high five for friday

Can I just say that I'm more than a little happy that Friday is finally here!  This week seems like it zoomed by and I'm slowly putting the pieces back together.  As I look around my house I can see remnants from our life...more so the unfolded laundry still sitting in the laundry basket.  This summer I'm nannying three sweet girls, and I was very fortunate for a morning where I could turn the alarm clock off and not be anywhere until late morning.  Sometimes I think we need to listen to our bodies and what it is trying to tell us.  My mind was telling me all the things I should be doing but my body was begging me to stay in bed, relax, and catch up on sleep.  My body was right!  Here are some of the top moments of the week:

1. I successfully went to two bootcamps and finished this workout.  It looked much easier than it turned out to be, and in the end I did 4 rounds.  By the way, if you are looking for a good blog was great workouts, this is the one! 

2. The girls and I ventured out this week to see Despicable Me 2.  Priceless!  I think that I enjoyed it more than them :)

3. Daniel and I met some dear friends and went to our first outdoor summer concert.  There were food trucks, picnickers galore, a cool breeze, and great music filling the air.  It will definitely be one of many! 

4. Bread & Wine is now finished and sitting in my kitchen, and all I have to say is this is a book that will forever stay with me.  A friend came over for dinner this week and I pulled it out to make enchiladas.  I felt as thought I was cooking along side Shauna, calm and peaceful, filled with her wisdom, and put love into that dish.  (And it was phenomenal!)

5. Today I was able to visit a good friend up in Temecula and get some baby time in. She just had her second, Carson, and he was beyond adorable!  Trying to get that practice in now!

summer mexican quinoa

I feel as though there should be a sixth love language to add to the other amazing five, and if there were I would deem it "cooking".  For me, cooking is definitely one of my love languages.  I love making something out of basic ingredients, creating sweet goodness to nourish our bodies, and sharing it with others.  These experiences are meant to be shared, to cook for others, to love on others, and to create a sense of community around food.  It is no question that I love food, and this love for cooking is something that has been building up in my over the last couple of years.  My "happy place" is the kitchen.  There is a profound sense of peace that overcomes me when I'm in this place, my element. 

Daniel, on the other hand, sees food as fuel.  He could care less at times about how fresh the ingredients are, which are organic, or even if it was homemade.  He loves to eat, not cook.  

So, we have learned to compromise over the years.  Cooking is exquisite, but with it comes time-lots of time depending on the recipe, time to prep, time to clean up, time to cook.  And we don't always have this time.  So we have worked on compromising the amount of time spent on creating meals.  And it has challenged me to make easy and quick meals without sacrificing nutrition, health, and taste.  

The other night something magical happened in our kitchen.  I had an idea and ran with it, and it turned out amazing.  The best was that everything was ready within 25 minutes and clean up was minimal.  The husband smiled all throughout dinner, just from the taste but also because he didn't have lots of dishes to do afterwards.  And we learn from these moments.  These moments where we have compromised to help the other person, to love the other person, and we quickly remember this meal as a perfect weeknight meal that we both love.  

We are big fans of Daily Garnish's mexican quinoa with black beans, but I didn't want to cook a whole lot.  I was ready to chop.  And in the summer the last thing I wanted was a stove top full of heat to add to the summer heat.  So I created our own version of "mexican quinoa" with fresh, delicious ingredients, that all were prepared while the quinoa was cooking.  And right there in the kitchen, something magical happened! 

Summer Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 c. dry quinoa, rinsed

2 c. water

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

2 c. diced cherry tomatoes

1.5 cups corn

2 limes, juiced

1 Tbsp. cilantro

1 avocado, diced 

1 can black beans, rinsed

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chili powder 

Directions:

1.  Combine water and quinoa in a saucepan over medium heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.  Fluff with a fork when it is done cooking. 

2.  While the quinoa is cooking, chop the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. 

3. In a large bowl, combine bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, corn, black beans, and cilantro.  

4.  Add the cooked quinoa, salt, chili powder, and lime juice.  Stir to combine well.  Stir in diced avocado before serving. 

We served ours with quesadillas, mine made with an Ezekiel tortilla and monterey jack cheese.  Enjoy!! 

14 & 15 weeks

Second trimester is officially in full swing and all I think I can sum it up with one word: bliss.  Yes, pure bliss.  It's like the clouds have lifted and I can see the heavens!  Those dark clouds of nausea all day long, feeling like a zombie, wanting to curl up into a ball at any time of the day, looking at food and wishing it actually tasted better than how it made you feel and yet you force it down because it will be your saving grace to tide over your ever-upset stomach. Yes, second trimester sure has treated me well!  

I'm beyond thankful that I'm feeling great.  The only things that have caught me off guard is this new found insomnia.  This girl just isn't tired when it comes to bed time, and then I end up tossing all night long, not falling into a good sleep until 2am.  There's no body aches or anything contributing to it, just a mind that is on overdrive at night time.  I'm going to try drinking chamomile tea at night time as well as taking a warm bath to see if that helps because I'm left exhausted the following day. 

This past weekend I ended up getting my first maternity outfit.  Everything has still been fitting me, which I've been so thankful for, but there was a maxi skirt and tank top at Target that were so soft and luscious, they basically had my name all over them.  And they did not disappoint.  I also bought a white top which I'm wearing during 15 weeks, the other one was getting a little bit tight.  I'm still waiting for the belly to "pop".  Maybe it has?  I just can't tell. 

I plan on writing more about exercising when pregnant, but I wanted to share how that has been going for me.  I'm still able to run 3-4 days a week, although my pace has slowed down and I'm getting winded a bit easier.  I go to a bootcamp one day a week at the beach and have been able to keep up.  Modifications are made for plyometric moves as well as abdominal moves.  70% is the new 100%.  My instructor told me that you don't want to be winded because your baby's oxygen is caught off as soon as yours is.  So, working out at a 70% intensity level is what is best during pregnancy.  Sadly, I've found it more difficult to exercise because I'm so tired in the mornings due to the lack of sleep and am feeling a bit unmotivated.  I did swim laps last Friday, which is something I haven't done for a good 5 years.  Holy smokes!  What a workout.  I only swam for 30 minutes, and boy was I tired (and so sore the following day).  That is something I definitely plan on keeping up with during this pregnancy.  

Each day we pray over our sweet baby boy, and I just can't find words to express how much I love these moments.  We pray for his development, his health, for him to love God with all his heart.  

Next steps: registering!  And I'm already completely overwhelmed with just where to register.  I'm hoping to nail that down by the end of the week but any suggestions would be so lovely!