St. Patty's Day Fun!

On Sunday during brunch with friends I decided it was time to throw a dinner party for St. Patrick's Day. I usually try to plan dinner parties (or any type of party) in advance so I can spend time cleaning and preparing for the event. I also love to send paper invitations, so that typically requires more planning time. However, I figured we might as well invite people over for the holiday or we will have a lot of leftovers... and I tire of leftovers quickly.

I thought I would share the menu with you: Baked Corned Beef (seasoned by yours truly... not a packet this year!), sauteed cabbage, green mashed potatoes (colored with veggies), and double fudge Irish cream cookies. A friend is making soda bread and I'm sure we will top off the night with Bailey's and coffee. I am looking forward to it!

It is a very small dinner party... we are having 4 guests over. It is so hard for me not to invite all my friends in town, but we don't have room (or time) for a large dinner party. I am not going to lie...throwing large dinner parties is one reason I want to live in a larger apartment or a house!

I dont have time to decorate, which is a shame since I even have green fabric! Well, maybe I will throw together a flag pennant... we will see!

I hope to blog more regularly again since winter is mostly over. The winter is a rough time for my depression, so I didn't want to blog since most posts would have consisted of whining, tales of sleeping too much, and more whining. If you see my husband around congratulate him on making it through the winter... I don't always make it easy, but I always make it interesting!

ps... this image was taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/funoldnew/

Turning a new leaf... again.

Over the past 2 months I have digressed in my life change. I have eaten way too many sweets, given up exercise, and have not been watching my portions. Suffice it to say i've fallen off the wagon. Is it disappointing? A bit Am I going to beat myself up over it? No. It is a '2 steps forward one step back' kind of thing... so at least ive made it one step!

Now that I am once again committed to a healthier me, I have decided to try a few different things. I am taking the advice of this article I read in Eating Well magazine and setting goals. My goal is to make it to a size 12 by losing 1-1 1/2 pounds a week. Of course my ultimate goal is to be healthy and have optimal cholesterol and triglyceride numbers, but losing weight will help me achieve that goal! I am also going to give myself a reward. When I reach my goal I will be able to go to a neighboring town to buy a cute vintage dress!

I have also just started an online journal to keep track of the foods I eat. I tend to think that if no one sees me eat unhealthy things than it doesnt count. That way of thinking has not served me well over the past couple of months, so it is time to change. By writing down all that I eat I have to face the fact that all food I eat contributes to my health.

I also need to start exercising again. Last week I walked to work all week. Doing little things like this is a goal that will help me achieve better 'good' cholesterol levels, which I need in order to be happy. Exercising also gives me more energy throughout the day.

All of this leads me back to you, my support system. I will need you to encourage me and be there for me while I get things back on track. I know I can count on you all to help me live better... you have all been wonderful so far!

Thanks!

The Weekend

This past weekend our 4 friends that live in Lafayette were gone, so the husband and I decided to drive to southern Indiana to visit 2 of them who happen to live about 1/2 an hour from each other. They both also live in the country, so finding their houses was fun! Our direction to Lynns included counting houses on the right side of the road and turning left when we see a brown trailer!

It was nice to be in the country. Lynn's mom came home from town and was talking to Lynn about who she saw at the grocery store and I couldn't help but smile and feel right at home, even though I didn't know these folks. While I loved living in the city and am enjoying living in this mid-sized town, I can't help but look back on fondness of my home of 500 (and now 700) in Illinois.

Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side. Towards the end of my college career I was very tired of seeing the same faces all the time (family and friends excluded). It always seemed that I never ran into the people I liked but rather those that I didn't. Plus, you couldnt get away with anything since you knew everyone.

While in Lynn's neck of the woods we also went to her church. I swear it was my home church, just with different people and at a different location. Seriously, it had everything my church back home had: a small church, long prayer requests shouted out by members of the congregation of 30, a lot of family ties, a children's moment, and various hymns. The church is set in the country too, so we were the only visitors. :) We felt very welcomed by the congregation and I loved the hymns (the husband, not so much).

After church we went back to Lynn's house and had lunch with her family. It was delish; and by delish I mean it had butter. Yum. Lynn also made an ice-cream cake for dessert. I have one word to describe it; heavenly. Obviously it was not a healthy dessert. She made 2 flavors of ice cream and separated them with fudge and oreo crumbs. To top off the ice cream she made whipped cream and covered the cake. So to make up for this decadent treat i am promising to eat salad for lunch the rest of the week and to exercise via walking.

We left for Lafayette shortly thereafter. I was so relaxed that I slept almost the whole way home! It must have been the sugar and butter... or maybe it was fresh country air.

My New Favorite Things: Food Edition

I always get ideas for blog posts right before I go to sleep. That usually means that I forget them, but I didn't forget this one. I'm not one to brag (okay, I am), but I am so proud of myself for remembering!

I remember 3 dreams I had last night. Two of the three were about chocolate cake and cereal. I obviously miss these things, but I do have some yummy substitutes!

• Fresh Dates - Seriously folks, these things are delish! They are great with your morning oatmeal or just as a little snack. I would recommend getting the fresh ones though; the ones that are dried are not nearly as flavorful. On a side note, they are also full of potassium!
• Splenda - Mrs. Attempted Domestication has raved about this sugar substitute for years, but being a sugar purist I never even tried it. Now that my triglycerides are high, however, I have given in and joined the Splenda wagon. I get the granulated variety and it tastes pretty darn close to sugar.

• Fruit, Fruit, Fruit - I have a hard time limiting myself 3-5 servings of fruit per day, especially if it is a weekend as I eat when I am bored. My favorites are honeycrisp apples, strawberries, dates, and peaches, but I like virtually all fruits.

• Frozen Yogurt - I get a craving for ice cream nearly every day, but once in a while ill indulge in some frozen yogurt instead. Its not as creamy as ice cream, but that also means that you don't feel as if you're about to explode if you eat a bit too much of it.

• Natural Peanut Butter - JIF and Skippy have really yummy natural peanut butters. I know I eat too much PB, but they are so good! I should get the PB with less sugar in it, but that stuff is like a chore to eat.

Okay, so obviously I have a sweet tooth as all of the above foods are sweet... but that is where my life has changed the most in the past 7 weeks. Thanks for all your support friends!

Website Wednesday

I found myself laughing out loud today in my office when I was reading the website Sh*t my Dad Says. The tagline says "I'm 29. I live with my 74 year old Dad. He is Awesome. I just write down sh*t that he says."

This man is hilarious; and not in the 'dad joke' kind of way, more in the 'im-old-so-I-can-say-whatever-I-effing-want" kind of way. Therefore, do not read it if you are not okay with various vulgar curse words.

For those not into vulgar humor, I found another website I really like: EatingWell.com. Mostly I like it because it gave me a recipe for watermelon sorbet... but it has other good stuff on it too.

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In other news, on Friday I will have been eating healthy for 4 weeks! I'm mostly excited about that, but I dont think I have lost any weight since my clothes all fit exactly the same (I don't believe in scales). Granted, I am not eating healthy to lose weight; i'm doing it to lower my cholesterol and take care of physical self.... but I would have expected to lose something! It's a bit maddening really.

It might have something to do with the fact that I still have a goiter, but the Doc said that it wasn't inhibiting my thyroid functioning. Oh well. Even though I haven't lost weight I have had positive results from this lifestyle change; I don't get stomach aches anymore and I have more energy!

Speaking of energy, here is my to-do list for tonight:

• Eat Dinner
• Grocery Shopping
• Water plants in community garden for at least an hour
• Work on current sewing project

Hope all is well with you folks!

Website Wednesday: Thursday Edition

Sorry about not updating my blog lately! I was going to yesterday, but I was super-cranky for no reason, so I thought I would spare you. You are welcome.

Anyway, since finding out about my high cholesterol I've started to live a healthier lifestyle; a lifestyle that involves far less sweets. I've been doing pretty good about things, but I often get cravings for yummy things like muffins, hot fudge sundaes, waffles, and buttercream frosting. I may sound a bit crazy, but it's the truth!

I was pumped to stumble across the blog How Sweet it is today. It has a good mixture of typical sweets (i.e. things that include buttermilk, cream, and a lot of sugar) and healthier sweets in which to indulge. The recipes that really got me were the strawberry-yogurt-granita and frozen hot chocolate. It's pretty obvious I am in an ice cream mood. ;) So while I may not be eating my sister-in-laws almost famous frosting, I am able to satisfy my taste buds with a wonderful substitute.

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On a completely different note, I am considering cutting my hair again. I have my hair cut in the traditional "middy" style of the 40's in order to make putting my hair in rollers easier. The cut is wonderful in that sense, but the problem is that I have not been rolling my hair much due to the humidity and all around hotness that is Indiana summers. Therefore, i'm thinking about going with a bob or some other shorter style that doesn't require much work but still has a bit of versatility. I think when fall or winter hits I would go back to the middy - but another style might be best for now.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Let the festivities begin (or continue)...

Today is the official day of my birth! My poor mother, bless her heart, toiled and toiled to bring me into this world... and she did it without pain meds!! What a strong woman (love you Mom)! my father is strong too; after all, he was with mom while she was delivering me and he made it through alive (love you too Dad)! And while i'm thanking people, thanks to my Gran and Hasha for watching my older sister during this monumental occasion... :)

Best costume for the day

Fast forward 25 years: I have grown from adorable infant to chubby- grade schooler to awkward-boys-clothes-wearing-adolescent to lazy-high-schooler to sorority-girl to the married-vintage-queen I am today! All in all, life has been good thus far and i am looking forward to living another million years.

So, here is the rundown for this weekend:

Friday - Wear a crown to work (done and done), have a dinner picnic with friends, use my new picnic basket (thanks for the early b-day present husband), eat ice cream, have the husband roll me home.

Saturday - last minute cleaning before Mom, dad, and cousin Paige get here, Eat lunch at best Mexican restaurant ever, got to Indy zoo, eat dinner with friends, go back home.

Sunday - Get up early to get Mary-Lou's donuts, church, lunch, shopping with mom, say goodbye to parents and cousin, relax.

Doesn't this sounds like a great weekend?!?! I think so.

No, I know so!!

Irish Feast update

The Irish inspired dinner was so delish! I seriously could not believe I made it! I think i'm beginning to realize that cooking isn't as scary or hard as I thought. It does take patience and time though... and when i'm hungry I dont want to wait. maybe that is why cereal is the best food ever!

The meat was tender, the veggies were not too soft and not too crunchy, and even the cabbage tasted divine! I also made green mashed potatoes; they were good, but mashed potatoes aren't my favorite. Of course my favorite was the mint dessert brownies. I used a box for the brownies (I didn't want to chance dry brownies) and made the mint cream and chocolate toppings. Friends brought over soda bread and salad with homemade dressing. Overall I would say it was a perfect evening!

I have three regrets though:

1. That I couldn't invite more people
2. That I didnt have a green tablecloth; we have 2 tables pushed together
3. That I made place-cards for everyone and labeled mine "Jayme Z (D)". I did that because while I didnt officially take The Husbands name, I wanted to put it on my place-card. However, it ended up looking like the '(D)' was there to say Im a Democrat (which is true, but still...)!

The wonderful-ness of the night greatly outweighed the regrets though, so I would label the night a great success!

I hope you all have a great weekend; I plan on doing nothing and relaxing afterwards!

Irish-like dinner

well, today I am preparing a dinner feast for the Husband, a few friends, and myself.

I have Corned Beef, cabbage, a rutabaga, a leek, and a pound of carrots warming up in the crock pot as we speak. I also have my mint brownies done, and boy do the look yummy!! When I get home the husband is going to help me peel the potatoes and then we will have green mashed potatoes as well. Yum! Some friends are completing the meal with a salad and soda bread. The only thing missing is some yummy beer, but seeing as it is a weeknight and I forgot to pick some up, it looks like we will be having organic sparkling lemonade.

ps... youtube is wonderful... thank goodness for instructional videos on how to cut rutabagas and leeks!

I think i like being a hostess.. I might host another one next month in honor of my birthday. 30 days left!

Ah, the weekend

This past weekend The Husband and I made it a priority to do nothing of significance. Of course the goal was achieved. We wrapped up odds and ends, he played a lot on his new Xbox, and i kept on at the puzzle I am putting together. Yes, we are officially lame. No, we don't really care... mostly because we had a great time doing nothing! Also, we have been on the go for the past 2 weekends so we deserved a break.

The Husband did make supper Saturday and it was delish! I am so glad to have someone who is able to share cooking duties with me! We had eggplant and spaghetti; yum! Today I am making hot ham sandwiches... and hopefully going grocery shopping later tonight. After all, I am trying my hand at an Irish inspired meal on Wednesday; corned Beef and cabbage, green mashed potatoes, and brownies with this delicious mint creme on top. I think I will make the brownies tomorrow so I am not so overwhelmed on St. Patty's day. However, the beef and cabbage will be in the crock pot, so hopefully i will only have to worry about the mashed potatoes.

On a completely different note, The Husband and I watched (500) Days of Summer last night. the movie was good, but even better than the movie itself was Zooey Deschanel's (or Summer, in the movie) wardrobe. Seriously folks, if I had all the money in the world I would own THAT wardrobe. It was so beautiful and 50's feminine, but not costume-like. I commented to The Husband on all the outfits throughout the entire movie! Sorry! :)

I am attaching a link to another blog that posted a bunch of Zooey's clothes from the movie. I would make one myself, but i'm too lazy. Sorry!

Cooking and Such

Well, it's finally happened! The Husband is done with his second job! Wa-hoo! Obviously I'm excited to spend time with him, but i'm also very excited that we will now be sharing the cooking duties! Tonight he is making this chicken and veggie thing; I think he made it up. It's good, easy, and doesn't dirty many dishes!

Which is good, because all of our bowls are dirty. However, we use bowls for everything. And we (okay, I) eat a lot of cereal. We normally don't let the dishes get too out of control, but they just sneaked (apparently snuck is not a word) up on us! I can not WAIT until we get a dishwasher... someday.

In other news, it is a whopping 68 degrees outside! I was so happy that I could finally start wearing my spring dresses again! Perhaps this will motivate me to try some new hairstyles... I have so many I want to try, but I am finding that i am not patient enough for all of them. We will see!

One style I do not want to try; a Farrah hairdo from the 80's. No disrespect (RIP Farrah), but I am just NOT a lover of the 80's hair. A co-worker saw a lady with this hair today and told me that this could be inspiration for me. I'm not very good at hiding my emotions off-the-cuff... so I think I looked mortified. Good thing she was walking away when she said that!

Well, only 1/2 an hour until I am off of work and with my love! I'm thinking that I might be able to persuade him into going to a coffee shop after supper... I want to enjoy this weather (and perhaps a sweet treat)!

Happy Hummus Day

Today during lunch I ventured to the international food store in town for some ingredients for tonight's dinner; I am making hummus! The ingredients I bought are probably the real deal ... they have arabic writing on them like this تحيني (that says Tahini, thanks Wil!) and everything was only 7 dollars!

A few friends have made it recently, and as impressionable as I am, I needed to make it too! Plus, I bought some hummus at the store a couple weeks ago and it wasn't very good. I would have regretted it if i hadn't bought it on sale and had a coupon for it! So I researched online and found 3 recipe's that sounded good; Smitten Kitchen's Recipe required you to buy dry beans and soak them for 36 hours (not happening), one was for beet hummus (I would enjoy it, but The Husband, not so much), and the other was just right. I was skimming the comments on the last recipe and one person who is Arabic posted a few suggestions to make the dish a bit more delicious. I wrote down the suggestions and altered the recipe. I am excited to make this!

So tonights meal will be hummus on bread topped with cucumbers and tomato, mixed veggies, and I might defrost some raspberries for fruit. Delicious, healthy, easy, and cheap!

I'm thinking about trying my stolen recipe for tomorrow's dinner.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you want; they are fun to read and I get all excited when I see that someone left me one!

Our mini-vacay was GREAT! We got to see some friends, go to a few shows, and eat great food... which brings me to today's topic.

Food.

I am a lover of food. I love food with my whole being and I don't think I am exaggerating. Of course good chocolate is my favorite with cereal at a close second. Nothing beats chocolate and breakfast food together. Yesterday I at hot chocolate French toast topped with whipped cream (sadly it wasn't homemade) and chocolate ganache. it was heaven on earth! I almost didn't order it because I was afraid of it disappointing me, which it did not. I'm glad I took that risk!

Anyway, while out eating with friends this weekend we were discussing my 'odd' eating habits. It is not that I eat weird things, it is that I eat things a certain way. I have a particular way to eat burgers, brownies, toast, different cereals, and yes, Reese's PB Cups (there IS a wrong way to eat a Reese's in my eyes). Now some (i.e. The Husband) think that these 'rules' I have for myself is constricting, but I find it refreshing.

On the other hand, if someone sneaks a bite from my sandwich/ice cream/whatever, it throws off my whole meal. The Husband has learned how upset it makes me if he messes with this fragile balance. I am more than willing to share, but one must ASK FIRST. You would think most would know this by now, but some think it is entirely appropriate to take a bite of my brownie, which I have eaten in a certain way as to save the middle (ie the best) for my last bite. I am generally a nice person, but someone who eats the last bite of something of mine might be eating their last meal. Okay, I wouldn't kill, but I would get extremely pouty, whiny, sad, and grumpy. Don't mess with me and my love of food.

So there you have it folks. We all have things that we like a particular way, mine jsut happens to be edible.

Meatloaf Beatloaf...

When I got married I decided it was time to stop living off of cereal, PB&J, and instant oatmeal (strawberry flavor). I had always thought that my husband would do the cooking because he actually knows how to cook... I mostly just pour milk into a bowl. However, he got a second job so the cooking suddenly became my responsibility.

SCARY!!

As many people know, I get scared and anxious in certain situations - and friends, cooking is one of those situations. I have been cooking 3 meals a week for the past 4 months and am constantly scared that my cooking sucks or that I will accidentally kill my husband via salmonella or e-coli. I have made a few strides though; Ive successfully made chicken once, frequently use ground turkey or beef, and tonight I am trying my hand at meatloaf!

To me, meatloaf is the quintessential 'housewife's' meal. If I was half the chef my mother is I would also make mashed potatoes. I am not, though, so we will just have frozen veggies on the side. I think tonight I will wear an apron while I cook, listen to 50's music, touch up my freshly rolled hair (which looks great btw), and make myself a drink. You know, sometimes being an adult isn't too bad!