insert happy dance here

I keep coming back to this scripture over and over these past few weeks.  It is a perfect promise of how God will provide for you, and when you see that promise face to face, all you can do is smile, take a breath, and thank the One that made it happen. 

Daniel and I have dubbed this season in our life the "Sweet Season".  And for the first time in three years, we can finally say this.  There have been lots of moments of joy, but there have also been lots of trials.  Many trials.  And though these trials haven't seen trivial, they have hurt and challenged us.  The past three years I have juggled teaching full time and getting my masters/reading specialist credential.  And in just three weeks, we will get to close this chapter of our lives. 

And it feels as though a snowball effect has been occurring as our chapter comes to a close.  

Last week, this beauty came in the mail.....I officially passed my comp exams.  That weekend from, you know where, is now a chapter in the books.  (By the way, I'm not a Mr. SDSU.) 

Yesterday I turned in my thesis, freshly printed, bound, and shining like a diamond, to my professor.  That felt amazing.  

And to top it all off, we payed off Daniel's student loans this week as well!  That feels like a huge triumph, and all I can say is that I am incredibly proud of my husband and how he has led us financially to allow this to happen.  (Now if only mine would disappear!) 

So excuse us if you see us doing a little happy dance inside Trader Joe's or walking to the mail box, we are embracing this sweet season with open arms and give all the glory to God! 

my hair must-haves

I love my hair!  And that may sound a little forward of me to say, but out of everything it is the one thing that I have that makes me feel good.  And I think it's important for us to embrace the parts of us that make us feel good about ourselves.  However, it is thick.  And that definitely comes with downsides. 

We seem to always want what we don't have.  When I was younger I remember begging my mom for a perm, but a soft perm..so I could have curly hair all of the time.  Thank you, mom, for NEVER letting me do this.  We have straight hair?  Curly is the answer!  Blonde?  Let's go brown!  Well, I haven't wished for thin hair yet, but it is getting close.  Let me enlighten you on the downsides of thick hair:

-in 6th grade you offically have to get your hair "styles"-layers and all

-blow drying your hair should be a sport because you're a sweaty mess afterwards

-"doing your hair" requires at least 40 minutes

-no matter how many bobby pins you put in that chignon, it is going to fall any minute

-hair ties constantly break on you in the middle of putting your hair in a pony tail

-hair ties have to go around 3 times, not 2, 3 because then it will stay

-it is obvious to you when it's is a month out from needing a hair cut, it's heavy, it does nothing, and it is begging for those thinning shears!  

Lately my hair has looked like this because I'm in desperate need of a hair cut (dear Saturday, can you be tomorrow???)

Well I do have a couple tricks up my sleeve and I wanted to share with you the two latest products I have been introduced to that I swear I would take with me on a deserted island.  

Loreal Mythic Oil:  This is like the answer to my prayers.  I blow my dry until it's half way dry, then put one pump in my hands and brush my hands through my hair.  It makes my hair much more manageable when I'm blow drying.  When my hair is dry, I can also put it on, and it takes all the frizz away and my curls just lay perfectly.  

Bio Ionic Blow Dryer:  My mom got this for me as a birthday present, and she ordered it through our hair dresser.  The tagline for this blow dryer is "a conditioner on a cord".  Oh.  My. Word.  This costs a pretty penny and it is worth every cent!  It cuts down on my dry time, and makes it so manageable.  It leaves my hair soft and smooth.  And you better believe that it travels with me.  Hotel blow dryers just don't count.  

meal planning with our CSA box

That, my friends, is part of our glorious goods from our CSA box.  What's a CSA box?  I'm so glad you asked!

CSA stands for Community Shared Agriculture, and it is where local farms provide delivery services of their crops.  The boxes are identical, and you get fresh, organic produce straight from the farm.  We get our through Be Wise Ranch, and if you live in San Diego, I highly recommend it.  They have so many pick-up locations, and their produce is outstanding.  We pay $30 for our box, but we share it each week with one of my friends.  You never know what you're going to get, but it has helped us eat fruits and veggies that are in season and has challenged my cooking a bit.  Collard greens..I'm talking to you.  We got them for almost two months straight, and now I am a pro at coming up with recipes to use them in. 

Something that I am passionate about is cooking fresh meals, each day, and giving our bodies whole foods.  Rarely do our meals consist of processed food.  This may seem hard to find the time, but when you are passionate about something you make it happen.  I've been wanting to buy organic produce, but the prices just weren't affordable for us.  Our CSA box allows us to get organic foods at a much smaller price than the grocery store.  Daniel was never one for veggies, but he is more motivated to try something if it was from our box.  He gets all excited about it!  

Since we don't know what we get each week, I wait until we pick up our box before I meal plan.  I do my best to incorporate the items we get in the box in our meal plan for the week so that nothing goes to waste.  Meal planning makes life much easier.  After working all day, and possibly going to class, it is amazing to come home and know exactly what I'm making and have everything ready!  I thought I'd share our weekly meal plan with you!  If you're looking for a recipe to make, you should definitely try out on of these!

Our box this week included:

broccoli

asparagus

avocado

artichokes

spring mix

radishes

zucchini

kale

mustard greens

oranges

parsley

cabbage

And here's our line-up for cooking this week:

SUNDAY: Grilled steaks, artichokes with roasted red pepper dip, grilled zucchini, sweet potato fries

This meal was delicious, the picture doesn't do it justice.  And it was our first time using the grill this spring to commemorate the gorgeous weather we had! 

MONDAY: Skinnytaste Mushroom & Kale Lasagna Rolls with Asparagus

**Using the kale and asparagus

TUESDAY: Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema 

**Using the cabbage

WEDNESDAY: Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese 

**Using the broccoli

THURSDAY: Mexican Quinoa with grilled chicken 

**Using the avocado 

Typically I try to juice any produce that is left over.  Beets and apples have been my go to.  Also, I use the spring mix for lunches to make salads, and toss some radishes on there.  

Hope you try out one of these recipes!