Thursday Highs & Lows

A blurry picture of cats. 

Highs:

- We upped our cable so that now we can receive so many more channels plus BASEBALL. We pay more, but I am much happier with our service and I don't feel like I'm being cheated out of money for literally 3 channels that I watch.

- My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are moving into their new house next week.  OH and it is a block down the road from us! I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU. My sister-in-law and I are constantly texting about drinking lemonade and gardening and walking the dog and going out and visiting and eating dinner together and basically doing everything we can do because we live 2 seconds from each other now!

- I'm going to the salon to get my hair cut tonight and it has been a long time coming. My hair has gotten so long and ratty and I can't do anything with it. Not that I do anything anyway, but maybe now I will? Hint: Probs not.

- I'm really trying to get back on track with my weight loss.  I have exactly 23 days to lose 6 pounds.  I've lost 10 so far and really kept it off, so I feel confident I can do this. 

Lows:

- Being woken up with pain at 5:30am. Oh, and not being able to fall back asleep.

- The Baltimore riots.  It is sad and heartbreaking and devastating and uplifting at times and then I have these weird dreams about riots and blood and I can't sleep. It's affecting me in a way I didn't know I could be affected. So I pray.

- My iPhone 5 battery is going kaput. I've been using it for 2 hours now and I'm at 86%.  Yesterday when I left work, I was at something like 31%.  I don't expect it to last 2 days, but I do expect it to last at least 8 hours.

- So yesterday afternoon the Orioles played the White Sox in an empty stadium.  We signed up (and paid a hefty price tag) for MLB TV, so of course, I logged on to watch it. But then I get this message that we are blacked out. WHAT?! Apparently MLB TV does not have the rights to play the games for people who live in an area where the home team is. Which means I can never watch Orioles or Nationals games live. And I can't watch ANY postseason games live, no matter what team or where I live. Isn't that some BS? Why would anyone want this? Boggles my mind.

Sausage & Zucchini Soup

I love to cook. I love to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't cook a lot of lunches though, yogurt and quinoa chips FTW.

I made this soup on a particularly chilly day last week when I got home early because there was minimal traffic and I needed something comforting. Jesse ate two bowls! It's that good.

Sausage & Zucchini Soup

2-3 links Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage (or any sausage you like, including chicken and turkey!)
2 large zucchinis (I used regular and a yellow summer squash)
Half a yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (but you can use rosemary, basil, oregano)
1 can diced tomatos, any brand (I used fire roasted with garlic, but use the Italian version, or just plain if you want!)
2 cups dry pasta (any shape! or substitute quinoa, brown rice or any other healthier alternative, pasta is just what I had on hand)
3 c. low sodium beef broth
1/4 c. sherry or wine

What To Do:

Start by browning your sausage in small chunks in a small bit of olive oil in a medium high pan.  The great thing about using this hot sausage, or a chorizo, is the paprika oil it gives off. It gives great color to the soup!

Don't be afraid of the brown bits! They're good!

Once your sausage is cooked, transfer it to a paper towel lined plate to cool and drain. Add a little more olive oil if you need it, and then your onions. Sprinkle them with salt to avoid getting brown. We want them sauteed and translucent.  Add your garlic after about 5 minutes and then inhale that scent immediately. Delicious.

Make sure your pan is nice and hot and then add the white wine/red wine/sherry and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot.  These add unbelievable flavor!  Next add your canned tomatoes. I fill up the can with a bit of water and swirl it around and then transfer that to the pot as well, but you can leave that step out if you would like!  Add your beef broth in 1 cup increments.  I added 2 cups, then felt I really needed a third, and it came in handy! But if you're making this for 1 person, you may only need 2 cups. 

Ugh blurry picture.

Add in any spices or seasonings. I used fresh thyme, dried oregano, and salt and pepper. It's all to your preference though!

Allow the soup to come to a boil, then turn it down and cover it to simmer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime...

Gorgeous veg

Chop up your zucchini and summer squash. You can certainly add more vegetables if you would like, just bear in mind the cooking times. Things like celery and carrots should be added in with the onions. Mushrooms can be added in with the zucchini.

Once you have your veggies ready, and the 10 minutes is up, add them and the pasta. This is an assortment of leftover boxes of pasta I have. I just threw some in and hoped for the best!

Why can't they just make portions for 2 people!

This was after 10 minutes of simmering. It's thickened up a bit, but not too much. This is definitely a broth-y soup, not a thick stew.

Allow the soup to come back to a boil, and cook the whole mixture (veggies and pasta included) for an additional 10 minutes covered, or until your pasta is cooked to your liking and the zucchini has softened. 

Soup bubbling away!

I served mine with parmesan cheese on top and leftover garlic bread for dipping.  Even with the parmesan cheese, this is a total of 336 calories per bowl. Not including the garlic bread of course.

Perfect dinner for a chilly night!

The great thing about this recipe is, it makes wonderful leftovers. Just heat it up for 2-2.5 minutes in the microwave and voila! Lunch. 

Pray

I am close to tears every time I pull up my Facebook, turn on the news, or check a website. The riots in Baltimore, the looting, the arson, it is all useless.  

I am for peaceful protests. I am for equality and justice. I am for police officers, for citizens, for the end to racism.  

But I cannot stand behind the actions of those men and women that are terrorizing and destroying their own city. 

Please, I ask for prayers for the city of Baltimore. I ask that you pray, not only for the family of Freddie Gray, but the police officers, the firefighters, the national guard and all of the citizens of Baltimore, that they may know peace and calm in their hearts. That the violence ends. That no innocent lives are lost.

One Short Day!

Instead of doing a whole recap of the weekend, here are some highlights!

- Friday night's dinner with friends had baked tacos! I had never had tacos like this, but basically she filled up the taco shells with the meat and cheese, then baked them in the oven. Everything held together really nicely and the shell was crisp on the top and yet soft on the bottom. The perfect mixture.  I'll definitely be trying this trick next time I want tacos!

- This guy turned one and he was pretty ding dang cute about it!

- A pretty successful interview with a company that sounds great to work for! Now is the time to pray and wait!

- WICKED. If you have seen the show, no explanation needed. If you haven't seen the show, go see it. I shouldn't have to explain myself where Wicked is concerned. 

To add to my collection!

The sets are incredible!

- Jesse ordered a whole year of MLB TV.  We have been going back and forth between getting better cable, or ordering this. I was against it. I want good cable! I want HGTV  and TBS and Bravo! But he ordered it last night on a whim and I gotta say, I am loving it! No more missing baseball games because we are so cheap!

So that was sort of my weekend in a nutshell.  We spent time with family and friends. We hung out. I made pulled pork in the crock pot. An all around good old fashioned weekend.

High Five for Fridayyyy!

Did this seem like a super long week for anyone else?

Thankfully, finally, wonderfully, it is Friday!

1. This weekend I am going to see Wicked with my mother and future sister-in-law!  I've seen it twice before, but not in a very long time, and I have always loved it. It is so well written and the songs are to die for.

Wicked!

2. We are hopefully starting our bible study up again with a few couples who go to our church. We took a little break due to everyone's schedules, but I am hoping it starts regularly.  It is just such a shot of goodness during the week, Jesse and I really look forward to it.

3. I am reminded every single day of God's goodness.  Yesterday was particularly rough, but I got a phone call on the way home that makes me realize that God is always on our side.  

4. My belt is SO loose you guys. Like I need Jesse to either poke a new hole for me, or I need to buy a new one. Also, I can definitely tell the next day when I've eaten poorly.  Last night I was tired and just wanted pizza.  We ate pizza, garlic knots, and leftover cookies. Not my finest hour.  I woke up this morning thirsty and with a headache.  My body needs vegetables and lean protein!

5. Jesse has off work tomorrow! He originally was supposed to work the whole weekend, but his days got switched.  So now we get to wake up together, eat breakfast, go to our friends' son's birthday party together, and just hang out together. I love weekends with him!

Linking up with Katie, Della, Catilin, and Tif!

Wins & Losses

It's a beautiful morning. So I'm going to dump some wins and some losses here and then enjoy my day.


Losses:

1. Last night Loft was having this massive sale on their already marked down items, so I convinced Jesse to go with me. His reward was going to Lowe's afterwards. Anyway, I grabbed a couple of things I thought were cute, took them to the dressing room and looked at myself in the mirror. AHAHAHA. Yeah, no. 

2. After 6 days late, I started my cycle. FUN.

3. We went to Lowe's last night to look for a weed whacker for Jesse. Found one with a leaf blower included for $130.  Looked online and it was at Walmart for $97.  Get it together Lowe's.

4. I took my contacts out last night and one of them had a hole in it. No wonder my vision was blurry all day.

5. Big changes at work and change is NO fun.

WINS:

1. Ordered that leaf blower from Walmart. WIN.

2. Ordered a sweater and a necklace for $30 (including shipping) from Loft. WIN.

3. I'm officially down 11 pounds. Only 9 more to go in the next month. I can do this.

4. I had some cannoli cream leftover from our Italian potluck last Saturday so I dipped girl scout shortbread cookies into it and it was good.  This does not in anyway reflect the fact that somehow I am down 11 pounds as seen above. 

Enjoy your these last two days before the glorious, glorious weekend!

Recap//Weekending

We spent a lot of time with family and friends this weekend, which was very nice. Saturday morning Jesse and I woke up early and went to breakfast at Family Meal.

Blueberry pancakes, breakfast sandwich, pimento hoe cakes, and coffee. (Grits not pictured, but delicious all the same)

They have so much to look at, it could take you two hours at least.

We went shopping at a vintage barn sale that's held once a month. We didn't find much, everything has gotten kind of expensive. It was such a beautiful day though, I didn't really mind walking away with nothing.

That night we had everyone over for our Italian potluck night. My cannolis and tiramisu turned out delicious! I was very proud.

My brother-in-laws and their families stayed until pretty late, I was so happy to fall into bed that night.

The next morning we went to church, had lunch with my parents, then went to a mall with a Bass Pro shop because that is what my niece wanted to do for her 5th birthday. She loved looking at the big boats, the fish tanks, and the 4-wheelers.

Checking out boats we could never afford.

We had dinner and cake for her at my brother-in-law's apartment a couple minutes away and left around 8pm.  I was exhausted, let me tell you. All in all, a pretty nice little weekend.

My beautiful niece who is almost my height now. 

Now I'm just counting down the minutes to the next one.