Baby $teps

Yesterday not only did I get my back window (and side mirror) fixed..

I also closed my Victoria's Secret credit card, my Nordstrom Retail, and my Discover card! 

Here is to paying off stupid debt, and to having money to spend again! 

Yayyyy! 

Have to have your downs to appreciate your ups..

Today was an emotional roller-coaster for me... Ready for the ride?

In the wee hours around 5 am I went to brush the snow off my car, THIS HAPPENS: [Very low.]

I figured a little duct-tape will hold it together until after Christmas right? [Coasting]
I meet up with my bro around 10 to take advantage of all that powder.. [High hopes]

While loading our stuff in my trunk.. THIS HAPPENS: [all-time low] 

I literately cried the whole way up the mountain.. [Can I feel any lower?]

We get to Snowbird and this sweetheart asks if I will use his tarp so it doesn't snow in my car.. #blesshisheart. [On the up?]

The snow was GREAT. [Rising..]

It was 8°, and we couldn't feel our toes, fingers, or noses.. [Plateaued.]

As I was driving home from Snowbird thinking of all the negative captions I could use to share this picture: [Falling again.]
"Well there goes my Christmas."
"Poor me."
or the chosen: "FML" & yadda yadda..

 

  Driving home, we came around the curve where you get your first peek of the entire valley, and my breath was captured...
[Like when you are at the top of the roller-coaster, slowly coasting & you can't help but feel the butterflies..]
(& not just from the fridgid breeze from my non-existent back window.)

It was definitely an eye opener.

I realized in this moment:
Yeah, this totally and completely sucks..
Yeah, it couldn't have happened at a worst time..
Yeah, it is freezing and EVERYONE is looking..
BUT:
I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful valley.
I am so blessed to even have a car. (Let alone with a working heater.)
I am so blessed with the opportunity to snowboard.
I am so blessed with an incredible family.
I am so blessed with a warm place to call home.
I am so very blessed to be alive..
& everything is going to be OK..

and the tears start to flow again..[☯]

The best spicy pickles everrr.

If you know anything about me, you probably know I love pickles.
They are definitely one of my favorite foods. My amazing mother helped me can some this year, and let me tell you:
THEY ARE THE BEST PICKLES EVERRR!!!
Here is our recipe:
BRINE:
2 Quarts water
2 Cup vinegar
1/2 Cup pickling salt
1/2 to 1 T alum
- Boil until salt dissolves

Stuff one quart jars with:
Pickling cucumbers [we get ours from Okubo's]
dill weed
1 jalapeno sliced
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp black peppercorn
5 to 10 mustard seeds
pinch of red pepper flakes
(We added 1/2 habanero for extra spice)

Before you start scrubbing, make sure you have some clean mason jars, and brand new sealing lid disks. We load our dishwasher with our clean mason jars and run it on a HOT wash, with a HOT dry. You want your jars pretty warm when you are stuffing them.

Make sure to scrub all your cukes and peppers really well.

We sliced our cukes in quarters, but you can honestly do whatever you prefer. We also sliced our jalapeno in half, but left our hot pepper whole.

Before you start stuffing, put your new lid disks into water on the stove. You want them to be pretty hot, but not necessarily boiling. Stuff your jars with dry ingredients first, and then full of your cukes. You want a little room at the top. Pour your hot brine over your pickles, and wipe the rim of the jar with a dry towel. Place a hot disk on top and screw it tightly with your screwband. Your pickles are ready to be sealed.

To seal your jars, it is best if you have canner pan, but a large, deep pan with a thicker bottom should do. These jars below were done with a thinner bottom pan and they broke due to too much heat. You want the water boiling, and allow them to be fully submerged in the water for about 10 minutes.
This is a great reference website for canning pickles.

Check your jars to make sure the lid does not move when you push on it, if it does move, try boiling them again. Once you have them all sealed, allow them to cool for up to 24 hours and then place them somewhere dark and cool.
Pickles will be ready to eat in three weeks, and should last for at least a year (if you don't eat them all by then ;). Refrigerate after opening.

If you need any help, please comment below.

Juicy :)

My Mom and I have been on a green juice kick as of late. I highly recommend it! All of our juices have turned out surprisingly tasty [Not to mention, extremely good for you].

We fill our mason jars and drink half [of a quart sized jar**] daily.
One daily serving size is the juice from this: 

four carrots,

four stalks of celery,

half of a beet,

one lemon,

half a cucumber,

a thumb nail of ginger root,

one and a half granny smith apples,

and four to five handfuls of spinach.

**UPDATE: We've researched into it losing it nutritional value if you do it for a few days at a time. The best way to do it, is in a jar, but you need to fill it all the way to the top, and screw it tight. When you open it, you need to drink the whole thing at a time so it doesn't have a lot of time to oxidize and lose it's nutrients. We have not changed our recipe just the size of our jars. We now use pint size jars as one whole serving. :) Freeze to last longer.

(Shake before you drink!)

#blessings.

Today I am extra thankful for:
1. Good health.
2. The internet. I believe it is more a blessing than a curse.
3. My youth. I wish I could be forever young, but in reality aging is one thing everyone goes through. So I'm going to live it up while I still can. :):)

#blessings.

Today I am really, especially thankful for my best friend Jenny. It's her birthday [and exactly my half birthday]. 

We've shared some awesome experiences and adventures together and throughout all these years we have stayed so close!

I appreciate her and look up to her more than she'll ever know.

She understands me better than anyone else (and even translated for me in nursery;). She makes me laugh harder than anyone I have ever met. She's my favorite person to hang out with all day, any day. She is one of the most genuine, creative, sweetest, prettiest, most spoiled girl I have ever met. She has the most awesome personality too. I am so excited I get to be a part of her life as she graduates this year, and marries her [other] soul-mate. She is such an amazing example to me, and I don't know what I would do without her.

& have I mentioned she is beyond amazing with a paint brush?

#blessings.

Three things I am very much thankful for today:
1. Music, especially musicians. Since I have started learning the guitar it has made me realize there is so much more to it than I ever knew. I am so happy there are creative people in this world that have it figured out. I will understand it some day, but for now my appreciation grows on the daily.
2. Having so many guitars around the house I am able to learn and play on. It is not a cheap hobby! I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn, and for my guitar teachers patience.
3. Concerts. It is one thing to listen to your head phones, or while driving in your car. It's entirely another to feel it throughout your body. #IloveLiveMusic. I am very blessed to have been to some amazing concerts through the years.

#blessings.

Three things I am thankful for today:
1. pizza sauce.
2. avocados.
3. pickles.

#blessings.

Three things I am thankful for today:
1. Hot baths.
2. Exercise.
3. Tomorrows.

#blessings.

Today I'm very thankful for:

1. My grandparents! I'm very blessed to have them in my life for so long. They are wonderful people and great examples for me. Not to mention my Grandma is the best cook! Another reason Sundays rock!

2. Four seasons! As much as I wish it was always summer, it's pretty cool we get to see our earth physically change. It's beautiful on so many levels.

3. Electricity. We truly live a good life..

#blessings.

Three things I'm thankful for today:

1. Green lights. 

2. Headlights.

3. City lights!

#blessings.

Three things I'm [extra] thankful for today:

1. Oreo malt milkshakes.. sometimes you just need one.
2. My guitar teacher [especially his faith, and his patience.]
3. [clean] Water. It's definitely my favorite element.

#blessings.

Three things I am thankful for today:

1. Being canceled from work a little early. [Free time-- What is this??]
2. YouTube. For so many reasons, but today mostly for homework help.
3. Delicious and nutritious food. [& stellar company of course.]

#Blessings.

Today I'm [extra] thankful for:

1. A hot shower & clean water.

2. My job. [especially my days off.]

3. Mason jars. I'm a little obsessed.. 

#Blessings.

Three things I am thankful for today: [in no particular order]
1. My Mommy. I can't thank her enough! For the good life, for her friendship, and for making me who I am today.
2. My iPhone. [first world problems]. This thing literately is my life-line, if not my life. #sadbuttrue.
3. Having a warm place to sleep. It's amazing how much we take for granted in this world.

Here is to a healthy week..

Some fresh green [+beet] juice, celery soup & some sassy water. 

Dear this week: #BRINGIT
I'm ready to look good and feel good. (:

#Blessings.

In an effort to blog more, I am going to attempt the trendy

"Three Things I'm Thankful For" every day until Thanksgiving. 

Wish me luck.

Three things I am thankful for today:
1. Sundays, the best day of the week, for so many reasons.
2. Great souls I can truly call my best friends.
3. Yoga pants. (& nice asses. ;)

Life changes so fast.

Life changes so much so fast, yet it seems to stays the same.
I am at work-- blogging instead of doing my homework.
I am still loving my job in Labor and Delivery.
I am still living at home, and loving it.
I am still in school, and still over it.
I still don't want to ever grow up, but I have at least been thinking about it a little more lately..

But..
I am stoked to say: I fell hard for a boy.
I met him the night of August 24th, It's been intense since then.
Even better than the fairytale movies.
I don’t know where he came from, and how we haven’t met before... but the timing could not have been more perfect for either one of us.
I’m still trying to catch my breath. I know, so cheesy and cliché, right?

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a little update, I'm very much alive and kicking.
I know I always say this, but I do intend to blog more.. (believe it when you see it)
If you are into love stories, I started a silly little blog about our adventures together.
Stay tuned until next time fellow stalkers.
Peace, love & bits of sunshine from my life to yours.

Hydrate.

Another obsession of mine lately: SASSY WATER.



I got the original idea from pinterest of course. It is part of the Prevention magazine's Flat belly diet. The original recipe is here.


Health Benefits:
"Proponents of the diet maintain that ginger in sassy water helps your digestion and can reduce your risk of constipation, while lemon works as a natural diuretic and promotes a healthy pH balance. Cucumbers contain erepsin, an enzyme that helps your body digest protein and also supports the health of your kidneys due to their diuretic properties. Chemicals in mint leaves also support digestion." Along with many other nutritional perks.
You can find more information here.

I make it for my mom and I every night. I put about 5-6 slices of cukes, around half of a lemon, a few mint leaves, and peal some ginger (I like a lot, my mom likes less). I bought a ginger root from Harmon's, pealed it and keep it in the freezer. When I need some I just use my potato peeler. Also, the mint needs to be twisted and broke apart a little bit to better release the herb's oil. Without fail, it always tastes great. I just fill it up with ice (and sometimes water) all day long.

The biggest reason I love it tho, it tastes AWESOME. I usually drink a lot of water, but I feel I have increased my H2O intake by quite a bit. So cheers to this amazing, refreshing summer beverage. Isn't it pretty?

#blessings.

A cheesy little post is better than no post at all right?
Three things I am extra thankful for today:
Pinterest.
Pinterest.
Pinterest.

Twenty-five.

So I stumbled on this little draft today. It was named "25 things I am going to do before I turn 25." and here is draft post:
" I am turning a quarter of a century, in a little over 8 months, and here is my list I plan to do before that milestone comes:
[in no particular order]
I am going to run a marathon, ok a half marathon.
I am going to get my boobs done. [don't judge, don't argue.]
I am going to graduate with my associates. [better late than never;]
Climb Mt. Oly! [Who's with me?]


Well, I wish I would have at least finished writing the list, let alone get everything crossed off. I am [kind of] happy to report that I am signed up for my first half marathon. I did indeed get my breast augmentation [best purchase of my life]. I will graduate THIS SUMMER with my associates-- with intentions to get my BS in nursing. I plan on climbing Mt. Oly this summer, at least once [and you are still invited if you want to come].

Anyway, I did just turn 25 last week. It was the worst birthday yet, and it wasn't even bad. It just kind of hit me: I have to grow up and get my ish together here pretty quick... but then someone said I had until 30 (they are my new BFF;). Seriously tho, it made me realize that I wont be forever young--quite motivating if you ask me.

I always say this, but I fully intend to blog more. Stay tuned ;).

Celery Soup

Let me introduce you to my new obsession:

CELERY SOUP

I actually happened to stumble upon this recipe a few years ago in a People magazine. I have made it here and there, but lately it is a weekly staple to my diet.
Did I mention it is also supposedly Jennifer Aniston's favorite. [But I don't take any magazine too seriously]

Recipe:

* 4 cups celery, chopped in 1-inch pieces
* 1/2 to 1 head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch pieces (or 1 potato, peeled/cut)
* 1 small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 8 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 tbsp. heavy cream (optional- I usually opt out to make it healthier)


1. Put all ingredients,(except the cream) in a large stockpot.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and skim off any impurities off the top. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are tender.
3. Mix with a hand blender [I blend it in my Ninja] and stir in cream, if desired. Return the soup to the pot and gently reheat if necessary. Taste with salt and pepper.
I have found I like it a little chunkier vs. more runny
Also, I put it in mason jars for perfect lunch servings all week. (makes 5-6 jars)

Eat within a week, or freeze.

*UPDATE: I plugged this recipe into "My Fitness Pal" and for one mason jar sized serving it has about:
75 calories
12g carbs
0g fat
6g protein
and 856g sodium
Not too shabby..

#blessings

Three things I am thankful for today:

1. Being able to love, and be loved
2. Gentlemen! The ones who still open doors, and actually respect us ladies.
3. My positive outlook on life. It takes work, but it's worth it. Just be happy!

Until next time. . .