what we ate wednesday.

so my goal is to make every wednesday my "this is me attempting to cook" post.  on the weekends, i try to plan our meals for the week and go shopping.  sometimes, it happens.  sometimes, it doesn't.  i am hoping these posts will make me more motivated to stay on the planning/shopping/cooking routine more!  i didn't come from a "health nut" family, but my mom always made well-rounded meals.  i never cooked too much before i got married; it was hard for me to feel motivated when i thought it would be way easier and cheaper to go to taco bell rather than cooking  for only myself.  i honestly did not think i would enjoy it that much, cooking would just be a chore, but most nights it is very relaxing and fun.  also, i dare not take all the credit for the meals!  james helps a lot, and some nights when he feels inspired, he plans and makes meals for me.  he is definitely the more adventurous chef and is very good at mixing spices into things.  in fact, as i am writing he is cooking me dinner!  what a guy.

we don't cook tofu/no preservatives/no red meat healthy, but i try to use a lot of veggies and we are trying to start cutting out processed meats [sausage, hot dogs, etc... which for those who know me know i love me my hot dogs, but we still get chicken sausage].  some meals are involved, some are not [i'm pretty sure all of these ones fall under the "not involved" category].  some are pretty healthy, some are not.  this is just us doing our best and me trying my hand at the housewife thing.  so here we go!  what we ate wednesday:

 bread bowls with tomato soup/croutons, and artichokes.  we got the bread from boudin's in san fran so it was amazing!  the soup was just from trader joe's, though honestly i wasn't that crazy about it.  if anyone has a tomato soup they love, please share!

this one is kind of hard to see, but it's stir fried veggies and chicken in teriyaki sauce with rice.  we got the veggies pre-chopped from trader joe's!  love that place.

i don't think this goes together, but sloppy joe's and tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad.  i found the salad recipe on pinterest; it's super easy, fresh, and yummy. and it made me feel a little less guilty about the sloppy joe's ;)

and for dessert one night... blackberry cobbler from the one and only pioneer woman.  what would we do without her? probably starve.  we used a smaller pan so it was thicker and all the blackberries sank to the bottom, but it was still delicious!  and extremely easy.

so there you go, what we ate wednesday!  i will try to remember to take pictures this week!

twenty two.

hello again! i have apparently taken a month long break from blogging. oops.

so a few weeks ago, i turned 23 years old. i realize that to most, this seems very young.  i am still trying to get used to the idea. it just seems that by 23, you are done with college and should have some idea as to what the heck you are doing. i do not feel like i have it all together at all, but maybe that is one of the myths about being an adult. maybe you just do your best and accept that you're never going to have it all together.

i have a friend who did this cool thing on her birthday, so i am going to copy her. here is a list of things i have learned while i was 22. they say your golden birthday is supposed to be your best year. twenty-two was definitely a wonderful year! i would like to think that it is not all downhill from here, though ;). i definitely think i have a lot more great years ahead of me!

okay, here it goes: 22 things i learned from 22:

1. people can know that i am flawed and still love me.
2. i really can do anything I set my mind to. this sounds cheesy, but i really struggled in college. james taught me that if i really worked as hard as i possibly could, i could do it. and i did!
3. pinterest is wonderful.
4. if a casserole boils (like bubbles) in the oven, it is not a casserole and you should have added flour to the sauce to make it thicker. at this point it is too late and you should just order a pizza.
5. dyeing your hair permanently makes your hair really dry and brittle. look for semi-permanent.
6. some people really are meant to be together.
7. it's okay to argue sometimes, as long as you attack the problem and not your spouse.
8. your wedding day really is the best day of your life (at least for now).
9. it is a good thing to take initiative in things you want sometimes.
10. a glass of good wine can make a crappy day considerably better.
11. distance doesn't matter with friends who really love and understand you.
12. meatloaf is quite literally a loaf of meat.  it sounds disgusting, it looks disgusting, it is probably horrible for you, but it is actually quite delicious [is it weird that i have never had meatloaf until now?].
13. some people are only in your life for a season, and that's okay. be grateful for the things they taught you and then move on. it helps you appreciate the friends who are there for a lifetime.
14. sometimes i take things too personally.
15. white beds are always better.
16. not everyone thinks the way i do. this is a good thing.
17. do not book a dj named dj cheetah.  he'll be as cheesy as he sounds.
18. i really do not like to be told what to do. ever. even when it is for my own good. i am working on that.
19. i can cook when i try! james has only disliked one thing i have made (the aforementioned soupy casserole). and even then he didn't say anything until i said, "i'm not going to make you eat this" and he said, "oh, thank you!"
20. God gives us such a beautiful picture of His love for us in marriage. to have a man who would lay down his life for me and who i trust wholeheartedly with our future and that we can love each other unconditionally is such a blessing from the Lord. i have definitely learned more about God's love for us from being married.
21. flowers do a lot to make a place look brighter.
22. it is a lot easier to keep a place clean when it is all yours!

so there's my list... that was easier than i thought! some were silly and some were serious, but i learned a lot in year 22! God blessed me soo very much this year and i can't wait to see what's in store for year 23!

from the mouths of preschoolers.

"you're not the boss! miss laura is the boss!" -hunter [bless his heart].

"don't change my pull-up here!  i don't want anyone to see me like this!" -kadynce [who knew 3-yr-olds had such dignity]

"when i grow up, i will NEVER marry hunter!  he's too wild." -anna mae [all the girls agreed]

"when i grow up, i want to be a preschool teacher so all my friends can come back and see what i look like when i'm big." -vonzaa

"save me girl batman!" -edna [these kids have imaginations like you would not believe]

there are countless other quotes, but i usually forget them before i can write them down.  these kids are hilarious, big-hearted, stubborn, and wonderful.  i never thought i was that into preschool age kids, but i am having a great time getting to know them and teach them. that's not to say it's easy... the first two weeks i came home and fell asleep at 8:30 every night!  but i truly am blessed to have a job that keeps me on my toes and never bores me.

good days.

lately things have been normal. we like normal for short periods of time ;) i am thankful for:

• james coming back from his conference after a night away and bringing in n out [he knows the way to my heart].

• tea with honey and lemon. because of my preschoolers we have both been a little under the weather and have been drinking tea like it's going out of style.

• a friday off for us to go on a date to cambria.

• skype dates with bailey.

• my husband! it's like having your best friend around ALL the time [actually, that is what it is] and it is awesome!

• my job. it may not be where i see myself in 10 years [or even five, or three or...] but i have fallen head over heels for these kids. i get to spend the day getting to know and shape these humans... that is a pretty awesome thing.

alright, it's time for us to watch alcatraz [a little scary, but also very interesting... made by the same guy who did lost. i recommend it]!

things a preschool teacher says

in no particular order:

1. "where are/is your shoes/socks/ blanket/ jacket/toy?"
2. "both feet on the ground!"
3. "no roaring, remember it scares some people" [yes, a little girl in my class cries every time someone roars, which is surprisingly often].
4. "let's go potty now so you won't have an accident later"
5. "did your mom pack you extra undies?"
6. "we won't go to the playground till you pick up your toys"
7. "grab a ring!" [they have a rope with a bunch of rings on it for kids to hold when we leave the classroom].
8. "who's the line leader?"
9. "that's the other school's garden, don't pick things from it please"
10. "let's save the cookies/ cake/ sweet stuff for after nap"

warm weather girl.

this weekend was glorious! if i could have every day be 80* and sunny, i would.

on friday, i went to santa barbara with ellen and we both shopped til we dropped. unfortunately, this is one of two pictures i took that day [and they're basically the same thing]. boo. but it was wonderful to see ellen and buy mint pants... as the sales guy at forever 21 told us, mint is going to be "soo in" this spring.



on saturday, i had coffee with a new friend, went to the store with james, did laundry, and cleaned the apartment a little. in between loads of laundry, i tried a little art project i saw on pinterest [aka my new love]. i hot glued crayons to a canvas and then used my blow dryer to melt them. a word for the wise... do this outside, otherwise you MAY end up getting splotches of melted crayon stuck to your already irreparably-messed up floor and then you will have to blowdry those re-dried bits of crayon off your floor and be frantically wiping on your knees for ten minutes. just a tip. i am pretty happy with how it turned out though; it makes the spot above our sink brighter and it makes doing dishes more enjoyable!




on sunday after church, james and i drove out to shell beach to have lunch at a burger place called garland's, which was really good. we ate at a park overlooking the beach, and it just reminded me how much i want summer to be here! on our way back, we passed a cute looking second-hand store with lots of knick-knacks and furniture... so naturally i yelled for james to pull over and like the nice husband he is, he did. and that is where we found this little beauty! we are both really happy with how it brightens up our little apartment [probably me more than him]. i love being creative and seeing creative things, but it is not always something that comes naturally for me. i've been trying more to really be keeping my eyes out for crafts or cute things for our apartment, so i have to say i am kind of proud of myself. haha.




this weekend went by pretty fast, but i feel rested and ready to get back to my preschoolers [more on them later]!

our wedding

i realized today i never even posted about our wedding! in my humble opinion, it was seriously awesome. when i was planning, i was so concerned about making it cute and having a bunch of little details. while i was happy with how all the aesthetics turned out, i hardly even noticed the details, never saw the appetizers [but heard they were yummy], and never got a cute striped straw! the main thing i remember from our wedding was how i felt. i literally felt like the LUCKIEST girl in the whole wide world. there i was, marrying a man BETTER than the man of my dreams, surrounded by all of my best friends, and in the company of all the people who were so close to us. i'm serious, people. best. day. ever. i was not even nervous... well maybe a little... i did throw up in the morning, but after that i was totally fine. i had absolutely NO doubts that this was the man i wanted to spend my forever with [and i still don't!].

some mental snapshots i took during the day: my brothers coming up to me before the wedding and telling me i looked beautiful. my dad wobbling with me down the aisle in his big boot... i think a lot of our pics have his crutches on the bushes haha. when i saw james, i didn't notice anyone else. i just saw him and his eyes tearing up, he was trying to hard to keep it together. taking communion with james and praying about our marriage and thanking God for bringin us together. after the ceremony, my brothers coming up to james and saying, "hug us brother!". taking pictures, and james carrying me around the fields because i could not walk well in my huge dress and heels. the mexian abuelita serving beans and then coming out and talking with all our guests... seriously awesome. dancing the night away with our best friends and family. the awesome toasts made by stephen, ellen, and my dad. my dad read a poem a wrote when i was eight! cookie dough cupcakes. looking at my mom and feeling like all our hard work [and trust me it took wayy more people than just us] paid off. having my bridesmaids strip off the big skirt from my dress so it was just a little cocktail dress and feeling like i could breathe again. seeing james wearing that ring on his finger and think, "that fine man is all MINE!!!"