Needy

I don't know why, but I have gotten into a spending frenzy.  Last week I got my new lounge clothes, which I really love.  I also ordered some spring/summer dresses when should be delivered today.  I'm looking forward to the warm weather so I can start wearing them.  Plus I splurged and got a ton of new items for my craft room (fantastic dollar sales!).  Now, I've decided that since Dan is working and I've lost my running partner/trainer/entertainment during running, I need to get some new toys.  Here is what I'm saving for:

New Shoes.  Mine are 2 years old and I'm about to run out of the top of them.  I'm trying to decide if I want to buy running shoes, or trail running shoes.  So, any input would be appreciated.  I have high arches and underpronate, so I have to really try them on to make sure they will be good for my feet.  Cost: $80-$150

iPod Nano 6th generation.  I like the idea of a touch screen because I loved it on my BB Storm.  Plus, the clip will be really handy without the arm band.  I just really need something to take my mind off every step and every mile.  Cost: $140

Forerunner 305 Sports Watch.  Has a GPS reciever and a heart rate moniter.  I can see how far I've ran without having to run the same stupid course every day, and I can moniter my heart rate to stay on track.  It tracks your pace so you can see where you need to improve.  Plus, I can change modes for when we go for a bike ride.  The added feature is the map sharing online, so I can find other routes to take.  Cost: $150.

So, I'll be slowly saving up for each of these fun things.  If I stay disaplined and don't splurge on too many shopping trips or lunches out, I should be able to gather these up quickly.  Now I understand what Dan talks about when he comes to me with the new and best thing he just HAS to have for training.  Some things, you just do need.

Recipe Roundup

Here are my recipes for all the yummy food I’ve been talking about:
Sugar Free Coconut Macaroons
I followed the recipe from the link, but added a handful of Organic Raw Cacao Nibs and a handful of almond slices so they would taste more like a Mounds Bar. I also used Organic Coconut Flour instead of the raw coconut.  I need to play with this recipe because the macaroons were really soft, and stuck to my wax paper really badly. They never browned on top. I’m going to try adding melted coconut oil instead of the water, to see if this will help. They were fantastic though. Clint even said that he doesn’t like coconut, but he liked these.

Summer Squash and Zucchini

This is my favorite vegetable side. Every time I go to the store, I have to pick one of each up. The best part of this recipe is that it only takes 5 min to cook.

In a small skillet, add about 2T of your fav. EVOO infused butter (you can use EVOO if you prefer). Melt the butter on med heat to coat the skillet.

Slice the squash and zucchini. You want the slices to be about 1/4” wide to avoid them turning into mush.

Before adding to the skillet, season the zucchini and squash with salt and pepper. This is key. Salt them. It really brings out the flavor.
Add the zucchini to the skillet, then the squash and squirt in about 1teaspoon of lemon juice and cover. Cook over med-lo heat for about 5 min stirring occasionally. If they squash starts to turn translucent, then they are starting to turn mushy. Remove from heat and serve (hopefully before they start to become mushy).


Fried Chicken

Fried chicken has become a staple food in our house.  We have it once a week usually.  I stick to drumsticks and wings, but I did a few breasts have on a salad with lunch.  So tasty and I had people envious at my lunch.

Thaw chicken over night in the fridge.  Some people soak their chicken in a brine or cold water, but I don't.  With 4 pets, the chicken would be plucked right out of the cold water.

In a large skillet, heat on med-hi enough coconut oil to cover bottom 1/2 inch of pan.  I usually use 1 1/2 cup solid coconut oil and 1/2 cup EVOO.  I have a BIG pan.
Combine 2 cups flour with 1Tbsp paprika, 1tsp pepper and 1tsp salt.
Dredge chicken in the spiced flour.
Place chicken in oil and cover.
Turn chicken after 10 min to cook the other side and cover.
Cook chicken to 160F.  A cooking thermometer is your friend.
Immediately remove from heat and place on a paper towel to remove the extra oil.  Let the chicken rest for at least 5 min.

Hints:  Your dark meat will take longer, so cook your legs before your wings.
Your flour coating will be a dark crispy brown when chicken is done.  If you cook your chicken too long, it will turn to jerky.

Love Letter

Late last year, my grandma passed away. She grew up in England and always remained a proper English lady. I loved that about her. She had an accent and told great stories of this far away place she once lived. Before she passed, she asked my Dad to e-mail us love letters that my grandpa had sent her when she moved from England to California after they were married, with my Uncle Terry. My grandpa is not outwardly affectionate, and today I wanted to share his letter.

10 March 45
My Darling Joyce,
It’s just eight P.M. here and noon where you are. I often compare the time and wonder what you are doing now. It seems so darn funny to have eaten supper and then stop and think that you haven’t even had lunch yet. Gee honey but I’m lonesome for you. I’ve been down to Mrs. A’s this afternoon but didn’t stay long. Cpl Butcher [Cpl Jess J. Butcher from Los Angeles, California] and his wife and baby are there now and I just sit back and take in the whole room. Here is what I saw, Butcher was sitting in my chair, his wife in yours, and the baby was in Mrs. A’s chair screeming her head off. Mrs. A was out in the kitchen getting tea and I was sitting on the settee by the window. Darling I got so darn nervous thinking that we used to be there together and that are in El Cajon, and I’m here alone. Does it make sense to you?
Anyway honey I just couldn’t stand the thoughts that were going through my mind. I guess I’m jelous of them. Gosh honey but it seems like years since I was with you in that same house.
I did so look forward to getting your first letter today and then when it didn’t arrive I felt all goffey like. I always feel the best in the morning because I say to myself that this is the day I’ll get that letter, then no letter ------------. I do hope you are getting on alright with my family, please tell me if you aren’t. I received Louise’s mail written on Feb 26th. Well my darling I’ll close here and go to bed thinking about you and about getting your letter tomorrow. Kiss Terry for me. Have some pictures taken of him.
All my love,
Steve
PS. If only I were with you now!

I'm not sure if I would've had the strength to go through what they did, but I am glad that this kind of love runs in my family.

For Daisy

A Doggie PB Birthday Cake

Pre-heat over to 350F.
Combine the following:
1cup flour
1tsp baking soda
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup PB
1 egg
1/4 EVOO
1tsp vanilla.
Pour into cake pan and bake for about 30 min.

PB Cream Cheese frosting:

Combine 1 package of cream cheese
1/4 cup PB
1/4 cup milk.
Beat until well mixed and creamy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Daisy Jayne!!!

Being a Girl

I have never been a pink person.  In fact, I don’t wear a lot of girlie clothes.  Sure, I love my accessories, and I wear a little lace, but my color palate is left to bright solid colors. I rarely wear patterns, and mostly just wear layers to mix things up.  I never really thought about this, until Dan started saying something.  He asked me to buy cuter “lounging” clothes.  Usually I stick to sweat pants and an old t-shirt.  Yup, I’m one of those wives.

So, we went online so I could figure out what in the world he was talking about.  He picked out some cute yoga pants, with a shirt, some shorts and a couple sleeper tees from Victoria’s Secret.  I’m not going to lie, I was pretty hesitant.  I mean, when I want to relax, I don’t care how I look.  I just want to be relaxed. 

It only took 2 days for my order to come in, so yesterday I tried out a pink sleeper tee.  Super comfy!  The fabric is super soft and it’s really comfortable.  It’s not tight at all, but somehow still form fitting.  I got the pink one with the sparkly heart, and the purple one.  I even dug out some of my old sleeper shorts and pants that were hiding in the bottom of a goodwill clothes pile.

I’m not going to lie, I felt pretty good wearing pink.  And there maybe some pink fuzzy slippers in my future.

Sigh of Relief

I’ve been quiet here since Dan’s Dr’s appointment. 

On Wednesday we were told that Dan’s CEA levels came back at 2.9.  His pre-surgery level was 2.1, three months ago it was at 2.8.  So, Dr. H suggested that Dan have a PET-CT scan, just to be sure the rising CEA levels are artifact and not the start of a recurrence.  CEA is CarcinoEmbryonic Antigen test.  CEA is secreted by embryonic cells, but level out in adults as you lose these embryonic cells.  Some cancer cells will secret CEA, so in some people, an increase in CEA will indicate tumor growth.

We scrambled around work schedules, and other appointments to get Dan in for a scan.  Dan didn’t want me to tell anyone because it was just precautionary, and nothing definitive.  Why have everyone else be on edge for nothing?  Being quiet was very hard for me.  I told my mom because I needed someone to know what was going on.

I’ll admit, I was really scared at first.  There was no warning.  Dan has been feeling great.  He’s getting his motivation back for MMA, and things were settling into normalcy.  Well, normal for us.  Not to mention, so many wonderful things have happened since Wednesday morning!  Our two good friends got engaged, and my friend Megan had her baby!  I was having a really hard time being happy and excited for everyone, with Dan’s health weighing me down. 

Plus, I caught a stomach bug and couldn’t get out of bed Friday.  But, by Saturday night, my viral infection was gone, and we were able to visit with my family for a Stephenson Clan bowling night.  By the time we were headed home, I realized I hadn’t thought about Dan’s health all night.  Sunday afternoon, Dan’s family came into town for a visit, and I felt great.  I was confident Dan would be fine.

Yesterday at 7am, we headed to the Simon center for Dan’s scan.  They put in an IV port and injected him with a radio-labeled glucose tracer.  The glucose will be metabolized and the PET scan will show any area in the body where high levels of metabolism are occurring.  In layman’s terms, tumors will glow. Then the CT scan, lets them look more carefully at the areas that “glowed.”  Dan was done by 8:45.  I was anxious for results immediately, but we had to wait.  I was a little scared, but I knew that even if something came back suspicious, we’d have to wait for a biopsy to confirm, so we were focused on being prepared for bad news, but really expecting the all clear.

Dan had an appointment with Dr. H to go over the scan results today at 8am.  As we were slowing getting up, Dan checked his e-mail and Dr. H had e-mailed him last night (after Dan bribed him with donuts), that the scan showed no signs of any cancer. 

Dan is still cancer free, and we now have yet another reason to celebrate tonight.  Today is a good day.

A little about me...

I was sick Friday and Saturday, so this is about all I could put together.

A. Age: 27 who day dreams of having the responsibilites of a 22 year old.

B. Bed size: Queen. We love our bed. Its our favorite purchase to date.

C. Chore you dislike: Dishes and cleaning the bathroom. Those are the husband's chores now. One of the first times Dan came over after I gave him a key, he did my dishes while waiting for me to get home. I was so embarrassed, and we moved in together soon after. I was not letting a man who does dishes get away.

D. Dogs: Miss Daisy Jayne who will be 2 years old on Wednesday and Miss Penny Layne who is 8 months old.

E. Essential start to your day: Seeing my husband and the dogs. I prefer to see my husband making me coffee. Oh, and breakfast. I have to eat in the morning.

F. Favorite color: Purple – I wanted our wedding color to be purple, but my mom talked me out of it. The orange and red was still beautiful.

G. Gold or silver: Silver – I'm allergic to gold.

H. Height: 5 foot 6 inches

I. Instruments you play(ed): I taught myself how to play the piano, and still say that I can play. We have a piano, and I don't play it. I really need to get some books to get back into it. I also played the violin for 9 years, but I haven't picked it up since high school. I need a new one with a better tone. And, I am really self conscious about it because I had a horrible teacher. I still won gold at state several years in a row.

J. Job title: Wife, Puppy-mommy, Senior Biologist.
In that order.

K. Kids: 2 dogs and 2 cats...for now.

L. Live: Greenwood, IN in a house we built a year and a half ago. But, we will probably be moving to either Broadrippe or Greenfield in the next 3-5 years.

M. Mom’s name: Kim, Mom, Mommy dearest.

N. Nicknames: Dan calls me his Queen, and the dogs know me as Momma. When I was a baby, my dad called me Peaches. Some people try to call me Nikki, but I quickly correct them.

O. Overnight hospital stays: When Dan was in the hospital. I'm not sure this counts.

P. Pet peeves: Rude people and mouth breathers. Oh, also when people write an e-mail and the put the entire e-mail in the subject line and nothing in the actual e-mail.

Q. Quote from a movie:

"WaaAAAllll-e. EeeEEEEvvva."

R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Greg, Rebekah, Elisabeth, Ducky, Adam, and Caleb. Phew.

T. Time you wake up: Sometime between 7:20 and 7:40 (weekdays that I work ), and weekends, whenever I get tired of hearing Penny bark and Dan hasn't yelled at her yet.

U. Underwear: Yes. I like a variety to choose from.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: I don't like lettuce on my sandwiches, but I do like lettuce. I've not met a vegetable I haven't liked, but there are a lot out there I haven't tried yet like collard greens and a sea beet.

W. What makes you run late: Whenever I have to put the dogs up. I take too long apoligizing for having to leave them. They just know how to look soo pathetic.

X. X-rays you’ve had: My feet and back. I've broken my right foot 3 times and I have scoliosis.

Y. Yummy food you make: Everything! I love to cook and am always finding ways to make anything taste better. In fact, I had a very yummy banana smoothie with dark chocolate PB this morning. Yum.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys, lemurs, and the tigers. I'm amazed at any zoo animal though. They are all so much more athletic and powerful then I am. I'm glad we are more evolved thinkers since we lack in the physical strengths, or so we tell ourselves.

Did you learn anything new??