Trading Favors

I think we got the better end of a trading deal this week with my sister and brother-in-law.

Sunday Paul and I watched Joel and Molly while Liz & Scott had their Connection Group.

Of course, both kids adore Uncle Paul!

Molly wasn't digging her swing that night, but Joel was! He hung out in the swing and watched Super Why all night!

Tonight Scott came over to help me hang up pegboard in the garage. (And by help me, I mean he did 99% of the work...)

Sometime within the next few weeks, I'm going to add more shelves to the right side, put in a white cabinet under it all, CLEAN out the garage and paint a big red N on the pegboard. Stay tuned for before and after photos!

Like I said, I think we got the sweet end of that deal! Hanging out with Joel & Molly vs. hanging pegboard? Easy question! :)

Whole Grains and You!

I thought I'd share a few of our new favorite carbs and how we prepare them during the week. :)

No, not donuts or Snickers..es... Snickerses... (insert plural form of Snickers here)

First up - my newest discovery: Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Cereal

So far we've only tried the Warm Cinnamon. It's awesome! It tastes like pumpkin pie and is extremely good for you. Only 23g of carbs per serving, lots of dietary fiber and even 4g of protein.

Pictured next - Quick Barley and Joseph's Lavash Bread

We'll start with the barley. Every Sunday, I make a giant pot of beef barley soup to have as lunch during the week. It's a great combo of lean protein, whole grains (barley) and tons of veggies.

Em's Beef Barley Soup

1lb lean steak (eye of round?) cut into 1/2 inch pieces

4 carrots cut into little discs

1 package Pick'd Sweet Seasoning Mix (frozen chopped onions, peppers and celery)

1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach

4 boxes beef broth

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup dry quick barley

In a big 'ol soup pot, brown the beef on high heat. (don't worry about cooking through - just get a nice crust on the beef) Take out beef and set aside. Pour all veggies except spinach into the same pot. Use wooden spoon to scrape up beef remains at bottom of pot. Cook veggies for 5 minutes. Add a bit of beef broth to deglaze the pot. Add the rest of the beef broth. Bring to a boil. Add frozen chopped spinach. Bring back up to a boil. Add barley and keep at rolling boil for 10-15 minutes.

Mmmm!! Super good! A whole bowl is about 3 or 4 Weight Watchers points.

I also use the quick barley as a side dish for grilled chicken or fish. I cook the barley (1/3 cup) according to the instructions. (sometimes I add chicken bouillon to the cooking water) Add a bit of spray butter (or Butter Buds), 4 tbsp parmesan cheese and 2 tbsp light sour cream.

As for Joseph's lavash bread... whoa baby! They're huge! Over 12 inches long and 8 inches wide. They make killer wraps and you can cut them into four pieces for fajitas. They have a ton of dietary fiber and protein, only 17g of carbs for an entire piece, 100 calories and are made of a few very healthy ingredients. (lots of flax seed!) Paul and I have lavash bread pizzas multiple times during the week. Take the lavash bread, put it on a cookie sheet (spray the pan first), put down a couple tablespoons of light Ragu, sprinkle 2oz of cooked ground turkey or turkey pepperoni, 1/2 cup of 2% or fat free cheese and some of that frozen seasoning blend (onions, peppers and celery) and pop it in the oven at 450 for 10-12 minutes. Super awesome!

More updates later ...

Inspired to Return

My co-worker/friend Ashley has inspired me to get our blog started back up again. With everything we've got going on this fall, phone calls are going to be few and far between. So I figured I'd start blogging again to keep Mom informed :) and as a kind of record for us to look back on.


Excuse the quality of my pictures for the next couple of months. My digital camera ran away so most photos will be Blackberry photos.


Not a lot has changed around the house this summer. We've been movin' and groovin' a lot, so we haven't exactly been swimming in extra time. We did get a new tree! It's an Autumn Blaze Maple. The leaves are just now starting to turn a bit red. It's still a little guy, but it's supposed to grow quickly.

Within the next couple of weeks I plan on digging out some of the sod in front of that front window and putting down rock so next spring we can plant some... I don't know... shrubs? flowers? We're also finally going to hang the pegboard in the garage and clean that up a bit. The Ankeny High School construction class is going to come finish our basement this fall! We're pretty excited about that! Hopefully by early next year we'll have a game room and another bedroom! I'm already thinking decoratey thoughts!

Fall is very busy. Paul is done with actual classes for grad school, so he's doing his Practicum right now. This means he's got a few papers due over the next 6 months and he's spending a few hours a week working on a substance abuse program at work. He will graduate with his MSW in May.

Hopefully I'll be graduating in May as well with my MBA. I'm doubling up on classes for the next few terms. I'm taking a stat class right now that's no fun at all. But I play volleyball with a girl who is a stat wizard, so I have help if I need it.

I'm beginning to instruct cardio kickboxing at Farrell's. I've lead a few warm-ups and this week I start instructing full classes. Paul started his 10-Week Extreme Body Shaping in August and he's doing really well! He's done with 4 of the 10 weeks and you can already tell a difference. I'll make sure to post before and after pictures when it's all done.

Parsley, Capone and Rex are doing very well. Parsley had a very big day on Friday! She helped me take pictures at the Ankeny Dog Park grand opening and she got to meet Ankeny's Mayor! She gave him smooches and talked politics with him for a bit before posing for a ribbon cutting picture.

That's all for now! More updates to come ...