After 9 years you deserve a hootenanny.

A couple of weeks ago Tarzan and I decided, on a whim, to take a vacation day from work and spend it together. After I whisked Cheetah away to school our day began with a hootenanny (check out the link), and might I say that I feel ALL vacation days should start with a hootenanny. 

We enjoyed catching up over cleaning up the garage, folding clothes, and lunching downtown.  It's easy for me to forget how effortless conversations come with Tarzan, how much I laugh at his inappropriate humor, and how safe I feel when he's near.  It was nice to bask in the glow of our young marriage and be so grateful for the time we get to be together. 

Today Tarzan and I celebrate 9 years of marriage and while some celebrate the 'big ones' like 10, 25, 50, and 75 years together, I feel that each year under our belt is an accomplishment.  I have spoken here often on marriage and how it's no ordinary walk in the park, how we need not take advantage of the one relationship where we feel the safest.  I love my marriage; it's not always filled with smiles, laughter, and copious amounts of sunshine but it's full of love, respect, and adoration.  Every day I am so thankful that I was blessed with a true partner, someone who is in it for the long haul.  For when the chips are down and the bank is low I know Tarzan will be there to stop me from betting it all on the 'river'.

Quality time with my 1st BFF.

This past weekend I had the chance to have some 'girl time' with my #1 gal...my Mama.  I left 1st thing in the morning on Saturday so that the fun could begin as soon as possible.  We started off by painting our nails green in honor of St. Patrick's day. 

After a gab session and a fashion show we were dressed and off to lunch at the Rusty Pelican.  Their mahi-mahi sandwich was amazing; we sat on the porch and talked about everything and nothing.  Mama informed me of this great local shoe store that measures you for the perfect pair of athletic shoes.

After my evaluation, I was matched up with the a Debbie Gibson styled neon embellished running shoe.  I must admit that everyone was right, having the right shoes makes a world of difference.  After procuring my new glass slippers from Varsity Sports we headed back to her house to rest up before the night's festivities.

We headed to a local restaurant (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives) called 'Louie & The Redheaded Lady.  There were so many wonderful items to chose from, we were able to settle on the Eggplant Algiers as our starter as we perused the dinner options.  I cannot begin to describe how good this was, the sauce alone was inspiring!  For her entree, Mama got the spinach salad (topped with fried oysters); it looked delicious and she had plenty for a second meal.  I opted for the fried shrimp and boiled squash and had leftovers too, everything was so delicious.  If you are ever in Mandeville, don't miss the chance to try this place, it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Eggplant Algiers

We then headed to Corks & Canvases for our 2nd painting, it was so fun.  This time we were painting our own 'blue dog' (inspired by the paintings of George Rodrique).  Everyone was to draw their own dog and design the background as well.  I think our's turned out pretty well...

After a quick run for frozen yogurt, several hours of girl time, and 8 hours of sleep we headed to another local hotspot for breakfast...Taste of Bavaria.  We feasted on German style apple pancakes, baked eggs, and a side of Nuernberg brats.  I had been there before and decided it was the perfect place to reminisce about our years in Germany.  It was fun to hear all the stories of my Mama growing up so far from her family.  As I listened to her describe the town and detail the days, I could literally see the scene unfolding through her eyes. 

She may have changed as the years passed but when I look in her eyes I am 3 years old, sitting across from her in Burger Time begging for a corn dog.  I love spending time with my mother, it's so nice to see the women we're becoming.

PSA: Gaining perspective.

In this digital age we are beginning to overuse certain terms like; LOL, LMAO, IMHO, and FML.  I don't think there is a day when I don't 'LOL'.  Of all the abbreviations, it's the latter that truly unnerves me.  For those who don't know FML stands for, 'F*uck My Life'.  I see people using this term on Facebook and Twitter, and I have to count to 100 to help ensure I don't flood their pages with insults.

Let me assure you, on days when things are truly 'FML' worthy you will know.  You will be begging for a day filled with: car trouble, unexpected moves, tardiness, stubbed toes, financial woes, spilled coffee, flat tires, and missing keys.  When a true misery (war, illness, death, maiming, etc) of life strikes you down, you will be seen as the boy/girl who cried FML.  Your posts can be viewed by countless people who are faced with real adversities in life, imagine how it must feel for them to see those 3 little letters.

It's all about perspective.

I say potato!

After 2 full months on the 'year of the dragon' plan, I am down 15lbs and I am starting to see my arms and legs taking shape.  I am pleased to say that my heartburn is also gone, thanks to cutting out carbonated beverages completely. 

Committing myself to a year of improving my health has lead me to give up something for lent.  I haven't made a lentil sacrifice in over 10 years and I am really enjoying it.  I could only think of 2 things that would be a true sacrifice; since there was no way in the world I could give up cheese, I opted for the white potato. 

That means no mashed potatoes, no french fries, no hash browns, no baked potatoes, and no crab-boiled potatoes.  Did I mention that it's crawfish season??  It has been hard but I haven't caved yet, breakfast is proving to be difficult.  I found a recipe on pintrest for 'egg cups' and I really like them, but the recipe calls for hash browns.  I opted to use sweet potatoes, you MUST try this.

There is one thing I want to point out, don't fill the cups all the way like I did...I can still smell the eggs burning on the bottom of my oven.  Next time I make them, I think I'll swap out the ham for mushrooms.

I found another great recipe for breakfast, this one was delicious.  I loved the taste of the pumpkin, the bread wasn't very sweet but I guess that's the point in eating healthier.  I would add more cinnamon and even nutmeg.

I am continuing to try different veggie dishes and learning healthier substitutions for my dietary favorites.  I am pleased to say that I even found green beans that I love.  Who knew you could boil green beans in low-sodium, fat free chicken broth?  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  SO good!

I found a way to enjoy squash without frying it, these zucchini chips are awesome.  I nearly ate myself sick.  Oh they are good, I would even dare to say they are better than the green beans...

I think the only way that I am going to lose more than 15lbs is if I stay off of pintrest.  If I ever have the chance to build a house I will make sure that the kitchen is closed off from the rest of the house, maybe I'd spend less time in the kitchen.

In the name of healthy

When I was pregnant I vowed that my child would not have the same health problems as I do, I raised him to eat at least 2 servings of veggies (or fruit) at every meal and to ingest mainly complex carbs with his proteins.  I am proud to say that he has the healthiest diet of anyone I know...except on Tarzan's BNO.  I allow him to get McDonald's and while I don't eat food from McDonald's I allow him to have his occasional guilty pleasure.  Every time we go he gets the chicken nuggets (I have tried everything to end this unhealthy relationship but even the 'How Chicken Nuggets Are Made video can't end his unyielding love for them) and apple dippers...the kid is a huge fan of the apple.  Well tonight may have ruined his chances of ever tasting the fried goodness of his yummy chicken nuggets again.

I was appalled when I received my child's meal, alongside his glorious fried nuggets of nasty were fries and the smallest bag of apple slices I have ever seen.  I went back to the counter to inform them of the mistake and was told that McDonald's is making some changes to their menu.  The manager said, "In order to offer a healthier Happy Meal we are now offering french fries AND apples in each meal (like it was a point of pride)".  To which I responded, "How is minimizing the amount of apples and forcing french fries on my child healthy?"  Looking baffled he stuttered, "Did you see how small the order of fries is?"  Laughing I retorted, "Have you seen how small the apples are, what a joke!"



"Apple Dippers' - before menu change

 Really McDonald's??  You think this is healthier?  While I never really agreed with the whole caramel thing, this is ridiculous.  Now my child has THREE TINY pieces of apple AND french fries, I understand some kids never get the apples but is it wise to give the addicting taste of french fries to kids who don't enjoy them? 



new 'Apple Slices'

 Take a clue from Chick-Fil-A, now that is a healthy meal for kids.... 

from my heart to yours

I love holidays, I love nothing more than making an ordinary day extra special for the ones I care for.  I trolled pintrest and found some great ideas, and I came up with more ideas than I had time for...

I found this recipe for brown sugar blondies and knew instantly that Tarzan and Cheetah would love eating these for breakfast on Valentine's day.  I used my grandmother's heart-shaped pans, I made a batch for the boys and one for Cheetah's teacher.

When I asked Cheetah for some ideas he said, "Ms. Hue LOVES oatmeal".  I figured you can't go wrong with a heart healthy breakfast as a gift for teacher, so we packed up her gift and used the shirt box as the perfect gift wrap.  I'm sure it will make her smile.

I packed Cheetah a special lunch with heart-shaped carrots and sandwiches; along with a snack mix made with the perfect heart-shaped cereal and the Valentine M&Ms. 

I made sure that even the people Tarzan and I work with will have something special to enjoy on V-Day.  Tarzan will bring the brownies baked with M&Ms and I'll be bringing the blondies.

To top it all off, we made the cutest Valentine's for Cheetah's friends.  Of course this isn't Cheetah but what a cute idea!  Happy Valentine's Day...love to all.

scratching off the 'never been tried' list

The past month of juicing has been an eye opening experience.  I now realize that years of saying that I am a healthy eater was a big..fat..LIE.  I hate traditional 'salads', I am a huge (pun intended) fan of any southern 'salad' which is code for mayonnaise, and I write limericks about taco salads which is merely an alias for dairy product overload (thank God for sour cream and cheese).  While I may not be a fan of eating a lot of fruits and veggies, drinking has invited me into a whole other world.  I have even tried things I have never considered allowing past my lips. 

In the interest of making my juice more balanced I decided to pick up some kale and try adding a substantial amount to each cup.  The verdict is that kale, while it may be the gentlest green, is a bit too 'green' for my tastes.  From now on I am sticking with the spinach.

While I was shopping with Cheetah at the fruit and veggie stand we saw an odd yellow melon we had never spied before and decided that it must be crossed off the 'never been tried' list.  After googling it later that evening we learned that it is a Golden Honeydew and it is quite delish!  It tastes just like it's green fleshed sibling.  I found out that there are in fact 3 different varieties of the honeydew melon: green, orange, and golden.  Who knew?

Next on my list were plums, I had never had one and learned 2 very crucial lessons when I tried juicing it.  First thing, it has a pit!  Had no idea, thankfully I thought twice before throwing it in my juicer whole.   Second you might want to wait till they are ripe before trying to consume them, they were so unbelievably tart. So I technically still have plums on my 'never been tried' list because they really didn't get a fair shot.

On my most recent trip to the grocery, I discovered a monster near the citrus fruits and was amazed when it just jumped inside my cart.  I reluctantly took home this giant grapefruit smelling beast, after all buying produce in bulk can lead to applying for a second mortgage on your home but that is a topic for a more serious blog post.  Since I was so nervous I decide to google the name on the sticker and get a sneak peek into the taste of this mystical giant.  I found out that the pomelo is a Chinese grapefruit; it was described as a kinder, more gentler grapefruit...to be exact. This is a MUST try, super delicious.  It's sweet, only slightly tart, and did I mention HUGE??

My juicier isn't the only one having adventures, I have become one kick-butt mom.  I am having a fantastical time at karate each and every week.  I have earned my first stripe and have begun learning my Kata.  It is a real treat to have something of your own, something with a goal that you have to really work to earn.  It also helps to have the opportunity to be patted on the back.  As adults we don't really get to hear a ton of accolades and I had no idea how much I needed to hear a few 'atta girl's'. 

I have dropped  over ten pounds and I feel amazing.  I am just barely on the other side of the OMG number, and I have to remind myself daily that ten pounds is not nearly enough.  I have to chant "I am tired of being fat" the entire way to work...it's the only way that my car doesn't careen into the nearest Sonic or McDonald's for a gooey, cheesy breakfast.  I may be enjoying the rewards of loosing a bit of weight but it is a constant battle not to settle for something that tastes yummy in exchange for my health.