Top 5 Registry Items!

Registering for our wedding gifts was definitely fun but actually more stressful than you would think.  At first, I thought I had all of the kitchen things I would need.  I had been living in an apartment by myself for 2, going on 3 years before being married and had accumulated plenty of things.  But...you can always have more.  As for decorations and other things to fill our home, it was difficult to find things that matched both mine and my husband's personality {at first} until we got the hang of it.  We were blessed to get so many wonderful things and we have used nearly everything we have received so far!  I definitely have my top favorites that I feel get used every day.  Of course, you may find your own favorites, but if you feel stuck and can't decide what you think you would need, this may be helpful.

1.  NutriBullet: slightly unconventional, but for quick breakfasts for my husband going off to school in the morning and my early work days, I use this every day, without fail.  Even on weekends.  It doesn't get boring either because we can change up the type of smoothie daily.

2.  Electric Tea Pot: this makes cooking faster {for pasta, etc.} and for drinking tea.  Favorite tea lately is Spiced Chai {decaffeinated} and Vanilla Honey Chamomile.

3.  Pyrex Bake and Take: the lids snap on and you can store whatever you made right in the fridge.  Saves time and dishes.  I've made casseroles, enchiladas, zucchini and squash, potatoes, and more in these.

Our Electric Tea Pot turns blue when it is "on" and automatically turns off!

4.  Bocci Ball Set: so I may have lied.  We definitely do not use these every day.  But, we wanted to register for something fun.  And whenever we hang out with friends {or at least this summer when we went to a nearby park on our Sunday Funday's} we would bring this set!  So much fun and we will definitely be using this for years to come!  It came in a carrying case so it's easy to travel with and we can take it camping, over to a backyard party, park, etc.  We also registered for croquet and corn hole and are equally as excited to play!

5.  Electric Skillet: also used multiple times a week, this makes cooking bacon and pancakes SO easy.  I never used one growing up, but my husband swears by it.  He also claims we can easily take this on camping trips when we go {hopefully at the end of October}!  

Happy Shopping!

Iced Chai Tea Recipe

One of my favorite Starbucks drinks is a tall iced chai tea latte!  I admit at more than one point in my life {3-4 months at a time, multiple times in the past couple years} I would go every day and then realize just HOW addicted I was to the caffeine.  But it tasted so good.  And something about the routine of going to a Starbucks and having the baristas memorize your order was so fun.  And the Starbucks cups are so cute.  You just can't break a routine like that...Until you see your bank account.  Then you realize you can get away with once a week and guzzling Dr. Pepper the rest of the time.

I still pretty much equally love my Dr. Pepper, but have {somewhat} recently discovered the Starbucks Chai Tea mix at the grocery store!  Walmart even carries it and it's about 50 cents cheaper there.  Add the mix with some vanilla soy milk {or regular milk} and you have yourself a VERY cheap but equally delicious and caffeine filled tall iced chai tea latte!

Iced Chai Tea:
-1/2 cup chai tea mix
-1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
-Ice cubes
{This makes a tall.  For a larger size drink just remember the 1:1 ratio.  1 cup chai tea mix to 1 cup vanilla soy also works!}

Enjoy!

Rocking It

I often consider myself to still be an athlete, but when I stop to think about it, I haven't been on any athletic team or consistently working out {read: pushing myself} since...2009!  That is shocking.  I worked out {a few times a week for 30-45 minutes} throughout college fairly consistently since there was a gym on campus but ever since teaching {3 years!}, I'll be lucky if I work out once a week.  The one thing that has been my saving grace in the health department is my diet.  I don't have trouble eating healthy and indulging every once in a while.  Whoever said depriving yourself of cravings was a good idea is crazy!

Of course, just like anything else in life, moderation is key.  That's why when starting a work out or diet plan, most fail because they seem to consume your life--zapping the fun out of it and giving you zero leeway to make mistakes.      

  
Redefining your definition of failure and success is also important.  If you start with an intense diet plan and workout regime where you are eating 5 specific meals, one of which is a protein smoothie concoction and not allowing yourself any sweets, with two a day workouts, you are bound to slip up sooner or later.  Instead of feeling like you failed when this diet eventually gives way to reality, take a few healthy tips away from it.  Maybe you loved the one protein meal replacement shake that helps you build muscle.  Maybe this helped you kick your sugar cravings and allows you to only indulge once a week or on special occasions instead of being a slave to your cravings.  Maybe the two a day workouts for a while helped you realize that you like getting up early to work out or that you're best time to work out is in the evenings.  Those are the successes to look for, not the failure of ending a diet plan {when let's face it, some diets are NOT good for you}.

After a rock climbing date this weekend, my husband and I realized just how out of shape we were.  Even just about 6 months ago we were able to rock climb for an hour.  We were beat after the first few times up the wall!  We stuck it out and stayed for roughly an hour, but, we took more water breaks than we used to and more time resting on the mats.

More so than get discouraged, this was the motivation I needed.  The next day, after work, I went to a yoga class.  While yoga classes are relaxing, holding poses and strengthening your core is challenging.  Classes have always challenged me, but I've been able to finish them without a problem.  This was the first class where I was fatigued after the first 15 minutes or so!  That, to me, means I'm seriously out of shape!  Again, I was discouraged for a few minutes and decided to take this to further fuel my motivation.  Throughout these few workouts this week, I realized that staying active is key.  Taking a walk during lunch time for 5 minutes, grabbing a snack after work and working out for 30 minutes instead of watching Netflix, skipping dessert one more night a week than you're used to will all help in making healthier life choices instead of quick diet fixes.

Bottom line: start small and keep going! :)

Spaghetti Sauce Time!

One of my favorite and easiest dishes to make is spaghetti meat sauce.  It lasts us 3-4 days and is so nice to not think about cooking for a while.  :)  I'll make it short and sweet so here are the details:

-2 lb of ground beef
-1 oz can of tomato paste
-2 cans of tomato sauce
-1 green pepper cut
-1-2 tomatoes cut
-1 onion cut
-Salt to taste
-Italian seasoning and Oregano
-Olive oil for the skillet

You will need a large skillet.  I got mine at Kohl's considering it was the one thing I forgot to register for!  We LOVE it.  I know most pans are non-stick now, but I got a 15" Farberware non-stick skillet and it is seriously non-stick.  It's the easiest thing for us {read: my husband} to clean after such a messy dish like spaghetti sauce.  It was actually one of the cheaper ones, too.

Once you have all of the ingredients, cook your ground beef in the skillet in some olive oil until the beef is cooked thoroughly.  Today, mine was frozen so it took a while longer.  Once cooked, drain the olive oil/juices.  Then, pour in cans of tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Stir together.  Cut green pepper, tomato, and onion then add to skillet.  Mix together.  Add in salt, Italian seasoning, and oregano (I add quite a bit of seasoning but not that much salt...this is going to have to be all about your taste.  Start with 1 tsp. each if you don't know where to begin).  Let simmer on medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.

This recipe freezes well, but we just keep it in a tubberware and enjoy for the next few days!

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

I did it! I made this completely gluten and dairy free and completely delicious!  The past few times that I have made this, I've cheated and used cream of chicken soup for the sauce and it was not good for the gluten/dairy allergies in our house.  But, this is {one of} my husband's favorites and is so yummy that I figured I would search for a gluten free sauce recipe and give it a go considering we have all the gluten free ingredients at home anyway.  It ended up being really easy!  I think next time I can make it even more flavorful, but I needed it done fairly quickly for our lunches this week. 

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole:

For casserole:
3 Chicken Breasts cooked for 1 hour on 350 shredded
2-3 cups white rice (or brown rice or quinoa)
2-3 crowns of broccoli cut finely
Corn flakes for topping (didn't have any so I thought about using rice chex, probably would have been good but I ended up not having any topping this time)

For sauce:
4 tablespoons of dairy free butter
2 tablespoons of gluten free flour
1 1/2 c. original almond milk
Salt and pepper
{the more flavorful recipe I have in mind will contain more spices and also chicken broth but again, for a later date}

I like to make this casserole in two parts.  I have the chicken, rice, and broccoli all cooking or steaming in the morning then put them in the fridge for later.  Then, when I'm ready to actually make the casserole closer to dinner or just for lunches/dinners for the week, I start later in the day on the sauce.

For the sauce: Melt the butter, pour in milk on medium heat.  Add in flour and mix until it becomes a thick sauce.  Add in spices.  {Disclaimer: I'm becoming quite the cook and not really using exact measurements all the time.  If you sauce is too runny, add a LITTLE bit more gf flour.  If it's too thick, add a LITTLE bit more butter or milk.  I'll admit that I didn't use any measuring cups this time around!}

Once the sauce is finished you can very simply combine all of your ingredients into a large baking dish.  Grease the pan with dairy free butter or spray with olive oil/baking spray.  Mix in rice, chicken, broccoli, and stir in sauce.  Make sure the sauce coats all of it.

I don't have corn flakes at the moment so I'm skipping this step, but it is the icing on the cake to this already delicious casserole.  Crush corn flakes and completely coat the top of your casserole.  If there is any left over sauce, drizzle over the top as well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Gluten Free Life--Cilantro Lime Chicken

There are pros and cons to every diet decision you can make.  For my husband, he has to be gluten and dairy free.  To make things easier on both of us, I've decided to join him.  Every once in a while I will sneak something with dairy in it and we still cook with some dairy products (never gluten products!), but for the most part I feel healthier, have fewer stomachaches, and even have fewer migraines than I used to.  I also have hypothyroidism (not in the autoimmune category) and after going gluten free (for real, no sneaking any gluten!) my lab work improved by .5 without any medicine.  I do not think it's a coincidence of any kind considering my labs have only gotten worse since I was diagnosed with it.

Trying to feed an always hungry, 6'2", Italian man is no easy feat.  I have finally given in to the crock pot culture and have been getting a lot more use out of it!  It is a lifesaver, especially when I can make a meal on Sunday and have it for the first half of the week.  [I would leave it running during the day, but our power went out and left our meat raw in the crock pot while I was at work and needless to say I came home very disappointed.  I won't be doing this again for a while until I can trust our apartment complex again].

Today's recipe is not a crock pot meal, although I will make sure to post some later!

Cilantro Lime Chicken:

3 chicken breasts sliced into smaller pieces
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of cumin
2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper
2 table spoons of garlic salt
1 lime
Salt to taste
As much cilantro as you like

Thaw chicken if frozen.  Cut into thin strips.  Pour olive oil into large skillet on medium/high heat.  Place chicken into pan and cook for 5 minutes.  Before turning, add spices over chicken.  Save some of the spices for after you turn to coat the chicken on both sides.  Turn chicken and pour the rest of the spices over the chicken.  Cook for 10 minutes turning occasionally.  Reduce heat.  Cut lime into fourths and squeeze lime juice over chicken.  Depending on heat and how thawed chicken was, continue to cook.  Add salt.  Check one piece of chicken to make sure it is cooked thoroughly.

Remove chicken from pan and place on plate.  Cut cilantro and sprinkle over chicken.  Enjoy!

I plan on serving this chicken with rice or even gluten free spaghetti and corn.  It definitely tastes flavorful enough to eat by itself, but the extra carbs help keep everyone full!

Chicken with Cilantro 

The Dreaded Budget

Budgeting can be overwhelming.  It oftentimes gets pushed to the side because people don't know where to start.  That's at least how I felt for the past couple of years.  It never seemed to be a big deal because I could keep my spending in check and I didn't have any major debt.  However, I wasn't saving as much as I would like and I knew I was spending too much every now and then unnecessarily.  Before my husband and I got married, I was potentially going to switch jobs which would actually mean a pay DECREASE and he was hoping to get into graduate school (which he did!) and potentially work a little less (although he's a rock star and his income won't take too much of a hit).  Anyway, with all of the anxiety and stress over the wedding and merging our accounts and potentially having less money than I had been used to, we finally decided to sit down and figure out some numbers.  Even shooting WAY low, we found that having a structured budget, we would be able to freely spend and have plenty to save each month.  I ended up not getting the job (which, is definitely a blessing..I am so excited to be where I am now) and we have even more of a cushion with which to work.  Without using our hard numbers (since everyone's budget will be different), here is our general outline.  You can use this template and shift your numbers in each category as you need.  Of course, we are extremely blessed to not have any debt such as car payments, student loans, medical bills, as of now.  All this really helps us do is save more right now, though.  You can definitely finagle the numbers to where you are tackling the debt and putting some savings away.

First, when we merged bank accounts we have one checking account, and three savings accounts.  We have a general savings account, a "big purchases" savings account for when my husband's car eventually kicks it, and an "emergency" savings account.

Next, we thought of our essentials for category 1.
1.
Rent (Check)
Internet (Credit Card)
Phone (Credit Card)
Health Insurance (Credit Card)
Tithe (Cash)

Continuing our essentials in category 2.
2.
Food (Cash)
Gas (Credit Card)
Doctor Visits (Credit Card)
Prescriptions/Medications (Credit Card)

Cagetory 3 is less essential, but things we would like to keep around such as...
3.
Netflix (Credit Card)
Summit Gym Membership (Credit Card)
Spending Money (Cash)
Clothing Money (Cash)
Dates (Cash)

And finally category 4 consists of our savings accounts
4.
General savings
Big Purchases
Emergency

Essentials for planning and where we keep our cash!

We decided that the cash system works best for us, but for "bigger ticket" items, we still wanted to get the added benefits of using a credit card (rewards, earning credit, etc).  We always pay off our credit card completely each month and keep track of purchases.  However, having cash for every day items such as groceries, spending money, clothes, dates, and tithing we can make sure our spending stays in check and we don't over spend.  We are just in the first month of following this budget, so our numbers will probably change; we may not need as much money for dates, but we may want a little extra spending money.  We may need a little bit more in groceries but not as much for clothes.  The point is, this is extremely beneficial and eliminates the stress of having to guess how much we will be spending and saving each month.  We have already decided that we will just save less during December as we will set a "gift" budget for family members.  Also, for our respective birthday months we will use our date money to go towards the birthday gift/date and anything extra can come out of our spending money.  You can tweak whatever works for you, but so far we love this!  Happy Budgeting!

*Disclaimer: since starting this budget we have been fairly flexible with grocery and date money.  Whenever a fun date idea comes up we weigh pros and cons and usually take the extra time for ourselves.  Of course, we try and be as thrifty as possible!  In a month or so we are going to re-evaluate and most likely shift some numbers around.  A budget doesn't have to be set in stone forever!

School Prep

With First Grade starting just around the corner, I thought I would actually make a welcome brochure.  This is something we had to do as a class project back in one of my college education classes and I always thought it was a fun and cute idea.  I never got around to making one my first year of teaching with everything else you have to do in such a short amount of time and last year, it just slipped my mind!

This year, like last, my school decided to departmentalize even in first grade.  I happen to LOVE it as I can focus solely on math and science.  I felt as though my students became experts in math and science and that we had plenty of time to cover this material.  We even had time to help out my partner teacher with supplemental writing activities and a lot of read alouds, typically relating to math and science, however.  There are of course pros and cons to anything you do in education, but I'm hoping my school sticks with departmentalization for the near future.  One of the downsides is that you have twice as many parents and students to know and make valuable connections.  This is especially important in first grades (and all younger grades) as parents play such an important role in their children's education.  I'm hoping that this brochure really starts us off on the right foot and that for those parents who cannot come to meet the teacher night, I will make note of and send one home on the first day of school to the rest of the students.  Feel free to use this general template or outline if you want to use it for your own classroom!

There you go!  A few other activities I plan on doing the first day or week of school include:

-Reading Chrysanthemum and graphing how long our names are
-Decorating their portfolio folders
-Tracing their outline on a large piece of butcher paper and making an all about me poster for homework (presentations in class over the next couple weeks during breakfast)
-Reading Berenstain Bears to reinforce behavior expectations and social skills

Happy First Week of School!