Bates Nut Farm

I L-O-V-E Bates Nut Farm. I look forward to it every year. This year was exceptional. A full morning of hunting for the perfect pumpkin and an afternoon of baking, banter, laughter, joy and family. This year blew the others out of the water. Since a picture is work a thousand words.. here ya go:

Real Smooth

Last Friday when I got off work I headed to Jamul to visit Jared. I got out of my car and went around the front of it to give him a hug. I tripped on one of the wooded posts in the ground and literally fell into his arms. Who put those there? Oh wait.. they have always been there..
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Saturday at Bates Nut Farm I was learning how to drink a bottle of water for the first time I guess. I took a sip and it dribbled out of my mouth and onto my shirt. I don't think anyone saw it though. Whew!
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Sunday Jared and I had lunch with his mom, Lynn. While eating super yummy chicken bites at Chili's, one of the screwers and tried to stab me in the chest. Thankfully the mini chicken sandwhich was not still attached. Otherwise I wouldv'e made a bigger mess.
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Tuesday I met Jared for Coffee before I headed into work. As I was reaching into my car to get my purse I smack my head on the door frame. I was hoping he missed it but of course.. he didn't.

I'm just wondering at what point it will be necessary to wrap me in bubble wrap so I do not continue to injure myself. And honestly, does it have to be in front of Jared every.single.time? It is killing my graceful swan image.

Blog Blogs and More Blogs!

As if having 2 blogs isn't enough, I have added a third one to the mix. I created a new blog for my Operation Baking Gals "Team Fire and Icing". I am excited that our soldiers have been in contact with our team members and we are learning a little bit more about them. I hope to be adding pictures from team members soon too! So give it a gander and let me know what you think:
www.teamfireandicing.blogspot.com

What's a Pampelmousse?

I don't know what a Pampelmousse is exactly but I do know that when you put that in front of the word Grille, it makes for a great place to eat!

Jared is obsessed with likes the Mikey Show on Rock 105.3 and they, apparently, always talk about the Pampelmousse Grille in Del Mar. On Thursday I found out why it is the object of their affection when talking about food. Really people.. some of the best food I have ever had. Hands Down! I had Grilled Chicken Jidori w/ The best Roasted Potatoes I've ever had and Grilled Squash. Jared had a Kobe Beef Burger w/ Truffled Fries. I don't think I can ever eat a regualr french frie again after trying those. I even tried Creme Brulee for the first time. YUM! Double YUM!

The atmosphere is casual but I chose to wear a dress. I didn't spill anything on myself, trip and fall or accidentally get my dress caught in my undergarments after using the bathroom (am I the only person that fears this happening?) or get my dress caught in the car door. Amazing huh?

It was a fantastic evening with my sweetheart and I highly recommend it to everyone! I was ever brave enough to ask our server to take our picture...

The Dare Devil

She just looks innocent..

I am pretty sure my almost 2 year old niece is out to give her Auntie Shannon a heart attack. I watched her last week and took her to the park. Within the first 5 minutes of being there she fell. Hard. I was on the other side of the playground and saw it happen. I did what any/most parents/babysitter would do.. I held my breath and waited for the cry. It didn't happen. She stood up and kept on running. To my horror her knees were black. When I took a closer look I saw they were bleeding. I did my best to not draw her attention to her now bloody knees. It had to hurt. Do you remember road rashes and skinned knees from when you were a kid? I do! Those suckers would sting forever!!! A couple minutes later she fell on her knees, again. Once again there were no tears.. from her. I looked at her doubley bloody knees and the tears welled up in my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. My poor baby niece was bleeding under my watch. I felt like the worst auntie in the world. Good aunties would wrap their nieces and nephews in bubble wrap and never let anything happen to them. Right? While I was trying not to weep uncontrollably, she sat on the edge of the slide, pointed to her knee and laughed. Stinker!

As if those two spills weren't enough, she attempted to forge through the bushes and ate dirt for a third time. No extra ouchies this time though. She just got up and moved on. A few minutes later she was extra brave and tried to jump off of this:

Thankfully Auntie became her shadow after the first spill and I was there to catch her. As if my heart wasn't pounding enough with all of the thrills and spills, a pack of coyotes on the hill began howling/calling.. whatever they do. Much to my dismay, another large pack answered their cries and had their rumps parked a few hundred yards from the playground. I scooped up my niece aka potential coyote food and headed back to Brian and Katie's. I wasn't taking any chances with this little dare devil. With my luck she wouldv'e chased after them saying "puppy"..

Finally.. Success!

Now, we all know that I have cooking issues while in the presence of Jared. I just can't figure it out! He doesn't make me nervous so why all the charbroiled food???

Last night I finally kicked out the elephant in the room. My Chicken Tortilla Soup was fabulous. Like REALLY good. Stupendous and down right yummy. Yes, I did just say that about my own cooking. I am that confident in my soup making skills.

Only one near miss when I was helping Jared make Flan. I was stirring the sugar on the stove while trying to read something in my candy making book when I nearly pulled the pan off the stove. Thanks to Jared and his cat-like reflexes I was saved from some serious burns.

Here's the soup recipe. Bear with me though, I don't cook with recipes very often and I rarely measure things out. :)

32oz Chicken Broth
1.5 lbs Chicken Breast, cooked and shredded or chopped (add more or use less chicken if you like)
14.5 oz Can Corn
14.5 can Diced Tomatoes
8oz can Tomato Sauce
15 oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 C Onion, chopped
Chipotle Peppers in adobe sauce( in the same aisle as green chilis, salsa etc)
4 cups water
Cilantro
Chili Powder
Cumin
Pepper
Oregano

Toppings:
Avacado
Sour Cream
Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Pour Chicken Broth, Tomato Sauce, Water, Corn (with juice), Diced Tomatoes, Black Beans, Chicken, Onion into a crock pot.

Take one Chipotle pepper out of the can, slice it in half and remove the seeds. Chop up the pepper and add it to the crock pot. ** A note about the Chipotle Peppers.. they have some serious kick to them. The most I have ever used is 2 and it was pretty spicey. One seems to be just enough but add a second at your discretion**

Add in the seasonings as you like them. I use approx 1 teaspoon each of Cumin and Chili Powder and just a sprinkle of pepper and oregano. Add cilantro to your taste. It can be a tad on the strong side so I only chop up about 1/8 of a cup.

Let it cook in the crock pot on high for 4-5 hours. Top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, avacado and sour cream.

MMMMM MMMMM Good!

Cake Mix Cookies

If you have a craving for cookies but not all of the ingredients. OR if you get say, I don't know, 11 cake mixes while they are sale for 70 cents each.. this is a great recipe. Super-duper easy and takes only about 30 minutes.

Grab one of these babies:

Add :

2 eggs

2tbsp water

1/2 cup shortening

Optional:**you can add stuff to the mix as well like a cup of coconut, chocolate chips or sprinkle with powdered sugar**

Mix it all up. Spoon rounded spoonsfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for about 2 minutes then cool on a rack. Frosting them is optional.

Voila!

Strawberry w/ sugar sprinkles

Lemon and Coconut

Matthew

While I was reading a friend's blog today, I realized I have never explained the "Praying for Matthew's Future" link on my blog page. I will stick to the basics and post a link to the blog so you can read for yourself.

I met Lori at good ole Ramona High. We were in Play Productions together our senior year. She's super funny, a talented actress, a strong christian woman and a down to earth person. Though we aren't super close, I still consider us friends.

In February of this year Lori and her husband, Troy, adopted a little boy named Matthew. There have been some unexpected twists and turns in their adoption case. For instance, the biological father showing up the day Matthew was born and wanting custody. They currently have custody of Matthew but have a long road of court dates ahead of them.

Lori and Troy trust in the Lord and know His will is being done. They want what is best for Matthew.. even if that means they have to give up custody. They are asking that their friends and family join together and pray for Matthew's future.

It amazes me that they are asking for such a selfless thing. They are not asking that everyone prays they get custody or that the biological father would mysteriously vanish or that these circumstances would just go away. Their focus is on Matthew and what is best for him, no matter what happens. Lori and Troy have demonstrated more strength, grace, and compassion than I have ever seen.

So to all 6 people that read my blog, please join me in Praying for Matthew's Future. There are many court dates etc coming up and I know they will appreciate the prayers. Check out her blog and read Matthew"s Story.

Healthy Nachos? Possible? YES!

I love me some mexican food. What normal, living, breathing, hungry Southern Californian doesn't? Unfortunately eating a fat plate of Nachos won't get me closer to losing that last 16 pounds. So here's a little recipe I came up with:

Good Eatin' Nachos:

1 Whole Wheat Pita

3-4oz Cooked Chicken, chopped or Ground Turkey

1/3 cup Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

1/8 Avacado

1/4 cup Vegetarian Refried Black Beans

2 tbsp Pace Chunky Mild Salsa

1) Preheat Oven Broiler

2) Cut Pita into tortilla chip type shapes and place on baking pan

3) Place Pita in Broiler and baked 5-10 min, flipping once, until desired crispiness

4) Heat refried black beans on stove top for 1-2 minutes, just until warm

5) Place Pita pieces on microwave safe plate

6) Sprinkle half the cheese on pita pieces, add chicken and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Microwave for 30-60 seconds or until cheese is melted.

7) Remove from microwave. Top with refried beans, salsa, avacado. Enjoy!

Health Facts: Calories: 428, Protein: 56g, Fat: 10g, Carbs: 40g

Those numbers may seem high but I assure you they are not!

Check out the nutrition facts from some popular restaurants:

Chili's: Kickin Jack Nachos w/Chicken (numbers do not include guac or beans)

Calories: 1340, Protein: 82, Fat: 92g, Carbs: 68

1 serving = 12 Nachos

Rubios: Nachos Grande w/ Chicken

Calories: 1390, Protein: 60, Fat: 80g, Carbs: 114g

Serving Size = 1 order

La Salsa Chicken nachos w/ Black Beans:

Calories: 1600, Protein: 59g, Fat: 83g, Carbs: 148g

There are plenty of other places that serve nachos but I think you get the idea.

I Can See the Light...

January 24th marked the beginning of this weight loss hell journey. Now, as of October 2nd I am down 34 pounds. I have only 16 more to loose to meet my 50 pound goal. The goal is within my reach. I can almost taste it. The light at the end of the tunnel is visible. Some days I feel like I am barely hanging on and I am not going to make it but most days I have enough determination to get me through.

I've been warned by my Drill Sgt. that he will be cracking down on me even more when I am on my last 10 pounds. I was informed of this via text this morning. It read: "Intense Cardio 7 days a week. No Sugar..Gallon of water a day. 5 Healthy meals and limited salt intake."

Let's break this down..

1) Intense Cardio 7 days a week?.. That screams sore muscles and potentiall some whining.

2) No Sugar? Ahh man, it's the holiday season! I'm gonna be surrounded by sweets and holiday yumminess.

3) Gallon of water? Sounds like a lot but I drink a lot of water already. I only need to increase it by 16 oz.

4) 5 Healthy meals? Thank God! I'm eating 6-7 times a day right now.. can't wait to eat less often

5) Limited salt intake? Easily done. I don't add salt to anything and I always check sodium content in the things I eat.

What scares me the most is that he asked if my gym allows people to try it out for free. He has also implied he may just "show up" while I am working out. If he's there during my workout would someone please have an ambulance waiting outside to take me to the hospital? I have a feeling he will work me harder than I have ever worked in my life. This is me @ Jessica's baby shower last November

This is me today.. In the same shirt just so we could see the difference..But I had to tie it back with a hair tie because it is too big now. Not the best picture in the world but oh well :)