Friday, December 16, 2011

sick as a dog

For the past 24 hours, I have kind of felt like death itself, sniffling, coughing and feeling like my head might explode. Imagine my enthusiasm. Luckily, I was able to get a co-worker to cover my shift today, although in the hourly-wage world that means that I'll be missing out on some hard-earned cash. Boo.

So as I was lying on the couch watching "Parenthood" on Netflix, guzzling water and feeling bad for myself, I figured that I might as well take this opportunity to share my essentials for when the cold of death overtakes your immune system.

1. Juice. Much to the dismay of Hubz, I'm not much of a juice drinker and rarely ever buy it. However, when I'm sick, juice is a must, preferably Naked juice.


Vitamin c is a must for me and this stuff is tasty!

2. ...More vitamin c! Surprise surprise. Grapefruits have been on sale lately at the grocery store and we loaded up on a whole bag of them.


Lately I've been just eating these like an orange, except that I have to take the actual fruit out of the skin of each section. Make sense? I just can't handle that stuff. It's too thick!

3. Leafy greens. Obviously these babies are healthy for you and are an important part of any diet the way it is. I always feel better and have more energy when I eat more spinach and other leafy greens. When I'm sick I feel completely drained of energy so these definitely help.

4. Tea. Nothing makes me feel better than a mug of tea. It soothes my throat, helps ward-off headaches and just makes you feel comforted.


This tea is is one that we got at my favorite coffee shop in Sioux Falls. It's orange passion fruit and it's super mild. I love it.

4. Showering. When I'm sick, I'm usually in the tub at least twice a day. There's just something about the hot water streaming down on me that just clears out my sinuses and allows me to breathe... At least for half an hour or so.

5. Omega 3 fatty acids. Today I had salmon for lunch, not only because it's delicious and it's what I had at home, but also because of the omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3s are super good for you and most people are deficient of it. It helps brain function, immunity and also helps your hair and skin be healthier! Salmon is a great source of omega 3s.

6. More omega 3s. I take a daily fish oil supplement for all the above reasons, especially since I don't eat a lot of salmon, mainly because of how much it costs to get quality salmon.


I got these supplements at the chiropractors office, but you can find fish oil supplements pretty much anywhere you can get other supplements and vitamins.

So that's it... Plus if all the above fails, I'm also rather fond of the blue Tylenol PM cough syrup. It knocks me out like.that and after I wake up from a 3 hour nap I usually am feeling significantly better.

So tell me, what are your "sick as a dog" essentials?

K.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

december goals

it probably seems odd to be setting monthly goals for the month before the new year... oh well.  i've never really considered my life to be normal, so why start now, right?  it's more fun that way.  as i'll explain in the next couple of days, i planned on 2011 being much different than it actually has been.  i planned a year of success, accomplishment and adventure.  turns out that 2011 would actually be a year of struggle, pain and doubt.  however, there has also been beauty in 2011.  the lord is faithful and is bringing perseverance from struggle, beauty from pain and strength from doubt.



i want 2012 to be everything i hoped 2011 would be... but i'm not giving up on 2011 quite yet.  i've still got one month left, and even though it's the craziest month of the year and i have 11 christmas celebrations i'm expected to attend, i want to make this last month of 2011 count.  here are some goals to help me transition into 2012:
  1. complete the chalene johnson 30 day challenge.  i attempted to finish this in october but fell off the bandwagon about halfway through the month.  it's a really cool challenge though and i know it will help me accomplish both short-term and long-term goals if i stick with it.
  2. workout at least 1000 minutes.  this can be anything from walking to yoga to a beachbody video, as long as it gets my heart-rate up and my fat cells crying, it counts.  hopefully this will counteract some of the christmas treats and craziness... and hopefully it means that i won't need to ring in the new year with bigger jeans.
  3. have at least two date nights with the hubz.  with all the time that we will be spending with friends and family this month (which is such a blessing, may i add), it's important that we get some alone time to keep our relationship in check and keep my from getting crabby-crazy.  plus, it's just plain fun.
  4. track food/exercise intake every day.  this probably sounds kinda crazy but i'm really trying to commit to my weight loss and right now that means tracking everyday and staying committed everyday.  at least with weight watchers i can still have a couple mint mochas and coconut bon-bons and i don't have to feel guilty about it.
  5. blog at least 7 times.  i don't like how little i've been blogging lately.  blogging brings me joy, purpose and an outlet from everyday life.  i don't want to let something that i enjoy and is actually good for my health to slack just because life is crazy.

so that's that.  i want to end 2011 on a positive note and get a jump-start on 2012.  join me, will you?

-k

p.s. i hope there's a lot more of this happening in 2012... just sayin.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

autumn tuesday tune.

i know.  it's been a while, and lately i sure have had a hankering for a tuesday tune.  oh, you too?  fantastic.

my autumn soundtrack has been completely saturated with "non-Christian" bands that echo longings for faith, peace and a connection to a higher power.  i love how the Lord can use songs like those to speak to me and bring me joy.

i could probably do a tuesday tune every week until the end of the year and find a different mumford and sons song that i love, but this one seems especially poignant as of late.  the Christian overtones in this song seem so undeniable to me, and the song represents starting over and the grace that all those who believe are given.

"it seems that all my bridges have been burned
but, you say that's exactly how this grace thing works
it's not the long walk home
that will change this heart,
but the welcome i receive with the restart."

so.stinking.awesome.



also, how great is the banjo and irish-pub feel of the whole song? not that i've ever been to ireland... but i've got a pretty good imagination.  plus, i've seen "p.s. i love you" about 37 times. sorry i'm not sorry.

k.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What I Ate Wednesday

So I thought it would be fun to join in on the popular blogging series, "What I Ate Wednesday."  I get bored easily with blogs that show 3 meals a day, everyday, but I find it fascinating to see what others eat daily every now and then.  So here we go!

(I apologize in advance for blurry pictures... often when I am ready to eat I am READY TO EAT and have little patience to spend 5 minutes or more taking photos of the food that I want in my belly!  This is normal, right?  Probably not.  Whatever.)


French Press Coffee!  It's been so long since I've french pressed that I forgot how DELICIOUS it is!  So much better than drip brewed coffee, but takes just as little time!  Awesome!
(0 P+)


Breakfast (pre-workout)... whole wheat toast with a tablespoon of sunflower nut butter.  So delicious. 
(5 P+)


Second breakfast... smoothie with milk, dark chocolate dreams, frozen banana, spinach and vanilla whey protein.  Hubz loved it too!
(5 P+)
  

Lunch... Salad made with romaine, spinach, cabbage and carrots.  Topped with Skinny Taste's Egg Salad.  Never thought to put egg salad on top of a salad but it was delicious!  Next time though, I'll either cut down on the greens or add a little more egg salad (or maybe just some dijon mustard?).  It just needed a little more dressing.  Also, part-skim string cheese and a pluot, my new favorite fruit!
(6 P+)

Not pictured...  Arnie palmer from work, heavy on the tea, light on the lemonade.
(2 P+)

  

Supper... Fish tacos!  Obviously I was so hungry and excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture before chowing!  I used this recipe for the fish (we used tilapia) and topped it with cabbage, tomatoes, cilantro and guacamole, all wrapped up in a low-carb, high-fiber whole wheat tortilla.  We both loved them!
(9 P+)

 

 I finished supper off with some edamame topped with sea salt... one of the best snacks ever!
(3 P+)
So that's what I ate today!  Overall satisfying, delicious and healthy, and that makes me happy and proud of myself!  And yes, if you didn't notice, I'm back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon and it feels oh so good.  I don't know why it can be so easy to forget how good eating well and working out makes me feel.  I felt on top of the world today!

K.

time travel

Can't.Stop.Listening

I feel like I've been transported back to a different era... and I'm LOVING it.


What are you listening to lately?

K.

Monday, August 8, 2011

the next step

I'm thinking it's time to take this relationship to the next level.  Afterall, I feel like we've been through a lot together so far this year.  We've baked, we've exercised, we've relaxed and we've even killed things.

Every day, I'm feeling more and more comfortable taking the next step.  Yes, friend, it's time for you to follow me on Twitter.

I have officially figured Twitter out.  Not only have I figured it out, but I've also linked it up with my Facebook page and I am now a tweeting machine.  I may or may not be slightly obsessed.

Likewise, it definitely wouldn't hurt this relationship if you followed me on Pinterest.  I mean, really... is there anything better than sitting and pinning things for four hours at a time while watching a season of "Parks and Recreation" and eating a bowl of summer fruit?  I didn't think so.

Now that we've taken the next step, it's about time we high-five... like these little munchkins.


I'm 98% sure that this little guy is a clone of my husband as a kid.  For real.  I guess that's what we have to look forward to with mini-Hubz.  Sigh...

K.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

early bird.

I'm not a morning person.

I always really want to become a morning person, but when 6 AM rolls around, I kind of hate everything.  Just being honest.

Poor Hubz always tries to help me become a morning person.  He has tried just about every technique possible...

He used to wake me up by playing "Crank That" by Solja Boy.  I don't even know why, it just made me want to dance and it would actually get me out of bed.  That worked for a little while, until it got annoying.

He also used to try to be really really nice when waking me up by giving me kisses on the cheek, playing nice soothing music and saying sweet things.  That got annoying real fast too.

His latest technique is threatening to "baptize" me.  It hasn't quite gotten to that point yet, but I dread the day it does.

Yesterday morning, however, I was up and moving by 6:15 AM... voluntarily.  Turns out you can get a lot done in the morning when you wake up early!  Who knew?  Not this girl.



I did a lovely 20 minutes of yoga.



I made myself some tea.


Seriously, how pretty is this tea?  It's my favorite.  


Do you see what I see?


Those are my basil plants that have been alive for... 2 MONTHS!  Pretty pumped about that.


I took a shower and got ready for the day... and painted my nails!  I painted them pink.  I mean, as if waking up early weren't enough, I chose to paint my nails pink.  Seriously, who am I?


And with that, by 8:30, Hubz and I were ready to head out for breakfast and apartment shopping!  Amazing how easy it is to get things done in the morning!

Are you a morning person?  Do you exercise in the morning?

K.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Deliciousness in a Paper Bag

I love going grocery shopping.  Seriously, it's like my favorite thing in the world.  However, grocery shopping at our local grocery stores is no longer so fun for me.  I have become kind of picky about the food I buy and bring into my home.

After a couple bad seafood and beef experiences from the nearest grocery store, Hubz and I decided to start investing in higher quality meat either from my dad or from a local butcher.

With summer here, we do a lot of our produce shopping at local farmers markets.

We buy a lot of our grains, spices, etc. from a local health food store due to cost, variety and freshness of ingredients.

So aside from the occasional tortilla chips and salsa, we don't buy a lot of unhealthy, processed foods anymore, making trips to mega grocery stores somewhat a waste of time.

The one grocery store I don't mind buying nearly anything I want at is Trader Joe's.  I've never bought a product from there that I wasn't pleased with and I always am happy about the quality of food that they supply.

Even though we shop there at least once a month, it always feels like a treat.  To be quite honest I'd rather go there by myself than with someone else (sorry Hubz).  I like taking my sweet time to browse every single aisle and scope out the new foods that I've never tried.  Shopping at Trader Joe's is so much more fun for me than shopping for new shoes or a fun dress.  Is that weird?  Yeah, probably.  Whatever.  I think we've already established that average, run of the road girl... mainly because of my level of awesomeness, obviously.  Psh.

So because it makes me so excited, I though I'd share with you my TJ's purchases from today:


Chicken sausage that I'm SO pumped to use in a recipe that I'll share with you tomorrow.


Hubz loves these when we're short on time for supper.


These are all new products to me!  We love frozen edamame to have as snacks and appetizers, but I had never seen the chile and garlic kind.  So excited to try it.  Lime fruit popsicle type things... tastes like summer!  And chicken potstickers!  I love getting these when we go out to eat, turns out that they're healthier than I thought too!  Only 6 WW P+ for a serving.  Awesome!


Frozen fruit for smoothies!  We LOVE their frozen mango!


Some produce... So excited to find pre-cut kale in a bag!  Makes kale chips an even easier snack!


These are my favorite soup bases.  Like I've shown you, I like to add a whole bunch of crap delicious and nutritious ingredients to create an amazing meal.  And wonderfully delicious, chewy whole wheat English British muffins.  Love these for egg sandwiches in the morning!


A few canned goods.  Love the high quality (and cheap!) black beans from Trader Joe's, Light coconut milk for delicious Asian creations and red pepper spread.  Today was the first time I've ever seen this spread, and I was soooo pumped to try it!


I put this on one of those whole wheat English muffins with a fried egg, pepperjack cheese and sliced tomato.

OH.MY.GOSH.  Heaven.  On my plate.  For lunch.  Praise the Lord.  I foresee this making all of my sandwiches 100x more awesome.  Let's be honest, Trader Joe's makes everything more awesome.

So those are my food finds this week!  What are your favorite Trader Joe's finds?  I'd love to know what else I should look for next time!  Happy grocery shopping!

K.

Monday, August 1, 2011

my hubz.

I am quite certain that I have the most amazing husband in the world.


Excuse me for the incredibly cheesy words that are about to grace this blog, but lately I can't help but be amazed at how truly wonderful the Hubz is.


God couldn't have crafted a person who is better for me than him.  He is gentle, kind, caring, romantic, fun, humble and grateful.


He encourages me daily; he is so intentional about improving our relationship; he makes me laugh when I'm stubborn and want to be mad; he is so proud to be my husband; and he loves me in an incredibly sacrificial, Biblical way.


Gregory Allen Krech, I am so grateful for you today, and everyday (and no, I'm not just saying this because you volunteered to do the dishes tonight... but it sure didn't hurt your case).

K.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

recap.

So remember when I told you about my upcoming trip to California?  Well the weather was lovely, the beach was awe-inspiring and the seafood was deeeeeelish.

And these are the only photos I took:


It started when I went to take a shower...


I saw the shampoo...


and went in for the kill!  That's right, those are spider remains.  I killed a spider.

It was terrifying.  It was exciting.  It was the only time I won't make Hubz kill it for me when he's within screaming range.

Hubz and I also slept outside while we were there... on poolside lounge chairs in the backyard of the house we rented.  The stars kinda sucked (nothing like the amazing stars at home in SoDak), the "bed" was fairly uncomfortable and I woke up ridiculously dewey.  Not quite as romantic as I had envisioned.

Hubz and I also went to a DCI show a few weeks ago!  It was fun to introduce Hubz to that part of my life, see old friends and sweat like a pig enjoy beautiful music and marching!


Let's check those off the list, shall we?  Boo-yah.

 And here are a few fun eats from the past couple of weeks:


We accompanied our adorable friend Jacob to his first sushi experience!  We're still working on that whole chopsticks thing with him...


Hubz!  No, we didn't purposefully match.


Deeeeeelicious sushi!  California roll, salmon roll and spider roll.  I tend to crave sushi in the summer, there's just something about how fresh it seems!


Jake thoroughly enjoyed his sushi!

Hubz and I also visited Galactic Pizza after a saturday trip to the Lyndale Farmers Market!

I've been wanting to visit Galactic Pizza since I first heard about it, and it certainly did not disappoint!  Honestly, what other restaurant makes you wear 3D glasses to read the menu?  BRILLIANT.


Hubz geeked out.  He loved it.


We shared a lovely brew.


We ordered the "CSA Pizza."  Galactic Pizza partners with a local CSA and uses their fresh and organic produce for the pizza.  Thus, the actual ingredients in the CSA Pizza change frequently with what is in season.  ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.

We were a little turned off when we heard that there were beets on the pizza, but our waiter convinced us to try it.  I'm SO glad he did!


Our CSA Pizza had a garlic white sauce, arugula, golden beets, mozzarella cheese and goat cheese.  OH.MY.PEAS.  I will be dreaming about this pizza for the next 5 years.


Needless to say, we finished the whole thing.

The other awesome thing about Galactic Pizza is that they offer options for vegetarians, vegans and those who are gluten-free.  A win all around!  And I must also mention that the restaurant was ridiculously cute and had a retro-vibe.  I couldn't get enough of it.

Source
And did I mention that the delivery guys wear superhero costumes?  AWESOME.

So that's what has been going on around here!  Thanks for bearing with me during my prolonged absences.

Blessings!

K.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

In other news,

i'm back...


:)

K.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

tunes for your weekend

This is my friend Nicole:

(how cute is she? for real.)

I must say that we were sort of forced to be friends.  Being two of the only female radio broadcasting majors in our class, we (along with our other beautiful friend Grace) joined forces and, with our naturally high-pitched voices, gave those boys a run for their money.  The three of us were lovingly nicknamed the "Trifecta."  Fierce.

Nicole is probably one of the most talented people that I know.  She's good at pretty much everything that she does and it makes me so jealous proud of her.  Ever since I've known her, she has always wanted to work in the music industry so it came as no surprise when she landed a job in Nashville at a booking agency for Christian music artists.  I know what you're thinking:  Why is she still friends with this unemployed blob of laziness awesomeness?

Your guess is as good as mine.

She moved to Nashville a few weeks ago now and I kind of forget everyday that she now lives 13 hours away.  Weird.  On the bright side, though, it gives me an excuse to visit her in wonderful Nashville (and consume as much Jack's Bar-B-Que as humanly possible)... and it gives Hubz an excuse to convince me to let him buy cowboy boots so he can pretend that he's Alan Jackson at the Grande Ole Opry.

On second thought, maybe I'll make the trip with Grace instead.

As can be expected, Nicole has pretty darn good taste in music and has introduced me to many artists and bands that I now love.  

One of my favorite memories of Nicole from our last year in college was when she was obsessed with the song "Big City Dreams" by Never Shout Never.  The beginning of the song may or may not most certainly contains the word "BYPASS."  In true Nicole fashion, she would be sitting in a radio studio bopping and singing along to the music until one second before the above mentioned word.  She would then stop where she was and mute the music for the split second that word was played.  She then would un-mute it and go back to bopping along to the beat like it was nothing.  It was adorable.  I smiled inside every time she did it.

Since we're now trying to save money broke, Hubz won't let me buy any new music.  Thus, I have learned to love Pandora radio (seriously, if you don't use it, you should... it's fantastic).  A few of my favorite stations are "Adele," "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and "Ingrid Michaelson."  Check them out, you won't regret it.

Most recently I started listening to "The Rocket Summer" station.  A few songs in, Never Shout Never came on and I was instantly brought back to those late night radio studio nights with Nicole and her bleeping action.  Unlike Nicole's song, however, this one contained the word "truckin'" as this little charmer would pronounce it.  As a good friend would, I danced to the song, sang along and did my little swift bleeping action, just as Nicole would have.  I encourage you to do the same.  Enjoy friends:


Does that make you feel like it's summer or what?  Awesome.

Happy Weekend!

K.

Friday, May 6, 2011

friday tune

I know... that didn't feel right did it?  Friday tunes just doesn't have the same flow as Tuesday tunes, but I'm just so eager to share my recent musical obsessions!

So since I quit my job I have become a pretty big gleek.  I'm a walking stereotype.  Awesome.

So for the most part I don't appreciate the storyline of the show too much because, if we're being honest here, it's pretty trashy-trash.  However, the music is sensational.

(I feel like one of those guys who say they go to Hooters for the wings.  Ridiculous.  What have I become?)

Anyway, back to the music... I LOVE what they did with this song.  It's at least five times better than the original song... who's with me here?  I absolutely love the harmonies and the way the two voices sound together.


I promise that from here on out I will go back to posting Tuesday tunes... for the love of alliteration the Tuesday tune will live on!

Happy Friday!

K.

update.

It's been a while... I know.  Go ahead, judge me.  Sorry I'm not sorry.  I've needed some time to figure some stuff out.

It's crazy how much the way I express my emotions has changed.  It seems to be easier and easier for me to get stuff out through writing.  I've missed that these past couple of weeks.  I'm glad to be back... and I don't plan on taking any extended absences from the blog world anymore!

Here's just a small update on what's going on in my completely crazy somewhat uneventful life:
  1. I made a slight variation on this recipe from Jessica tonight in honor of Cinco de Mayo.  Freakin fabulous.
  2. Hubz and I just got our tickets for our first Twins game together... I'm beyond excited!  I've literally been asking Hubz to take me to a Twins game since we first started dating, almost three and a half years ago.  Yeah, it's about time.
  3. Three weeks from now I'll be soaking up the sun in sunny California.
  4. This is why I want to be friends with Amy Poehler Leslie Knope and Aziz Ansari Tom Haverford. 
  5. This is my new favorite show.
  6. I cried sobbed after watching Steve Carrell's last episode on "The Office."  Hubz laughed at me... it made me sob harder.  Then he tried to comfort me... while laughing at me.  Then I hit him... lovingly.
  7. This song has been stuck in my head for almost a month.  Can you blame me?  It's so.stinking.good.
  8. This is a picture that I forgot about from February when I joined my friends Becky and Ashley at The Purple Onion, a fun coffee shop in Dinkytown where our friend Eddie works.  Apparently I had been taking too many food photos at that time and didn't realize that my camera was still in the "digital macro" setting.  I was so confused why the pictures kept coming out so poorly. I'm a winner.

Eventful, eh?  Well things are about to get crazy folks.  In case you haven't noticed, I am way behind on The List.  Time to get on that!  Any suggestions for my next adventure?  I'm thinking a vision board, playing soccer with Hubz or motivational cards.  What do you think?

K.