The view from here...

These days, this sits in the middle of my kitchen counter.....

image from Google Images

The Big Guy's calorie & carb counting book (though his is 2011).
The Big Guy has decided that he no longer wants to be a Big Guy.  He met with a weight loss doctor last week who, thankfully, doesn't want him to have surgery or take a pill.  Instead, they want him to consider what he's eating and make better choices.  They discussed the new food plate diagram.  It's forced him to think about his plate and if he's getting enough veggies and other whole foods.


It must be hitting home.  He's keeping a food journal!  He's measuring out his food!  He's looking up items in the book and making notes!


It is never easy asking for help.
But I am so very, very proud of him for doing it.  


Surprisingly, the Big Guy does read my blog!  If you want to give him a little encouragement, go ahead and leave a comment!  

Lent...

Today is Ash Wednesday.  As a Lutheran, I grew up with the lenten services on Wednesday, Good Friday services and the like.  But in the church I grew up in, we didn't normally give up anything for Lent (I think it's that whole, "rebel" mentality--you know, breaking away from the Catholic church and all).  However, this year I've been thinking about giving up something this year.


I've decided to do this because I want to spend more time with this guy.....

So, I've decided to not turn computer at night.  Because when I get home after I make dinner, I plop my rear-end on the couch, fire up the laptop and surf the same 5 websites all night long.


Lent is the perfect opportunity to cut the cord.
OK.  Not literally, because I need to make sure that the cord is available to power the laptop when lent is over.


You get the idea.

Grand Forks Visit....

I went to UND this weekend.  
All I have to show for it is....

Photo of the "Eternal Flame" sculpture at UND.

A photo of the free chips and salsa at Paridiso Mexican Restaurant--where the "chips are free, dinner's extra"

Picture of the UND logo on the outside of the hockey arena

(that logo is EVERYWHERE in the building)

(I mean EVERYWHERE)

That green sign says it all...."you're in Sioux country"

Photos of Tracy, her husband, the Big Guy and I in our UND gear?  Nope.
Photos of us having fun in one of the arena suites with one of my 3-day walk friends?  Nope.
Photos of me almost shoplifting a t-shirt from the gift shop in the arena?  Nope (true story)


Memories of a great weekend?  You bet.

Friday Fragments....

Sweet Rebecca Jo does this each Friday and I'm totally stealing borrowing her idea.  Here are the things that are floating around in my head today....


TAXES:  Well.  We ran our taxes.  We OWE.  AGAIN.  We don't own a home, nor do we have children.  The deductions we can take (school loan interest, medical expenses, donations to charity) are don't make that much of a dent in what we owe.  Grrrrr.....


PLANNING FOR OUR ENGLAND TRIP:  I know.  I wrote about this the other day....but I'm very, very excited about going on our trip.  I've decided to pick up a Rick Steve's book.  I know I can probably find all this stuff online, but having a book that I can highlight & put sticky tabs in, feels a bit easier.


Besides, the book comes with a pull out map.
I really want the map so I can stand on it like Joey in Friends and say "I need to get in the map."

GOOGLE SEARCH:  Honestly.  How many times do I need to reset the darn search settings so that it doesn't "auto search".  SO ANNOYING.

FIVE MINUTES FASTER:  Since I've been walking before work 3 days a week (I've been shooting for 4, but there has been something EVERY week that has prevented me from a 4th day....), I have shaved 5 minutes off my walking mile pace!!

At least that's what they say:

If they've lied to me, I'll be peeved.

WOOF DAH!:  I saw this on a friend's facebook page and instantly wished I lived in the Twin Cities again.  It's a doggie day care and kennel that uses NO CAGES, and yes, it's named Woof Dah!  I may look into them when we're in England in September, but honestly....why doesn't my little rural neck of the woods have something like this?!?  We don't even have a dog park.  I would LOVE a doggie day care for Maggie.  I would love to open one up, but I can't even get her to stop chewing on the kitchen rug....

Have a great weekend, everyone!  I know I will.....GO SIOUX!

A Fun Little Kink....

Yesterday I sent a text to the Big Guy saying we needed to narrow down our dates for the trip to the UK. He told me what dates worked for his schedule and I started playing around with flights.


Do we book a one way ticket to Scotland and a one way ticket back from London?
Do we book round trip from one city?
What to do, what to do?


And then....I found very reasonable flights (in fact, $250 cheaper, per ticket than what I saw recently) that included up to a 48 hour layover in....

image from google images

Reyjavik.


Yes!
Reyjavik, Iceland!


I proposed this idea to the Big Guy and his reply was, "Are you kidding?  I've always wanted to go there!"  Who would have thought that this would have been on the table?  Had I not gone to the Iceland Air website directly, I would have never come upon this!


Iceland--you better not disappoint!

He Knows Me Well....

This weekend the Big Guy had to work.  I got up in the morning to find this on the counter:

He knows me well.
And I gladly took his $5.
Afterall, I never carry cash.

If you can't read what he wrote it says, "Happy Pre-Valentine's!  Get yourself Caribou today--love you! Me."

My 2 cents....

Edited to add:  This is what happens when you are using your blog to type out your thoughts as a way to "process"--and hit "publish" by mistake rather than "save".  Oops!  But.  It is really how I feel.  So....take it for what its worth.  I want you to know that even if we differ in our opinions, I still respect you and appreciate you (really!  I do!)  I really do believe that you can support both causes.  I also believe that you can stand by a cause even if you don't agree with a decision that they make. 



When I was in graduate school, I made $400 a month.  Before taxes.  Once taxes were deducted, I think I walked away with a grand total of $380 a month--that came to me in one paycheck.  Yep.  I was paid once a month.  

My housing was covered as a residence hall director.  I got a small meal plan at on campus dining.  That $400 covered my car payment and car insurance, and a few groceries.  But honestly, I was left with hardly any money each month for anything.

One thing that I did not have?  Health Insurance.  Yes, campus had a health service, but lets face it...you were lucky if you could get tylenol for a headache.  

I began a serious relationship with my now, ex, boyfriend.  When that relationship turned intimate, I wanted to be protected.  So I used Planned Parenthood for my first pelvic exam and as a pharmacy for my birth control pills.

Planned Parenthood was there for me because I fit their profile.  Woman.  Uninsured. Concerned for her health.

When Susan G Komen--an organization that I support dearly--decided to cut funding to Planned Parenthood for breast health I was stunned.  How could they do that?  As a 3-day participant, I have received e-mails regarding why and it makes me a little leery.  An organization that has made it clear that they want to provide screening and education to all women....made a big error in cutting grant funding.

But.
Just because I don't agree with their decision, doesn't mean that I don't still support their efforts.  

Yes.  Their decision to cut funding stinks.

I hate it and question the "under investigation" policy like you do.  I have friends on facebook yesterday who told me flat out, "I am no longer supporting Komen."  I respect that.  It's OK.

I just hope that they--and you--can respect my decision to still support Komen and Planned Parenthood.

Taco Seasoning--homemade!

So, about 2 months ago I did my weekly menu plan and decided to make something that required taco seasoning.  That night as I'm making dinner, I went to the pantry to get out the industrial sized bottle of taco seasoning that we bought at Costco. I searched and searched and couldn't find it.

It happened.  We were out of seasoning.  I needed that stuff NOW!  After a little google search I found Alton Brown's Taco Seasoning recipe.  I dig Alton Brown.

While his show, Good Eats, grinds on my nerves a bit, I do enjoy the science behind cooking.  So, when I found his recipe, I knew it was solid and as close to the packet stuff that you could get.

I chose to modify it ever so slightly by using Chili 3000 seasoning from Penzy's rather than the standard chili powder.  You can read the ingredients of Chili 3000 here...

2 tablespoons Chili 3000 seasoning from Penzy's  (if you don't have this, use chili powder)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

This makes about a 1/4 of a cup total.  I triple this recipe and keep it in an airtight mason jar.  When I make tacos or anything requiring a "packet of taco seasoning", I just pull out this jar and use 2 tablespoons.

photo found in google images here

The Big Guy LOVES this. He says it tastes much more flavorful than the packet stuff and less salty.  I too, feel that the flavor has been kicked up a few notches. 

Is it wrong to want Mexican food every night? 

I'm just asking....for a friend.....

(I've pinned this on my own pinterest page)
(simply because when I need this recipe again, I won't, for the life of me, be able to find it on my blog.  Pinterest is so much easier for finding this stuff.)