baby that night...getting all the raaaage and stuff off of his cheast. 

So those are some of the lovely people that I have come across on I-77.  I'm sure I've missed a few so feel free to comment with your thoughts and war stories of your life on the road. Drive peacefully and safely, my friends (just beware of crazy bikers now that you know what could happen if you run them off of the road!)

It's been an interesting year I must say.  A year without meat or coffee. Meat wasn't too hard to give up.  I definitely had to get a little more creative with my meal planning, but coffee.....ohhhhhh coffee. My love.  It was an emotionally and physically painful change because my body had an actual addiction to the stuff.  And when I say painful, I mean physically, painful.  I had migrains for 3 days where I was in my classroom teaching and would get nauseous.  I would come home and sit in the dark.  Not to mention how my kidneys were feeling first thing in the morning.  Coffee was smacking them in the face and saying "Who's your daddy?" and then leaving them to crash in the early afternoon.  Poor kidneys.  If they could talk they would probably voice that they would prefer to not be coffee's bitch. 

One vice down...a few more to go.

So there have been many pros and cons with the "What Would Jesus Eat" outlook on my daily dietary decisions (hows that for some alliteration?)

Pros:
1. It's made me feel healthier.
2. I've enjoyed trying out new recipes.
3. The cost of meat balances out the cost of more fresh veggies so we haven't had a financial burden.  Or at least I haven't noticed our grocery bill substantially larger than those in the past.

Cons:
1. The inconvenience it seems to have on others because it's not a societal norm--let's face it, we are one meat loving nation.  Vegetarians are the minority.
2.  The inconvenience it has occasionally had on Mike and I--Food Lion doesn't sell vegetable broth, or at least the one in Cornelius doesn't.  So boo on you food lion! Food Lion may be cheaper, but doesn't have it all.
3. The waitress at Kimonos.  Ok this one gets me heated (and I feel a little hypocritical about this one, but I'm sharing it anyway.)  On our honeymoon, there was a Japanese Steakhouse that was by reservation only.  In the meantime, Mike and I had made friends with another couple on their honeymoon and we asked them if they would like to eat with us at the Japense Steakhouse.  So we change the reservation, blah blah blah.  Our reservation is for 8pm and by then, I'm starving.  I mention that I'm a vegetarian to the waitress (why? I don't know.  If I don't order the chicken, then they won't be throwing the chicken on my plate--DUH) and that I'll be having the shrimp entree.  Well this seems to be a really big deal to the waitress.  She kept telling different people that worked there to not serve certain things to me (keep in mind that we are having food cooked in front of us with 8 other people and they kept looking at me everytime it was mentioned.  A teeny bit embarrassing) 

Then she doesn't bring me out the soup because it was made with meat broth, announces it to everybody, everybody looks at me, I tell her it's ok and that I'll eat it, she argues with me and says "Noooo, you are a vegetarian!", I get super embarrassed and I hate her for life and write about it on my blog. Haha that will show you, Miss Japanese lady who works at a random japanese steakhouse on the island of Turks and Caicos!  Haha! You are written about on MY BLOG!  Total payback.

My final con. My hypocritcal vegetarian grudge.  I was so hungry that yes, I would have slurped the heck out of some chicken broth miso soup.  I don't think I would have died.

For now, I don't voluntarily offer up the fact that I'm a vegetarian in an attempt to avoid near death starvation. Lol.

Overall, other than the Japanese waitress mishap, our new diet hasn't been too bad and I think that Mike and I have gotten into a routine that we are happy with.  There will always be mishaps like the one at the vegetarian steakhouse and I will always make peace with it by writing about it on my blog (kidding) But we are happy and that is really all that matters, right? 

I am going to sign off with one of my favorite recipes that Mike and I probably make once about every two weeks (with leftoevers for next day lunch!) from the Super Cleanse book that I have been addicted to this past year.  So delicious (if you are not a fan of butternut squash you can also use peeled sweet potatoes.)

Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
5 cups vegetable broth (don't try going to Food Lion!)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Himalyan sea salt(regular table salt is fine too)
5 cups butternut squash-peel first and cut 2 inch chunks
1 teaspoon of umeboshi vinegar (this is what I use, but I'm sure regular or no vinegar at all is not going to effect the taste)
Optional garnish: toasted pumpkinseeds or cayenne.  I recommend the cayenne and a little bit of sour cream--gives it a smooth and creamy KICK!

Directions:
Bring broth to a boil over high heat.  Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat and saute garlic, celery, onion, carrot, and salt, stirring often for 5 min.  Make sure this pot is large enough to hold soup because you are then going to add broth and squash.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 10 min.  Uncover and stire well until squash breaks down easily.  Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.  Transfer mixture, in batches, to a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into bowls, add garnish, and enjoy!

A New Year

Happy New Year!  Can you believe that it is 2011 and the last time that I blogged was in February of 2010?  This year went by super fast.  My new years resolution has been to blog, obviously.  My goal is to blog at least once a week...so I have chosen Sundays. 
New Years Resolution? Check
Is it realistic? Yepo.
Is it going to happen? Yessssss!

Happy to be back.  Can't wait to tell you about my Super Detox journey of 2010.  But for now...I must get dressed and go to work. yuck.  Will be back soon! :)