Beautiful Blogger

Imagine my surprise after learning some interesting things about Mel over at 2nd Chances to see that she nominated me as a Beautiful Blogger. I had to read over it a second time to make sure I read it right, lol! I’m still very new to the blogging world and haven’t really gotten my name out there that much. So I was pleasantly surprised to see my name :) Thanks Mel!

Seven interesting things about me:

1. I’ve been to Australia two times in the last five years. Each visit I stayed for 3 to 4 weeks at a time. My sister lived there for several years so was lucky enough to have a place to stay. I experienced a lot of firsts during my visits there.

2. In the last five years, I’ve discovered that I’m a very sensitive, emotional, and passionate person. Way more than I ever thought I was. These are all things that at one time I might have considered incompatible with the rest of my traits. However, now I know they are highly positive and important qualities to have.

3. Farting jokes still make me laugh uncontrollably. If I hear someone fart I can’t help but laugh. I also have what some may call a strange fascination with my poop and its correlation to my health. I’m very regular and look at my poop every morning. I have called my mom and friends to share with them any amazing poops that I may have experienced. No joke! I even encourage them to look at their poop every time they go.

4. I yawn A LOT when I get nervous.

5. When it comes to sports/athletics I love being trained. I feel like I do my best when I have someone telling me what to do. I’m not saying I don’t do well on my own because I do pretty good. But I love soaking in as much of someone’s knowledge as I possibly can.

6. I’m an avid reader. Fiction is my favorite, but I will read just about anything.

7. Every time I step outside when it is dark I look at the moon and the surrounding stars. No matter what phase the moon is in, its beauty never fails to amaze me and it always makes me smile. It’s the simple things!

Passing the Beautiful Blogger torch to…

Jamie – Sweaty Hugs

Amber – Robles Family

Jess – Fit Chick In The City

Slow down and BREATHE

Breathe! You’d think I would remember this just by looking at my own blog title.  However, this past week breathing in the literal sense of the word has been a challenge for me.  I feel like some pretty big and exciting things have been set into motion in just the first two weeks of 2010.  Last week, things were moving pretty fast and all I could think was that I wanted it to slow down some.  This week things have slowed down and all I want is for them to speed up.  Confused much?! 

Throughout this week, I’ve had plenty of signs from God urging me to slow down.  Yesterday was the most dramatic of examples…on my way home from work, mind you I was in rush hour traffic and it wasn’t any different than any other trip home. No matter what I did I would get stuck behind the slowest person whether it was in the left lane or the right lane.  I couldn’t win!    To make matters worse I was trying to get back to town to meet up with my mom in order to make it to my sisters graduation on time.  It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to my mom’s house to find out she had already left.  She was worried she would be late and left with good reason.  However, at the time I was pretty angry that she left without me because I felt I had to perform some ENORMOUS (exaggerating of course) feats just to get there sort of on time.  My mom happened to call at the same time I pulled up to her house and an angry conversation on my part ensued.  So SORRY Mom, I’d forgotten what age I was!  I rushed to my place so that I could go the bathroom and freshen up quickly.  On my way home a rock hit my windshield and left a nice chip.  At that point I was pretty enraged, embarrassingly so.  I wanted to cry but couldn’t.  I got home and channeled my three year old self and threw a mini temper tantrum which may have included slamming my car and house door, throwing my water bottle in the sink and throwing my lunch box on the floor.  The funniest part about my temper tantrum is that I couldn’t throw it with reckless abandonment.  I wanted to throw my lunch box but only tossed it a few inches because I knew my glass mug inside could break and the honey bottle could open and then the stickiness would be everywhere.  My tantrum was pathetic compared to the doozies I proudly threw in my early years…LOL!  That realization along with the fact that I was lucky enough to not have anyone witness my embarrassing behavior was enough to calm me down.   The rest of the evening went just fine, I made it to my sister’s graduation with plenty of time to spare.  Even my day had been fine.  I’m not sure what got into me in those 2 hours. 

My longwinded point is that I know God was urging me to slow down that things were ok and that I would have plenty of time to be there for my sister, but I just didn’t want to listen. 

One of things I want to work on this year and for the rest of my life is to slow down, breathe, and enjoy and appreciate every minute of my life.  Time moves so quickly on its own that I don’t need to waste my time wishing for the day to be over or being impatient for that party, trip, dinner plans, etc. that I have planned on the next day, week, or month.  Those events will come but I want to be present in the now, fully take in every emotion I feel, to see and feel the little things.  Because in essence those are the moments that make me feel the happiest and calmest. 

I’m not saying that I won’t have anymore freak outs, because I will.  But I’d like to be more aware of those moments when I’m heading in that direction and be able to remind myself to slow down and BREATHE!

14-0

BSU! BSU! BSU!

Wahoo! Boise State is the 2010 Fiesta Bowl Champions!

I opted to watch the game at home and out of the public eye. I can get extremely vocal and animated when watching the Broncos play; which can be annoying or shocking to those that don't understand. LOL! What can I say, it runs in my blood! I'm not going to lie there was lots of ups and downs (for me) that included cheering and jumping on the couch to me yelling "What are you doing?!"

It was an awesome game! I thought both teams played hard and showed us how two undefeated teams should play in a bowl game. I kept saying to myself that the Broncos needed to pull one of their tricks out of their bag. And lo and behold, they did!! They faked a punt in the fourth quarter and ended up getting a first down and went on to score the winning touchdown! Holy Cow!

As I'm not the best sports commentator, check out the article from Sports Illustrated.

I'm thrilled they won, our win means so much more to me than the actual game! As soon as the game ended and I could breath easy, I called my grandma and grandpa who live in Boise! I needed to hear their voices and revel in this victory ;)

Maybe now BSU football will be taken more seriously?!

Looking forward to the 2010 season!!

Baked Lentil Casserole

A new recipe to try in 2010! I got this recipe from a co-worker. She is a vegetarian and said she really loved this recipe. I made it a few days ago and all I can say is YUM! It is rich in flavor and texture. I have yet to tire of the leftovers! My slight variations/comments are in red.

1 – 12oz package dried, rinsed lentils <- store brand = $.80

2 C. water

1 bay leaf

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sage

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cumin

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced <- at store I removed 2 cloves from fresh garlic = cheap

1 – 28oz can tomatoes, either crushed or petit diced, with juice <- used what I had 2-14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, one was no salt added and the other had green chiles mixed in.

2 large carrots cut in 1/8 inch slices

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 yellow or red pepper, chopped

2 T. parsley, finely chopped

1.5 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place lentils in a shallow glass 13x9 inch baking dish with water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, cumin, onions, garlic, and tomatoes with juice. Bake covered in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Add celery and carrot and bake covered for 40 more minutes.

Remove from oven, stir in parsley (I actually mixed the parsley in with the chopped celery and carrots and added in the step above) and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Happy New Year!

I'm back after being M.I.A.

Surprise! I’m back! I realize I’ve been M.I.A. for almost four months. I wasn’t enjoying myself and I felt sort of bored. Ran out of the desire to write. However, I’ve not been absent from the blogosphere…I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs but just haven’t written on my own.

I don’t plan on writing everyday and may not write every week. But I will be more present and I am excited to write about new recipes that I try, my workouts and goals, and whatever else floats my boat at the moment, lol! The goal of my blog is still the same, to document my experiences relating to my mind, body, and soul!

Big thanks to those of you that haven’t given up on me! Also thanks to the other wonderful bloggers out there that continue to motivate and inspire me!!

I'm 30!

Almost a week ago I turned 30! I kept trying to wrap my mind around the concept of turning 30 in the months and days leading up to the big day. I’m not going to lie, I experienced a bit of anxiety and nervousness. Most of that came from the fact that my twenties felt like they flew by. The idea of turning 30 was a bit foreign to me and I was having a hard time imagining myself being 30. On the outside I was playing it cool, but on the inside I was secretly freaking out….just a little. I’m not exactly in the place I thought I would be in my life when I turned 30….but hey, who is?!

I knew I was going to be ok, when the night before my birthday a wave of excitement washed over me! I have a bunch of things planned this year that I’m really excited about. I’m looking forward to those things as well as any new surprises that my 30th year will bring me!

I started celebrating about a week before my birthday and I even celebrated a few days after. Below are a few photos of my week and half celebration. Thank you to my friends and family for helping me to celebrate!!

Mediterranean Stuffed Bell Peppers

The other day I tried a new recipe which included an ingredient that was also very new to me. It called for Quinoa. If you were like me than you were thinking, what is quinoa? According to wikipedia, it’s “a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.” Quinoa can be used as a rice and/or couscous substitute.

I thought the stuffed peppers were just ok. The recipe called for quinoa, diced tomatoes drained, feta cheese, and fresh basil. The fresh basil was too overpowering, so I ended up picking out most of it. I think I prefer fresh cooked basil. I also felt it was missing something in flavor, but I’m not sure what. I’m thinking if I added some balsamic vinaigrette to the mix, it might have been more satisfying. Maybe. I also realized that I prefer cooked stuffed peppers as opposed to raw peppers. I discovered my stomach doesn’t like that much raw peppers. But than again I guess I never really practically ate a whole pepper in one sitting. I also think you could use small to medium sized peppers instead of large peppers. Large was a bit too much red pepper for me. I may or may not make this again, we shall see! The prep time and cook time didn't take long at all. I also cooked the Quinoa in too much water, I think it is suppose to look fluffier and maybe not quite so slimy. It looks slimy but didn't taste slimy.

The stuffed peppers did look really colorful and yummy! Oh and I do like quinoa!