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The Barn

Cold and Sunny

It was COLD in Asheville this weekend...and this girl was not prepared. Having not even considered checking the weather I packed nothing but sundresses and a pair of jeggings for the weekend only to get there and suffer through 60 degree and windy weather all weekend. It was gorgeous and sunny, but freaking cold! I caught a chill that I haven't been able to shake. After a long hot shower after getting home and packing bed buddies (rice filled sacks you heat in the microwave) around me in the bed I finally warmed up enough to sleep. Only to wake up to overcast skies this morning and a cool high of 60 degree weather day. Not cool for May. Not cool!

So rewind to Friday. After work I headed out solo to Asheville. Husband had a weekend filled with studying ahead of him and I had Mother's Day, a graduation party, and my birthday to celebrate.

A little fast food for the drive :)

When I got into town I met Mom and Dad at Papa's & Beer for dinner. This veggie burrito was the size of my head and I ate every last bite, as well as most of the rice. Driving over to the in laws to say hello and open a few pre-birthday gifts I seriously thought I had reached a record point in my life. I was so full I literally thought my stomach sack (is there even such a thing?) was going to explode I was so full. Healthy eating or not, eating 3 times your weight in food is never good for you! Word to the wise!

The in-laws greeted me with a celebratory Shock Top and some wonderful gifts including...GLASS STRAWS and a SPIRALIZER!!! Those birthday wish lists work after all! I am so blessed to have gained such a wonderful family!

The next morning in spite of wanting to sleep in, I woke up at 7:45. The sun was shining and I had planned a morning run with my best friend Lu at 10 so I decided to go with it. I wasn't convinced Lucy would show up after a late night text message declaring her exhaustion so I went ahead and fixed a breakfast of two scrambled eggs and some chocolate milk (hey it's my birthday!) and let it digest, sent her a text asking once more if she was in, and after no response for 30 minutes I went on over to the track to get my run in. I'm training for my first half marathon, which doesn't take place until November, but the idea of 13.1 miles seems insane to me so I think I need A LOT of training! Saturday's long run was supposed to be 4.5 miles.

I got two miles in and stopped for a second to check my phone to see if Lu had responded and sure enough she was on her way. A few minutes later she came in with her Mom and her sis. I love a group Saturday morning workout! Lu and I ran, her mom walked, her sis ran the trail and did stairs. With a total of 4.5 miles under my belt I sprinted across my finish line.

A quick shower was had and the Lu and I met our third amigo at the Laughing Seed downtown, a vegetarian restaurant with so much variety you couldn't ask for more! I was so excited to eat there. I ate there a LONG time ago, well before I could really appreciate everything they had to offer.

Two loves of my life!

Bloody Marys just cause...

Sundried Tomato & Artichoke Hummus...

Add another to this plate :) I was a hungry girl this weekend!

The Fireside Open Face: Oven roasted root vegetables tossed with garlic and herbs piled on grilled focaccia bread with sunflower spinach pesto and warm cashew bearnaise sauce. Served with a side salad and choice of dressing.

Unbelievable.

The three amigos...

Lu surprised me with a beautiful pearl necklace and a book for my birthday. She is one of the best friends a girl could ask for!

Once again I totally failed to take pictures from that point on. Lu and I ran a few errands and then I made my way to the graduation party for my Brother-from-another-mother. I struggled a bit in the eating arena here. On the menu was catered BBQ with all the fixings, so baked beans (with bacon), potato salad, cole slaw and bread. I think I had a pound of potato salad. Luckily Aunt Jill came to the rescue with some baked squash sent by my Mamaw (she was trying to make her typical fried squash a little healthier). I scarfed it down in 2.5 nano seconds.

When the party finally ended we went back to my parents house and ended up talking, over waters (no lie!), until 3:00 in the morning! There isn't much that can replace deep conversation with your family in the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday was church and then a birthday and mother's day celebration dinner on my Grandparent's patio. I don't ever remember receiving so many gifts! Earth Fare coupons, camping shorts and Life Is Good Tees, a table cooler, new Performance Tevas (there is a story here, but I will have to tell it another time), greenery (cash) for a dehydrator (Excaliber here I come!). Absolutely amazing.

Belly full, sunny nap taken while rocking in a chair with the cool breeze blowing on my face, water packed in my Tervis I hit the road to go home to my Prince. The days are getting few :(

Will snapped some photos of the sun coming through the front door. We painted our front door red a little while ago and it puts off the prettiest amber light in our living room.

And he picked flowers for me...

Snuggled up in his arms I fell asleep immediately.

And apparently snored because he kept elbowing me telling me to stop.

Birthday recap coming soon!

Latest ChickSpeak Article: My new BC

Check out my latest article discussing my experience with IUDs.

And as an update, it's been just over a week since having it inserted and I am pain free and feel totally normal. At this point I'm definitely thinking it was SO worth it!

I'm Back in Middle School

Good Friday AM to you! If you have been wondering where I've been, I've been doing a lot of nothing. Husband's exam pressure is finally letting up and I've been trying to cherish every spare moment I have with him as we count down the days till he leaves :(

So as I was driving to work this morning I was jamming to some 90's on 9 (sirius/xm). You know when a song comes on and you are instantly transported back in time? Tootsie Roll came on and suddenly I was back in my best friend Ree's parent's basement, at one of our awesome middle school parties, dancing my booty off. We thought we were so cool. And Tootsie Roll was MY song.

We always had the best parties. Eating lots of pizza, dancing a little too inappropriately for our age :-o and watching old horror movies in the dark. Our little group had grown up together playing in the same softball and baseball little leagues. Our parents had all been friends since waaayy back and it wasn't uncommon for our sleepevers to be coed. Mutli-level water fights ensued, parents included, running through the house sliding in our socks on the wood floors (I broke my tailbone doing this), tent camping in the backyard...man those were the days!

Do any of you have precious memories you will treasure forever?? Tell me about them!

And to plug a friendly reminder: DON'T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR MOM A BIG HUG AND A KISS THIS MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I'm going to Asheville today, alone :(, to celebrate Mother's Day, a graduation party and my birthday. I'm a little sad to be celebrating my b-day alone for the second time in a row, gosh darn those exams! But I do love getting to spend the time with my wonderful family...and receiving prezzies of course :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Meal Planning 101: An Introduction

In our society where fast food and prepackaged frozen meals reign supreme, meal planning has become a lost art. For some reason it has always come naturally to me. I mean you take inventory of your pantry and fridge, think about what you want to eat for the week, and go buy what you still need. Easy as pie right?

Not so much I'm finding. I've listened to countless conversations at work, both with other employees as well as self dialogue about lunch options or dinner plans. So many people have no idea what their next meal is going to be. Not meaning that they can't afford to buy something, but that they literally haven't taken the time to think about it! I don't know if it's because I plan every little aspect of my life or what but that would drive me crazy! Not to mention that I know that my stomach is going to be growling a couple hours after lunch and I need to make sure I've got something decent around to quiet it so that my coworkers don't give me the stink eye (not really).

Beyond the general living meal to meal I've also talked to many people who tell me how much money they spend buying groceries and food each month. I could seriously eat nothing but ribeye steaks, truffled delicacies, and exotic taste pleasers for every meal with what they spend. After I pick my jaw up off the table, my next question is always, "Do you plan your meals??" to which they almost always answer, "I try but not really."

I strongly believe one of the first steps towards healthy eating is getting a strong hold on your pantry and fridge. And this starts with meal planning. Will and I may live on a shoe string budget, but don't think for a second that we don't eat like kings and it is because we make the most effective use of what we have.

So many people offer the excuse that they don't eat healthy or are overweight because they just "love food too much" but I have a hard time believing they truly love food if they aren't willing to spending some time working with it and cooking it. Or at least eating REAL food. What they love are the chemicals and additives that keep them addicted to McDonald's hamburgers and Honey Buns.

This is going to be a multi part guide to meal planning. After discussing how I plan our meals weekly, providing you with meal planning tools and customizable shopping lists, and identifying pantry and fridge staples I hope to show you that meal planning can become second nature, making you, your waistline and your wallet happy.

Fashion for the REAL World: Yard Sale Spends

Having once considered myself a shopping guru I came to a very odd realization a couple of days ago. Living on a single income and getting Will through school has all but halted any frivolous spending including but not limited to: impulse purchases, weekly top or dress updates, special occassion-must-have-the-perfect-outfit buys, and even my-basics-have-holes-in-them-necessary-replacements. Over the past year and a half I have been "editing" my wardrobe tossing anything that its worn looking, I'm tired of, or just doesn't fit right anymore into the yard sale pile.

The good news: this provided me with a massive heap of stuff to sell at the yard sale
The bad news: my closet is a sea of black and white solid shirts and is a black hole for inspiration

I could seriously toss every single thing in it and not think twice.

Lucky for me I sold my heart out Saturday and made the declaration that anything I made would be put to good use to restock my closet.

Fifteen senteces later...my realization was that I have forgotten how to shop! With money in my hand (literally, tons of cash, mostly ones making me look like a stripper who had a good night) I hopped online to peruse some sites to get a good idea of what I wanted to buy. The first signs of losing my shopping skills began to appear...

1. I had no more fav sites (I mean Anthro obvi but I was trying to buy a lot of stuff on a limited budget so it was not so much in the equation)

2. Due to my job's nature I see the trends in formal presentations literally a year or more before they hit the stores for the general public. Because of this I am generally tired of the trends by the time they become available to buy in stores close to me and within a reasonable price range. The result - I only want to purchase things I know will not fall out of trend quickly and that I won't grow tired of after wearing twice...basically narrowing it down to almost nothing :( Do you understand now why my closet is laden with solid black and white shirts???

3. Also due to my job I am super critical of every garment I look at. I like the print but don't like the body, I like the body but hate the print, the pink is too pepto, the khaki is too green, the material feels/look cheap, I don't like where the hem hits...you get the picture.

The more I searched the less I found and the more my frustration increased. I need clothes but I can't decide on anything!

When in this predicament I do something that I really hope isn't all that strange. I pull up a word doc and throw pictures of everything I'm considering into it. At this point I edit out things that can't be mixed and matched. I make sure outfits can be made and that I have accessories either at home or in my cart to go with it all. I determine key pieces that I know I want and layer around them. And when I am finally satisfied I place my order.

This was really my first time rebuilding my wardrobe. Until now I usually just picked up random pieces if I liked them or bought things as I needed them. I've never really took a step back and thought about what I need, what I want and prioritized accordingly. Needing to stretch my dollars I'm a little sad to say that the majority of my purchases came from Forever 21. I wish I could say that I've grown out of that store, but you really just can't beat cheap fashion. And since I realize even through careful selection much of what I bought is going to be out of style by next summer, I couldn't bring myself to spend my hard earned money on the more expensive (and better quality) things.

You are probably wondering what made it to the final order? I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat by now right?...hello?...Are you still reading? Oh I'm sure you're still there :)

Spring/Summer Wardrobe Additions: (I won't show them all, I know I've bored you enough)

Pick a shirt! Any shirt!

Veggie Starvation

I can't decide if I'm happy or sad that it's already Sunday night. It has been a busy and productive weekend! After cleaning out our shed last week and taking three carloads of stuff to my Aunt's for the yard sale I drove straight to her house after work Friday and started setting up. It never ceases to amaze me the incredible pile of junk that I can accumulate. We generally do these yard sales twice a year and I STILL fill table after table after tarp full of stuff!

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning to get in a quick breakfast (homemade quiche) before opening the garage door. People literally start hovering like vultures anywhere from 6:30-7:30 in the morning! I generally have an obscene amount of clothes to sell and have been lucky enough to earn some repeat customers over the years so I make pretty good money on the resale :)

We haggled and sold for a solid 5 hours before we finally collected what was left and donated it to the Kidney Foundation. Tax write off plus a little cash in my pocket is always a good thing! I was selling like a champ so I don't have any pictures of my own, but hopefully I can convince the Sis and my Aunt to email pics to post later.

My parents came down that afternoon because we were all going to the Quail Hollow Championship today. (Un)Lucky us the high today was 91 degrees!!! It was H.O.T.! But we did get to see Phil Mickelson and the eventual winner Rory McIlroy. I'm not generally a big golf fan but I do love walking around a beautiful course in the sunshine, people watching and seeing the players up close. Makes the game a little less boring :-o Again no pics, they didn't allow cameras or phones in.

We ended the afternoon watching the end of the tournament at Bonefish Grill over some much needed water and Bang Bang Shrimp. I swear these little spicy fried shrimp delectables are uh-mazing!

I have now showered, cleaned the house, packed my lunch and finally sat down to catch up on blogging. Husband has studied all weekend so I haven't seen him more than 30 minutes total. We still haven't turned on our air and it is literally 85 degrees in our house. I'm so not cool with sweating while I sleep so there may have to be a discussion once Husband gets home.

I do have a question for your guys. This weekend although trying my best maintain a semi-healthy diet I have totally failed. We had pizza Friday night and again as leftovers for lunch Saturday. Quiche for breakfast Saturday which wasn't so bad, and then smoked pork barbecue, homemade slaw, baked beans and bacon wrapped corn on the cob for dinner Saturday night. By today I was craving anything green so I made a huge green monster for breakfast, only to get to the tournament and find that they didn't have a single vegetarian menu option and none of the other options even had so much as a tomato or lettuce on it. I feel like I'm on veggie starvation.

So my question after my ridiculously long recap...when you are out with friends or at a big event where there are no healthy options available what do you do??? I wasn't allowed to bring food or drink in and we were there for 5 hours so I needed food but was almost distraught with the choices.

Stay tuned for:

Meal Planning 101

Guys turn your head...I'm talking about birth control

Garden Update

Rainbows and Bunnies

Yesterday while driving home I was surprised by a rainbow. In spite of the dreary weather it was a colorful little bright spot in my day :)

I also saw a bunny while running last week. Have you ever seen any wildlife while on a run? Makes your heart smile a little :)

I had planned go home and run to the tanning bed and back, the rain had other plans. It had sprinkled a drop or two on my way home and then as soon as I stepped out of the car at the house it started pouring. I paused for about 2 seconds and considered just running in the rain. It wouldn't be the first time, although I can't say that I've ran when it was raining THAT hard. Standing there in my heels, freezing because I forgot a sweater and looking at the crap weather, I decided to just stay inside. That killed me having not ran since Saturday. I get so antsy if I go more than a day or two.

Will was/is entrenched in studying for his exams and wasn't going to be home for supper so I Facebooked for a while, checked email, should have blogged but didn't, then finally got so bored I decided to cook.

This week in the Chez Jamison Test Kitchen...

Black Bean Couscous Burgers

(yes I realize everyone and their brother has made black bean burgers, but this was my first time)

Ingredients

1 can Black Beans Drained (I actually soaked and cooked dry beans)

1/2 med Onion Chopped or Wedged

1/2 Green Pepper

3/4 c Couscous Cooked

1 T Garlic Minced

2 T Chili Powder

1 T Paprika

1 T Oregano

1 T Basil

S & P

1/2 c Breadcrumbs (I used dry oats because we didn't have bread)

1. Mash beans or process in food processor

2. Add rest of ingredients and pulse until mixed evenly

3. Form into patties and pan fry until crust is formed. (I also sprinkled them with Montreal Steak Seasoning at this point, love that stuff!)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until heated through

I didn't have buns so I ate my patty with ketchup and paired it with carrot fries and kale chips.

Carrot Fries

Ingredients

4 Large Carrots

Olive Oil

S & P

1. Julienne the carrots into fry-like pieces

2. Toss in oil, salt and pepper

3. Spread out on a cookie sheet

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes

CJ Thoughts: The carrot fries were delish as were the kale chips as usual. The burger was kind of bland. Definitely edible, and definitely looked pretty, but overall I think the veggie factor needs to be amped up and I need to be a little more creative with the spices. I am taking any suggestions!

This was about number 500,234,184 of my fails this week. It's like nothing will turn out right in the kitchen. I attempted a Vegan Asparagus Mascarpone and it bombed. Which was especially frustrating since buying all the ingredients I thought would make the perfect vegan mascarpone FAR out costed a simple $5 tub of the delectable cream. I won't be posting that recipe or the second attempt that was at least edible.

I have also failed at making fish tacos, totally didn't cook the fish all the way but luckily Husband and I seem to be surviving. I tried making a healthier chocolate no bake cookie (you know the cow patty ones?) and it turned out pretty terrible. I know I can get that one right just need some time.

I made up my run to the tanning bed today knocking out about 4 miles in 40 mins (split into two runs due to a 10 min tanning break). It felt so good to be back out in the sunshine. I think anyone could learn to love running if they could just run in a breezy 70 degree sunny day. The sun on your shoulders is like a warm blanket of happiness!

Then I had another semi-fail. Although I know by correctly one small mistake it would have been amazing.

Simple Blue Cheese Sauce & Pasta

Ingredients

1/4 c Blue Cheese Crumbles

1/2 c UNSWEETENED Almond Milk (I didn't realize I had bought the sweetened vanilla version until Husband pointed it out)

1 tsp Cornstarch

1 T Garlic Minced

2 c Whole Wheat Pasta Cooked (I used penne)

Veggies of Choice (I used sauteed mushrooms and blanched asparagus)

1. Heat milk over medium heat

2. Add blue cheese and garlic and heat until cheese is melted, making sure to whisk constantly to avoid scorching

3. Add cornstarch and whisk constantly to avoid clumping and heat until thickened.

4. Toss with cooked pasta and veggies and serve

The semi-fail was using the sweetened milk. Blue cheese goes great with sweet flavors like honey but tonight I really wanted savory so the slight hint of sweet was a total turn off. It was still really tasty so I know making that small correction would have resulted in something fantastic.

Side Note: You can make this sauce with any cheese really. We have made it with gorgonzola, gouda, gruyere, etc...

Sipped on a gingerade kombucha. Not my fav but still better than sugary sodas!

Husband is home and has his lunch packed, I've got a long day tomorrow so we are hitting the sack.

Before I go here is a little question for you my loyal readers (feel free to laugh, I know that is a pushing it a little haha)...

Do any of you have suggestions or requests for recipes you would like for me to try? I usually peruse the blogosphere and various cooking websites and build a small collection of recipes which I refer back to when I plan out our meals for the week. If you haven't had the time or will to try something let me know and I will do my best to give it a shot and let you know the outcome :)

Arborsculpting

This has absolutely nothing to do with food, fitness or my so called life :) (90s flashback anyone?)

I saw this on Apartment Therapy and it has to be one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time!

Axel Erlandson started experimenting in the 1920s and learned to design patterns in the trees by pruning and grafting.

I think these are simply amazing. Apparently you can still see them in the Gilroy Gardens in CA. I may need to take a trip!

Can I Get A Redo?

After making a million trips up and down Jill's stairs to unload all the yard sale stuff I finally got some down time to relax. The sis came over and while Jill cooked we caught up on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Husband and I don't have cable, and we definitely don't miss having it thanks to Netflix instant play and Hulu.com but it is nice to spend some quality time with DVR now and then ;)

Dinner was a new take on an old family recipe. I'm not sure where this all originated but there have been numerous family events and dinners where this has been the prized dish. The original recipe is a combination of cabbage, onion, sausage, bacon, montreal steak seasoning and I think occasionally some potatoes all sauteed down with some butter and oil in a wok on the grill. Jill kept it pretty close to the same minus the bacon. The bottom was a layer of chopped potatoes (since they needed more time to cook she kept them closer to the flame), then a mess of chopped cabbage, red onion, italian and smoked sausage, butter, montreal steak seasoning (can you tell my family likes this stuff?) and a light spray of EVOO. Grill till tender, usually about 30 minutes.

Jim could have cared less about the goings on of the kitchen, he just wanted to be outside...

Jeannie just wanted me out of her face...

Look over here Jeannie!

Close enough!

I love this meal so much. It's the perfect simple comfort food. I had about 3 slices of sausage but I loaded up on the veggie goodness. Basically this times 2 :)

And I tried out the 13 Rebels from the French Broad Brewery in Asheville, a little present from my MIL.

YUM!

We ended the night taking in some fresh air in the front driveway. Unlike my crappy neighborhood, Jill's neighbors actually socialize with each other!

Today was busy. In a good way. I can't stand to be bored. Work went by pretty quickly and I had a cooking to do list a mile long for tonight. Because Will has begun exam studying he will be M.I.A. for the next three weeks. As I mentioned before we have our big yard sale this weekend and we are still loads away from having it all transported to Jill's, I have a small procedure going on Thursday, and could possibly be worthless Friday. So everything including lunch and dinner for the rest of the weekend pretty much needed to happen tonight.

On the menu this week:

Dinner

Black Bean & Couscous Burgers

Vegan Asparagus Mascarpone (attempted this tonight and it took two tries to get a semi-decent success)

Lunch

Fish Tacos

Buffalo Tofu & Blue Cheese Wraps

I only tried a little section of these babies but let's just suffice it to say that I am EXCITED about lunch tomorrow!

Buffalo Tofu & Blue Cheese Wraps

Ingredients

1 Package Extra Firm Tofu Drained & Pressed

Frank's Hot Sauce

Blue Cheese Crumbles (or dressing)

Lettuce

Tortilla

1. Cut tofu into cutlets and marinate in hot sauce

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes each side, basting with hot sauce when turning

3. Wrap in tortilla with lettuce and blue cheese crumbles.

Feast on the goodness!!

You could also bread these and make them just like hot wings...

I got everything cooked minus the burgers. I will tackle those after a good long run tomorrow night. Between grocery store runs and cooking fails I lost all time tonight and am WAY past my bed time AND I still need a shower!

Goodbye Monday! Hello Tuesday!