Catching Up

It's been only a month, but, yikes! it's been busy

• painted all doors in house, and replaced hardware.. from old bronze yucky to new smooth, shiny silver
  
• Remodeled master bathroom


• Put some new landscape in the front yard, nothing fancy, it was a diy project


• went to young married couple party at church with sunday school class, lots of fun!!!

• Spent thanksgiving with the inlaws at their ranch in the Tx panhandle (Deric and his brothers moving cows)
  

• Spent only 1 day Christmas shopping! It was in and out, no messing around, no trying on stuff for myself (even though I was super tempted and there is so much cuteness out there to be bought!!!!)
• Had an open house at work in our dept, made lots of food, all junk of course!
• One of my fave cousins, dave got engaged!!! yay! they look so cute, don't they?! So happy for you guys!
  

• And, to leave the best for last......... We're going to have a baby!!!!!!!!!!!

There he is! Little Nugget Waters! Has a little hearbeat already, and a liver bud, and just got elbows!! I'm about 10 weeks along now. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't finish my sushi...and I always finish my sushi! Yes, hormones are weird... I never know what new thing will make me gag from one day to another. Other than that, I have had any vomiting or craziness, just the nausea and some weight gain. Otherwise, I don't really feel pregnant..

So people have been asking if we have names picked out, nursery done, etc... No , no , no. .... I think we're going to wing it... seriously, women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, it can't be that hard! It's not like we're going to completely wing it, we are planning on seeing a doctor regularly (even though Deric says I only take their advice as suggestions.... well, they aren't always right! trust me, I work in the medical field, docs are human, just like us, make mistakes, have biased opinions...)... any hooo, I am reading 2 books on pregnancy and Deric is reading a book on Gospel parenting... and I have thought about names for like 10 minutes one day (still clueless)... and I did look up ideas for nurseries online...

So What I mean to say is that we're not complete procrastinators... just enjoying the process :) Mostly trying not to get too crazy about it all. Yes, it's a big deal, yes, a baby changes everything, but I know my tendencies to over prepare and try to do everything to perfection, and I have found that perfection is a hopeless battle. So, I will relax, enjoy the process, take 1 day at a time, pray contstantly and hope for the best!

And I can't wait to meet him! yes, it's a "him" until otherwise noted.

That's all folks! stay tuned for more craziness!

Loves

Sometimes when life gets crazy and makes us dizzy with doubt the best medicine is to reflect on the goodness of God
and the things that we have
and those that we love
and know that when
all is said and done
it will all be
okay
even
if it doesn't
always feel that way
eventually the truth of God's
goodness and faithfulness can be
seen even in the smallest details of life
and in the embraces of those that we love
and the enjoyment of those small moments
no matter how small they are they are always
a testament to His grace mercy love hope peace neverending


Love you

Now I can blog freely

Now that i've gotten the long overdue food blog out of the way, I can post and blog about other random things that need to be said. Mostly political things



1. Nobel peace prize committe is a joke

2. A public option of healthcare is also a joke... so far all the healthcare versions in the senate do not cover ALL uninsured Americans. With any of the purposed plans, there will still be uninsured people, so what's the point?!

3. Insurance companies cannot compete with the government in healthcare. Any public option proposal will lead to employers discontinuing to pay for their employees' benefits.. why should they when their employees can just get on the public government program?! if it smells like socialism, walks like socialism, talks like socialist, it's the President!

4. SNL is finally starting to come around to realizing our pres is not the golden boy he says he is:
made me giggle, but so sad, because it's all true!http://www.hulu.com/watch/99945/saturday-night-live-obama-address


Please, fellow Americans, try to see behind the picture he paints of himself. And especially for all the Christians out there, the man is the most liberal, far-left president yet. His policies speak volumes. No concern for the sanctity of marriage, no concern for the un-born, no concern for personal freedom and freedom of speech, and no concern for a free market.
The next time we have a chance to vote, for anything! be it on a county, state or national level, let's get it right!

*Paid for by the "I am Disgusted about our Current Administration" Fund*

Cheese for dessert?! Mais Oui!!

Oh the things I ate! Enjoy this food tour of France and Italy...

DAY 1

The trip started off well with cheese served on the plane! Can't go wrong.

My first coffee (espresso) in Paris!

French onion soup, of course!

Lunch was steak & fries w/ pepper sauce - very traditional - pepper sauce is yuck, fries are yum

Day 2

Riomagiorre, Italy (Cinque Terre)

Italian Pizza

Deric had a slice that had sausage ( i think they were Ball Park hotdogs)

I had pesto pizza, basil goodnesss

Dinner in Riomaggiore

Deric had fish and potatoes cooked in tomato & olive oil sauce

I had pasta with fresh anchovies. I like anchovies! I suspected I would!

Dessert was a cheese plate with tomatoes & honey... ever had honey with stinky cheese?! Divine!

Day 3

Monterosso, Italy (cinque terre)

Dinner - minestrone , so good, so comforting...

Day 4

Cap D'Ail, France

Tomato, Onion, Anchovy & olive salad

Crisp cool tomatoes with tangy onions and the strong salted anchovy.... a perfect medley

Cap D'Ail, France - The view from the hostel patio

Probably my favorite meal of the trip: everything was so fresh! we ate on the patio overlooking the mediterranean, drank water from large bottles, and this was at the hostel where we stayed!
Pasta with mussels, shrimp, calamari and peas!!!! lots of peas!!! genius!

Day 5

Nice, France
We had a 3 course lunch

Starter: Deric had Nicoise salad (Tuna, eggs, anchovies, I ate his anchovies :)

Starter: I had foie gras on toast. Very good. Very rich. Made me Very sick. too much fat for my poor gallbladder.

Main Course: Deric had steak and fries, with not enough ketchup to satisfy him

Main Course: I had Fish provenceal (tomatoes, onions, olives). It was okay. I think the zuchinni was bad.

Dessert: Deric had creme brulee... he doesn't like the crunchy, sugary topping.. what?!

Dessert: I had cheese! Chevre (goat cheese), Brie, and Emmental cheese

Now this is how you end a meal! ( and any diet you are on!)

Day 6

Montpellier, France

Celeste's Baptism

AMAZING Lunch!

Forgot to photograph the appetizer, I was too busy holding babies and scarfing down the appetizer. It was plates of salami slices and small breadsticks made of the most amazing soft buttery dough served on granite tiles for plates... so chic!

Round 1: Fresh heirloom tomatoes served with a feta-yogurt dip, I am salivating just looking at this picture!

Filet and Mashed potatoes - okay, I wiped my plate clean! the sauce was liquid gold! I know it had more butter than I care to imagine, but it just melted in my mouth...

Dessert: I was told this was a regional specialty. A tower of vanilla & chocolate cream puffs piled high to create a tower.

This is what my portion of the tower looked like: there was also fresh fruit ( i got mango & strawberries) and a nut brittle which I couldn't eat because of my metal mouth

Day 6

Nimes, France

Home of the largest, most well-preserved, Roman colesium in the world

Deric had salad with smoked duck breast and foie gras. Notice the thick layer of fat on the duck breast... we did not eat that! But i have heard that french fries cooked in duck fat are amazing... i'll try that next time i'm in france...

I had daube, which is a french dish where cuts of beef are slow cooked to become very tender.. very good.

Day 7

Marseilles, France

Deborah & Sebastian's Home

The cooked us dinner.

We started off with anchovy (left) and olive tapenade... olive was very good and tangy... I have to admit that there is a such thing as tooo much anchovy... not a fan of the tapenade

Dinner was duck breast with home-fried potatoes in duck fat, oh yumm... duck breast tasted very much like steak to me, well the consistency if very much like beef... I really enjoyed this!

And for Dessert???!!! CHEESE!

Sebastian is a budding cheese-maker... The top 3 cheese are homeade chevre..

oh and the bottom right is roquefort, oh it is my new favorite!

Day 8

Pertuis, France

(Provence Region, Le Luberon)

It was a cold and rainy day, all day, we drove in the rain, walked in the rain... finally decided to eat at a French equivalent of an Applebees or such...

Pretty good food! They were running specials to advertise that the government had recently decreased the sales tax on food... so all the prices had the new, lower-tax price printed next to the original price that was scratched out...

I had a sauteed cabbage casserole with baked potato and sour cream.... kinda a romo dish...

Day 9

Back in Paris!!

Ate dinner with Deric's friends, Claire & Jeffrey...

They took us out to dinner at a local bistro

I tired escargot!!! Snails!!!

They have the cosistency of a cooked oyster or clam... The sauce they were in was very good and we dipped our bread into it..

Dinner was a past with cream sauce and chicken and mushrooms... what could go wrong?!

Day 10

Paris

Lunch in paris, kebab sandwiches... basically the meat that is cooked on long vertical spits... and shaved off once it's cooked...

check out the small fork for the fries! genius! you never get your hands greasy!

Day 11

Paris

Montemarte District

We had crepes before going to Sacre Coeur

I had potato, bacon and cheese crepe for lunch

and dessert crepe was coconut and banana!!

Day 12

Last lunch in Paris :(

We sat at a cafe on a large square and people watched.

We shared ceasar salad... very fresh

And french pizza that had too much cheese... oh well, i just had to eat it all....

And that was the food journal that I kept. I left out most breakfasts and snacks... I had to enjoy some things in the moment and didn't have time to take a pic.. or maybe i was too grumpy in the morning to care...

either way, I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed eating the food...

seriously, Americans need to start eating cheese for dessert!!

Back to normal?!

Well, vacation and summertime are officially over. Just coming off 2 week tour of mostly France and little of Italy. Had a blast, came home very tired.



Our bathroom is being remodeled... rooms are being painted (only because the guy that was supposed to paint our bathroom is super-affordable and he even scraped off our popcorn ceilings in the bedroom and hallway!!!!)

but now our house is covered in a thin film of powdery-white dust, won't that be fun to clean up?!

Progress

An exception to the rule Steve!

My cousin steve sent me a link to an article Shut up! Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them.

Progress
- Jillian's workout is intense. It's 45min of non-stop drills.
- It's working; Down 3 lbs. That's darn good, because I don't have that much to lose; I'm mostly trying to tone up.
- The meal plan is good - fresh fish is expensive (sushi-grade tuna??!!!)


New Goals
- To post my new goals regularly on this blog
- Be able to do 1 minute of mountain climbers without a break
- Balance being fit and eating cheese in France
- Spend more time thinking/meditating on spiritual things, less on physical things

SKinny jeans??!!! Scratch that! I'm "Making the Cut"

In order to help me with my "Skinny Jean Project" I ordered Jullian Michaels' (from The Biggest Loser) book "Making the Cut".

It's a 30-day program: fitness, food, supplements, etc. I just started to read the book and I am so excited. I've been battling the last 10 lbs for about 3 years now. I hope I can say goodbye to them by the end of 30 days.

She promises that I will be able to "RUN wearing a bikini!!" Don' t let me down Jillian!!! Not that I ever had a desire to run in a bikini, but if I were ever being chased by a....seagull? on the beach, I wouldn't mind looking fit and fine while I attempt my escape, sure, why not.

So the "Skinny Jean Project" has been abondoned (shocker!) and has morphed into a 30-day challenge.

If anyone is interested in joining me, send me a message, I would love to share info.

Tomorrow, I take my "goodbye" pictures, because I will never see those lbs again!

Here we go again!

ODE to MY #1 Fan & Supporter

Oh you who sees through green speckled lenses,
standing steady, fast, strong,
determined and firm, softly compromising
how your words sustain me
revive me, motivate me
to fight, to run, to live
not because you dream this for me,
but that my dreams may have life
you love the me I cannot love
oh you, you, you, you
this word - love - cannot encompass
these butterflies, heart beats,
shivers, thoughts, melodies
for you

PROJECT "SKINNY JEANS"

Day 3:

Project started 2 days ago.

Day 1 and 2 are not fit to be mentioned.

Pre-wedding jeans look like spandex on me.

My eating habits are crazy, out of hand.

Decided that jeans will fit in 30 days, minus the "muffin-top".

Want to feel and look like an athlete.

I feel tired and lethargic.

Hope to lose:

Fat

My infatuation with food

A few minutes from my best 5k time

Hope to Gain:

Muscle tone

Balance in my eating habits

Low-fat recipes of my fave foods

To motivate myself, I posted pictures of the infamous "skinny Spandexy Jeans". Stay tuned for updates! Guaranteed to be a crazy ride!

Photography by Deric Waters, ext. (extrordinaire)

Things I DESPERATELY want to believe

1. Food does not make me happy.
2. French fries and potato chips do more harm than the good that they taste.
3. Sunscreen is not an option.
4. I like my job.
5. There is a way to balance my love for cooking and my desire to stay fit.
6. The guy that just cut me off on the freeway is on the way home to save his favoriet childhood pet from eminent danger, and not just looking to get to happy hour 5 minutes faster.
7. I can control what upsets or angers me.
8. Food is not my friend.
9. Someday I will fit into my skinny jeans.

Back on the horse

Today started and ended well. Completed my run with Deric this morning, no stopping (which is a new favorite thing of mine to do, a.k.a. quitting). Had healthy lunch, breakfast, snack, and dinner. Going to bed feeling light and healthy!

Made pita pizzas for dinner, easy, quick, healthy, and delicious. Didn't put feta or basil on there, instead, spread a little pesto over the ricotta, yum.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Greek-Pizzas/Detail.aspx

Sad, Mad, Glad

Sad- that it's only taken me 1 week to break one of my "discipline" resolutions. I weighed myself. and found that I have not made any progress.

Mad- that I know what the solutions are, I've been here before, I've done this! "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!!" But I choose to do things that hurt my chances of success... "self-sabotage" is what Deric calls it.

Glad- that I have not given up on my goals and become complacent. A work in progress is still a work. It's over when I say it's over!

For fun, here's a list of what I ate today:

Breakfast: Slice Spinach Quiche, Sausage breakfast burrito

Snack: Cheez-it mix (2 cups), Fruit, cheese/crackers/salami, hummus/pita

Lunch: Tortilla chips with queso/guac; French Silk pie (which I baked), birthday cake with buttercream frosting (which I baked).

Afternoon snack: Shockingly not hungry yet!

Cherry-pitting, lemon juicing, processing FUN!

I have had the most fun this evening with my newest kitchen gadgets!!!

I recently brought a food processor, a device that I have been yearning for, but couldn't convince myself that I needed it.. but then I had to make Hummus, in bulk, and the recipe asked for the processor.. so of course I bought it. I bought one of the cheapest ones out there, a Hamilton Beach from Wal-mart.

So far I have made:
- A grotesque amount of hummus, after which I decided that the store-bought kind is better

-Pie Crust - my first pie ever!

- I sliced potatoes for scalloped potatoes, so easy!

- I grated Grueyere cheese for the potatoes, I will never hand-grate again!

I also bought a cherry pitter... a must! My father picked 200lbs of cherries this past weekend in Oregon, so I decided to make a pie. I attempted to pit exactly 2 cherries by hand. After a few nicks with the knife, I decided to spend the $13 and get one from Bed Bath & Beyond.

And finally, I bought a lemon juicer! I saw one at BB&B for $15, but then when I was at Wal-mart later, I found an almost identical one for $6, oh wallyworld, you rarely disappoint :)

Progress

Day 2:

Victories:

• I have worked out 4 days this week!
• I have not weighed myself since Monday night (so hard! used to weigh twice daily, minimum)
• I have been drinking more water
• I feel great!

Works in Progress:

• I ate Chex Mix yesterday (210 cal) because I forgot to pack an afternoon snack
• I ate 3 pieces of Dark Chocolate, at lunch, in my car (we'll just go ahead and call it a closet)
• Need to add Protein to my diet, probably will start adding whey protein to shakes
• Need to start drinking shakes
• Need to start keeping a calorie chart
• Need to make a list of things in life that are more important than weight-loss.

Other:

• I need to buy a cherry pitter

What I ate this weekend

Just to see how bad it was, and why I weigh 2-3 lbs more than I did before the weekend, I thought I would add up everything I ate last weekend.

Friday Night:
Hungarian Sausage
2 slices bread
Licorice (at the airport)
Mints
20 Crackers(at tab's house)
Peach salsa

Saturday:
Starbucks Sausage breakfast sandwich
Coffee w/cream
Cake doughnut
Trail mix
M&Ms
Prime Rib
Teriyaki Chicken
Rosemary potatoes
Bacon green beans
salad w/ thousand island
Shortbread cookie
Cheesecake
Chocolate/strawberry cake
Meatball soup

Sunday:
Raisin Bran w/milk
Romanian cakes (5 pieces)
Coffee w/ cream
1/2 cheeseburger (thanks Mackenzie!)
Hotdog
Corn on Cob
Green beans w/ extra bacon
grilled Veggies
Cherries
Bocana Dolce( an awesome meringue & berry dessert)

Weddings, Weightloss and Willpower

My sister Jen's wedding was this weekend. The wedding was beautiful, there was little to no drama, and there was alot of food... which I ate alot of, and when I was done eating, I ate some more...

Today is my 2nd year anniversary. It's been a wonderful 2 years :) To celebrate, we are probably going to eat something special, then I will want dessert... to reward me for being married a whopping 2 years, yes, I should have more food...

Anniversaries remind me of where I am and where I have come from... My closet full of jeans also does the same thing! I have jeans that I fit into currently (4 pairs). I have jeans from a few months ago that are pretty snug when I first put them on, but after a few squats and exaggerated lunges, they fit perfectly! Then I have my pre-wedding jeans... the jeans stop at mid thigh...
the sad part is that I know my body has changed since I got married, but I didn't realize how much!!! I can't believe that I ever fit into those jeans!!
when I married, I vowed not to "let myself go".. and although I don't think I let go completely, I'm just a doughnut and french fry away from throwing all caution to the wind and filling my life with indulgences.

What I am lacking is will power and discipline. yes, I said it.
I LACK DISCIPLINE!
I have other names for it, I have a dozen self-diagnosed psychological problems that I can blame my problems on, but I think I have finally come to terms that I am terrible at sticking with things, and have an even harder time finishing things. which makes me hope and pray that doesn't apply to all aspects of my life, just food.

So, as a commemoration of my wedding anniversary, I'm going to try to be committed to a healthy lifestyle for one month. For one month, I am going to try to live a disciplined life. I plan on writing about it - mostly to vent (because it will be hard!) but also I believe that it could be therapeutic (says Dr. Lyg).

So my following month will look as such:

• Exercise 5 days a week, no skipping for no reason! Even if it's just my 1 workout DVD!
• Low-calorie, lower carb diet, not completely low-carb, just less than I am eating now
• No scale hopping, no weighing myself or measuring body fat for 1 month
• No negative thoughts, i do not attend the school of positive thinking, however, it is very hard to achieve a goal if you are constantly telling yourself you can't do it.
• Limit adding fat to meals, some olive oil is good, but i need to eat more nuts and fish
• Mix it up! try new gym locations and classes to change up my workout routine.
• Watch less TV, less mindless entertainment = less mindless eating
• Cook only recipes with nutrional values, most healthy recipes have these
• PRAYER, to achieve the above, I cannot do it in my own strength.

Happy Days

My favorite things about today:

1. I have sore leg muscles (means they're on their way to looking fierce, not flabby :)
2. I only worked 8 hours!
3. I had 1/4 of a cake doughnut
4. I was able (by the grace of God, seriously took prayer) to not eat the other 3/4 of it.
5. I took a nap in my car at lunch because it was too cold inside the office ( it was 104 degrees outside)
6. I was able to speak my mind to a coworker without feeling guilty.
7. Someone guessed I weighed 104 lbs! (obviously someone very clueless) but I'll take it as a compliment.
8. Had pasta primavera for dinner, with fresh herbs off my window sill.

ahhhh

Weekends

Today I had an egg and coffee breakfast. I read Good Housekeeping, a really good article on "Emotinal Eating". Then I read my giant cookbook of "1000 Low Fat, low sugar, low cholesterol, low salt recipes". Very good read.

Deric played soccer and I mowed the lawn. Only fitting because I skipped my workout yesterday. Checked on the garden: we have an on-going supply of cherry tomatoes. Our okra is being attacked by aphids, i think. The mystery plant turned out to be butternut squash ( i was secretly hoping for spaghetti squash). Also, our lawn has become the local bird hang-out. We turned on our soaker hose, and a few minutes later, we had about 50 birds hopping around the hose, presumably bathing, so cute.

Made salmon burgers for lunch, on the Foreman, pretty tasty! Not dry like I though they would be.

Shopped, found two cute dresses for Jen's wedding! yay, hunt is over.

Had sushi and udon noodles! yum! i love the gummy texture of udon noodles, how you can sink your teeth into them.

Researched France a little more: Here are the things I will eat in france so far:
1. Fois Gras
2. Escargot (snails)
3. Truffles
4. Cheese
5. Stinky cheese
6. Bleu cheese
7. pate
8. duck
9. cassoulet
10. french sausage
11. clafouti
12. Les frites
13. Le pain au chocolat
14. Les bon bons
15. Le gateau
16. beure (homemade)

Things I will not eat in France:
1. Blood Sausage

Lists

Today I decided that my life needed organization. Because I simply cannot remember things by writing them on sticky notes and then forgetting where I put the sticky note..... so I will start making lists. Yes, lists will do it! I shall be organized.

Things I need to organize:

1. my thoughts

2. my pictures, (boxes upon boxes)

3. my spice cabinet

4. my pantry

5. my laundry room/garage/bike closet/tool shed

6. my junk drawer

7. my office closet

8. my mind

9. my gym bag

Things I've resolved to do this year so they dont make it on next year's resolution list:

1. get organized

2. get to my ultimate, goal, "i will be so happy" weight/%body fat

3. get my echocardiography license

4. stop worrying about my weight

5. stop adding fat to the meals I cook (ha ha)

Things I will probably not get done this year that will go on next year's resolution list:

1. (see above list)

oh, and it rained and hailed today! what???!!!! that's crazy! it was like 100 degrees here. the hail would hit the ground and melt instantly. so i took this pic, love it, so Texas: the American flag, the Ford Mustang, crepe myrtle blooming, and crazy rain.... ahhh....

Rest In Peace Ghidu

Ghidu

April 13, 1919 - June 19, 2009

My Grandfather, Nicolai Stremciuc, known as "Ghidu" to everyone. It means grandfather in Ukrainian.
He's gone to be with his Maker, and I believe it was a joyous reunion which we cannot imagine. He dedicated his whole life in the pursuit of knowing Christ and living for him. May his life be forever an example of how we should be deliberate and unwavering in the cause of Christ.
You will be missed Ghidu.

Tomato-Basil Bisque from Tom Thumb

This soup was worth writing about. Maybe I was just hungry, but it was GOOD! the only other tomato-basil soup i've had was at "la' Madelines", and this, surprisingly, tops that. Very good, creamy, stayed warm on my drive to work, has a little spicy kick at the end of each bite, num num! If you have a tom Thumb (same thing as Safeway) in your area, try it!

I still don't like hiking boots (shoes)

to a shoe fanatic, (like myself), the clunky hiking boot is definitely the ugly duckling in the bunch, okay maybe tied for last place with the high-top reebok velcro 1980's sneaker....and I swore never to buy a pair.

until we booked a trip to Yosemite with Reid and Tab,... Reid is a major hiker/climber, the real kind, has all the gear, has climbed real mountains... etc. so, we were told we need to buy hiking boots, blaugh! Deric already had a pair, so I had to trek to REI all by my hestitant self. I tell the shoe guy, who is clearly a climbing fiend, because he's wearing these "shoes" that are like toe socks, but have some rubber on the bottom, yes, the kind of thing that would only look good on a "real" climber.

So I tell the guy up front "I need a hiking boot, grrrr, but I refuse to buy a high-top boot!" And he looks at me like "oh you poor wanna-be girly-girl, you're gonna be miserable" I don't care! Listen, I may have blisters the size of australia after i'm done, but at least my legs will appear 3 inches longer without my ankle cut off! Yes, I may be vain,... but chances are I will probably wear these shoes less than 10 times in my life, so I'm not buying an ugly, clunky, high-top shoe ever again! Yes, i may be rediculously irrational and defiant, and I should probably take the advice of a climbing pro, but I'm not.

Hiking boots are ugly. period.

and I bought a low-top pair, which I am wearing around, trying to break them in, ick.. they don't even match my scrubs.. but they're semi-comfortable..

and i'm developing a blister on the outside of my right ankle, that's just part of breaking them in, right?

I just looked at the REI reviews for this shoe: not good, hmmmm. 3 out of 5 stars.. oh boy, am I in for some pain!