Cookies, Cakes and eClairs

Really, I should be exercising right now. I've eaten like, 20 cookies in the last five days. No bueno. Jus and I have this weird "Guess What I Ate That was Unhealthy Today" ritual. It can be pretty funny sometimes. Like last night, for example. At dinner, Jus told me that it was "cake day" at his work. A lady (someone's cousin or other) makes a beautiful, and sinfully delicious chocolate cake for everyone at work. Flour in there? Probably not. But, hello, its chocolate cake once every 31 days. No need to feel guilty. A few hours later, Jus blurts out, "I had an ECLAIR today too!" That must have been weighing pretty heavily on his concience. I burst out laughing, and threw my pillow at him. Sheesh, If I were built like my man, I would be having chocolate cake for breakfast every day and not worry. At all. It was at this point, when I decided to confess a secret.

"Jus, you know the cookie dough in the freezer?"

"Yeah?"

"I ate ALL of it yesterday...."

The rest came out in a jumble, "...Not like there was that much left anyways. It only would have made like, six cookies. Small ones too." This was met with a pillow thrown in my face.

Yep. We're weird when it comes to food.

-Ali

Snowboarding Sunburn

As a last hurrah for the season, Jus and I hit the slopes this weekend. We went to a different resort than usual, and had a good time. (PS I only tumbled off the lift once, and didn't wipe out ANY children. Pathetic accomplishments, but accomplishments nonetheless.) The drive up the canyon was beautiful. Jus's face got a little bit of sun, and so did his lips. We've both been caking on chapstick all night.

Winter is a delicious season, but the mere thought of spring has become more of a longing for spring. I have been wanting to pull out my summer skirts for weeks. All of this week, I thought was the last week in March. Until I looked at the calendar. Like, really sat down, and gave it a long, hard look. I found this A. Dorable skirt pattern, and I think I see one in my future. Meanwhile, I'll type with gloves, to keep the fingers warm. This is the part where Jus puts our big, soft minky (or "yeti", if you like) blanket around my shoulders. Gotta love that boy. I sure do.

Where has the time gone?

Greetings! My, it's been a while, hasn't it? That doesn't mean that I've been busy saving whales and feeding orphans. I'm just lazy.

Jus and I tried a new recipe last night. It wassupposed to be orange chicken. I should have picked up on the fact that when the recipe called for apricot preserves, it wasn't going to taste like the real deal.

I didn't.

It didn't.

Hopefully, this recipe for chicken divan will turn out a little better. (By the way, if you are looking for a DELICIOUS low fat cheesecake recipe, click here. I made this last week for a family get together and it was pretty yummy. Skinnytaste.com is amazing! Some of the gals at work have cooked recipes from here love them. I'm a believer.)

I finished the book I've been reading, The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter. Its one of Jus's favorites. It's about a Cherokee boy who is raised by his grandparents after his parents death. All at the tender age of five. The book feels like a compilation of different lessons that Little Tree learns from his "Granpa" as the seasons pass, but there is a story weaved in as well. At first, it was difficult for me to get into, but the more I read, the more I began to understand, and love the characters. Definitely a good weekend read! I would recommend it to anyone.

Remember this paper? I found an excuse to use some of it over the weekend, and made this.

Sigh... I guess I can't prolong exercising any longer. Its been fun. Over and out.

Good day

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Sundays are great, because me and the Mr. can spend the entire. day. together! Need I say more?

8:00 AM - Church (didn't realize it was daylight savings time. Glad our phones knew!)

12:00 PM - Sunday nap

1:45 - Usual Sunday lunch of tomato soup and panini sandwiches. (Jus makes the best paninis.)

2:00 - Visiting teacher came over bearing mint m&m's. Delightful. She's so nice.

3:00 - Longboarding at the park. At the same time. On one board. (One fellow "park patron" we passed told us how interesting we looked.)

5:00 - Drive up the canyon. Stick races in the river, and rock skipping (Jus is a pro. I'm not.)

6:00 - Home.

8:30 - Discuss dinner.

9:30 - Eat dinner. (BBQ chicken with swiss cheese and rice. Yum)

Yessir. Good, good day.

Lunch Date

Yesterday was beautiful, was it not? I'm trying to tell myself that, in spite of the fact that a storm is supposed to be here this weekend, spring will come. I don't know why, but I'm more excited than usual this year. Skirt weather? Yes, definitely.

Jus and I went to lunch yesterday. Going on dates with him is always fun! Half the time, it involves one, (or both) of us not really sure of where we're going, and the other one trying to decipher the GPS. The latter is usually my job. I'm no good with maps, even if they're electronic. We've taken more than one wrong turn when I'm "directing". Yesterday was no exception.

We got lost trying to find the restaurant we were planning on going to (after re-routing the GPS, like six times), so in the end, we went to Flour Girls and Dough Boys. So, so yummy! I love going there. I've wanted to take Jus there for a long time, too. (We used one of their baby cakes for our wedding cake. Thanks, Linds for the idea!) We spent our time chatting and listening to the conversation of a group of moms at the table next to us (haven't you ever wondered what moms talk about? Funny stuff.)

Even if we hadn't found a place to eat, and just spent our whole hour and a half being lost with the locals, it still would have been a good time. That's just how Jus is. I know I say it a lot, but I've been thinking (a lot) lately about this song. It's kinda old-school, but I love it. Reminds me of Jus every time I hear it. Love you buddy. I am so lucky to be me.

-Ali

Feelin' the burn

Greetings! Just finished another "wii workout". Considering I've only been at it a few days, my legs are KILLING me! The other day, Jus looked at me and said, "I can tell you have been working out." Aw shucks. "You're walking like you are really sore...." Oh.... Sigh.

But really, this game is so much fun, which, in turn motivates me to exercise. I love it. Now we just need to get another set of controllers, so Jus and I can have a husband and wife workout/bonding session. ;)

-Ali

New Work Out?

"Ali! I've got flab! Come here, look!!" Jus is only pulling skin, and that will probably be the only thing he'll be pulling for the rest of his life. Jealous.

That being said, we've both been feeling a little out of shape lately. We went running with my brother the other day, and I was more than mildly winded when our half hour was up. What is wrong with me?! I used to be able to run like, 6 miles, no problem. I guess that's what I get for sitting home and scrapbooking. (Check out this delicious line from Crate Paper! Isn't it beautiful? Where was all this when we got married? I went nuts the other day, and bought a bunch of it at Pebbles in My Pocket.)

This weekend, Jus bought "EA Sports Active 2" for the Wii. Despite my misgivings at first, it turned out to be kinda fun (to play, and watch Jus play). You have a little "personal trainer" during your workouts and he even shouts encouraging (and kinda corny) phrases at you. Needless to say, I woke up this morning excited to work out (which doesn't happen much.) I was a little disappointed in how few calories I burned for how long (and hard) I thought I worked, but, I think the game could be beneficial. It's fun, if nothing else. We're both a little bit obsessed with it.

-Ali

P.S. Remember my inspiration picture? Here's my attempt at something similar. I have had this jacket for forever, and decided it needed a little revamping.

Weekend in Review

Greetings! After posting yesterday's somewhat "blegh" entry, I realized that this past weekend had been pretty great, and I should get it down in the books.

I love soup. I think mostly because it is so easy to make (and easy to eat, according to Jerry Seinfeld. Ever seen the "Soup Nazi"?) I love picnics almost as much as I love soup. I love Jus almost as much as I love picnics. Just kidding. I love him a lot more than picnics (and soup). Friday night was a delicious combination of those three favorite things of mine. We spread a blanket out on the floor, turned on some nature sounds (courtesy of the camper who left his video camera out in the forest for ten minutes and then put it on YouTube), and ate some yummy soup. To top it all off, we went to the grocery store and got soft serve ice cream. Did I mention that ice cream is my fourth favorite thing?

Saturday night found my husband and me on the slopes. Remember my worries about getting off of the lift (let alone getting down the mountain). Well... lets just say I made it off the lift a little more "gracefully"; and by "gracefully" I mean, I didn't shriek and swear while tumbling out of the lift. This time, I managed to keep my balance for a second, and then fell over. However, I did make it off once without falling. Progress. As a side note, I made it down the mountain on our last run with only one tumble, thanks to my husband/incredibly dashing and "mega cool" snowboard instructor. ;) Yeah, he's pretty great.