Smoothies

Well at 5:00 tomorrow morning it's back to reality.

This summer I've gotten in the habit of running in the morning and I don't want to stop that just because school starts. This will require some extra prep the night before for me but I feel it is well worth it!

One thing I'll be doing is getting our lunches as much together the night before as possible.

I know somethings will have to wait but to do as much as I can will shave off some minutes.

Another thing that will help get him out the door and my running shoes on quicker is having a breakfast that requires little effort as I get lunches together. 

Breakfast is an area where I feel we can be healthy and quick.

I refuse to have us do unhealthy, fast, garbage food for breakfast especially when I can 

save money and give us something that will be good for us and just as fast. 

This summer with Drew out of town so much I cooked very minimal. 

Once thing I learned to make was smoothies.

I use to make smoothies but they were loaded with sugar and although yummy 

not as healthy as they could be.

I have cut yogurt out of all my smoothies and now only add unsweetened almond milk and the biggest change being a cup of greens to every smoothie.

I use to think yuck, spinach in a smoothie till I tried it. 

I started with half a cup then have increased to a full cup.

Truly can't tell it is in there and it is so good for you !

This prep idea came from several things I saw on Pintrest and tweaked

 it to make it how we would like it.

The recipes I made were:

\\Peachy Green

one cup frozen peaches

one banana 

one cup greens (spinach)

*add 1 3/4 cup almond milk

*1 cup ice

\\Berry Green

one cup frozen mixed berries

one cup greens

*add 1 cup almond milk

\\Strawberry Banana

one cup strawberries

one banana

*add one cup almond milk

I've made these one before and I was very pleased with the frozen fruit and how it tasted in the smoothies.

They are just plain, no sugar added fruit.

I happened to have some strawberries about to go bad so I used them too.

I labeled my bags first making note clearly of what kind of smoothie it was and what would need to be added.

Then just measure out what you need in each bag and lay flat on counter. 

I learned placing them flat down allows them to stack better in the freezer.

These are super easy and took less than 10 minutes to prepare.

Little things like this will keep me from making excuses to not run and not to mention, 

they are delicious!

Final 3 days as a "house wife" and weekly menu

Only three days left before I report back to teacher duty.

I feel like I cold wail like a child and say "no, I want longer" and at the same time I'm so excited to get back in to the groove and meet my new kiddos.

I definitely do better on a routine.

I feel like I am the ultimate creature of habit and this summer with being off and Drew being out of town has thrown my "Type A" personality a {needed} curve ball. 

So as I soak in these next 72 hours of "Bum Life" as I've called it, I will enjoy each minute!

This weekend we celebrated one of our best friends 27th birthday. We had a family cook out and small fire for the unusually cool Friday evening and had a great dinner on the lake Saturday after a unfilled day.

After we ate it was almost sunset and we just sat and listened to great music.

{Johnny Cash, Incubus, Mumford, Lynard}

So grateful for the friends and weekends like this. 

Last night we had some pretty serious storms in our area. Several tornadoes hit close to home but we are thankful to be okay and the hardest hit area did lose homes which is sad but everyone survived. 

Such a blessing!

 We kept dinner simple since we were under a tornado warning and keeping an eye on where this storm was going aka basement watch for us.

I got this dough for free from a local carry-out pizza place. They wouldn't charge me for the ball of dough for a large pizza so I tipped them a few bucks. It was almost 100 yesterday with super high humidity so I wasn't even going to attempt trying my own dough. This dough was amazing and we loaded it with toppings.

Delicious!

Tonight I made these stuffed peppers and they were awesome!

Next time I will probably use ground turkey instead of sausage but glad I tried this new recipe. 

Drew and I both loved it and it was easy to make too.

The menu for the rest of the week:

\\Tuesday- grill out with grilled corn and broccoli cheddar quinoa

\\Wednesday- chicken quesadilas 

\\Thursday- small group

\\Friday- possible cook out again? maybe smoked bbq?

and here is a great Monday moment for ya...

Seven years of living on my own and buying groceries and I've NEVER dropped a bag of groceries. Even when I lived on the third floor apartment and carried bags (all in one trip cause I wasn't willing to make two trips) never dropped a bag. Well today I have maybe 4 bags and missed the counter where of course the eggs had been in the bag that fell. Five eggs did survive.

Happy Monday!

Thankful

This past Monday night a terrible car accident took place near my hometown.

Four men were in the truck and two were husbands of teachers I taught with at my former school. 

One man died passed away and the husbands of my teacher friends are in a critically dangerous condition. 

Although I am not super close to these teachers, my heart hurts for them.

My heart aches for the young children they have and the friends and family who will feel the pain from this accident long after the tire marks fade on the road.

Our life can change with every breath we take and sadly times like this remind us.

Our physical time on this Earth are so limited and nothing compared to what eternal life in Heaven will be.

God has a plan for us and has provided us with skills and blessings of opportunities to make the most of this life. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with work, to stress about the clutter on the counter or dust on the shelf- but all these seemingly useless things take away from remembering to enjoy this life. 

To love those around us.

To make today count. Make everyday count. 

This past Monday Drew got to come home after spending all of summer working out of town.

I'm happy to have him home and I love having dinner together and going to bed together but most of all I'm so grateful to be able to hug him and have him close.

But I'm making a point to hug him extra tight, to give him one more kiss, and to make sure he always knows how much I love him.

I'm so thankful for this life and for what God has allowed us. 

We serve such an amazing God and I know he has a plan for these hurting families and this his will is always better than ours.

Friday Five and Update

Seriously, how has it been a month since I've last blogged?!

I thought this summer I would blog daily but that has not been the case. Obviously.

So these past four weeks have been jammed packed. 

Family has been in town, as much lake time as possible, house projects, turned 27 Wednesday, and Drew has been out of town during the week working on a project this entire summer.

Being home along all summer has been an adjustment for sure.

Not how I expected to spend summer by any means but I try to remind myself to be thankful for his job and not dwell on the fact I've barely seen him all summer. Luckily, his project is coming to a close (right as school starts). 

So here is a Friday 5 and Update all in one

//one//

Marshalls for the home run! I LOVE Meyers cleaners. They smell amazing, clean great, and are safe to use with kids and pets. Drew actually find these on a random rack at Marshalls for half price. I bought three full size bottles and some dryer sheets. All for under $14, made my day!

//two//

My flowers have taken off! This picture was taken about two weeks ago and they are even bigger now. I love the way they are now flowing over the rocks and spreading. Since I have all this time on my hands these days I've really enjoyed these flowers.

//three//

Strawberry lemonade from McAlisters. If you haven't tried it go right now and get one. You won't be sorry!

//four//

As if I didn't love my sweet little Copper before, all this time just me and him has made my summer. Lots of cuddles and wiggles with unlimited frisbe has been the name of the game this summer.

//five//

Ah, Norris Lake--seriously heaven on Earth. Trying to spend as much time as possible on the lake.