Unique Ideas for Valentine's Day

This morning I didn't get a phone call to sub until 6:30, so it was a bit of a scramble getting out the door. On one hand, I miss the regular schedule that a full time position provides, but I also can't complain about the lack of grading and lack of stress in subbing. It's glorious to be able to come home and focus on the house, getting ready for baby, making dinner, etc., rather than stretching myself too thin with grades and papers and lesson planning. If I end up with a full time teaching position next year, I know I'll be thrilled, because I really do love it, but I've also grown to appreciate the ability to relax at the end of the day!

Speaking of which, the end of the day today wasn't especially relaxing. Terry and I carpooled to work, so I picked him up and we headed to Orange County for our tax appointment. I always feel so nervous about finances (mostly because I don't understand them). Words like "withholding" and "exempt" and "deduction" just swim around my head until I look at Terry and ask, "So are we good? Do we owe or are we getting money back?" Thank goodness for my husband, whose brain is far superior to mine in these kinds of situations. And a lot of other situations. But I almost always win at Cribbage, so it balances out.

Thankfully, our tax appointment was uneventful and exactly what we expected, so I'm grateful for no bad surprises! Our tax lady is hilarious, though. She was glad we're having a baby, but purely for the tax deductions. She also told us that her own son is expecting a baby with his fiancee, but she isn't excited about it. I wasn't totally sure how to respond to that, but at least she's honest.

In slightly more romantic news, in light of one of my favorite holidays (I know, how silly of me), I thought I'd share some unique ways to celebrate with your significant other--or just your favorite person!

Photo from our engagement session with Rhee Bevere

Plan a scavenger hunt. You can make it a surprise or swap hints and each complete your own hunt, but this silly tradition has become a family favorite over the years. Last year I sent Terry on a hunt around our apartment to find various gifts for our anniversary, and the experience of giving the gift was just as much fun as watching him open each part! Even if the gift(s) are small or sweet little notes, the scavenger hunt shows how much thought and time you put into the day, which is really the whole point, right?

Take it outside. Make it work for where you live: go ice skating, plan a picnic, or take a hike. If it's chilly, a simple walk outside with some hot chocolate is a perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Try a new restaurant. Go somewhere casual that won't be everyone else's choice for Valentine's Day, like a local burger joint you've been meaning to try. The last thing you want is to spend the entire night waiting. Ideally, go for breakfast before work or lunch in the middle of the day to avoid huge crowds. You can even wait a few days, especially since V-Day is a Friday this year, and extend the celebration! 

Challenge each other to a game night. Our favorite two-person games are usually card games, like Cribbage, or something like Scrabble, but you can play games on Wii or Xbox, too. Make it interesting with a bet, and the winner makes dessert!

Try a new recipe. You can plan the meal together or each take a dish to prepare for the other person. I love it when Terry is in charge of the main dish (chili or something on the grill, for example), and I focus on delicious sides or dessert.

Get physical. Guys, not like that. This is a PG blog. [Editor's note: This blog is not yet rated.] What I mean is you should exercise! Who decided Valentine's day is ALL about chocolate? Start with something that gets your heart rate up, like a jog together or a partner workout, and then eat to your hearts' content.

Eat something unique. Terry and I have a Valentine's tradition of enjoying fondue--either cheese or chocolate--and we always look forward to the magic of dipping various items into the gooey pot. But Valentine's Day is a great occasion for trying something different, like octopus or bison or fennel. Go to town. 

Watch the Olympics. Why not? Get some snacks, snuggle up under a blanket, and enjoy some competitive events. Nothing like some national pride to spice up a romantic holiday!

Host a Valentine's party. When I was young, my mom hosted a Valentine's party almost every year. Sometimes I helped pass appetizers or clean up, but I always thought it was such a fun night. Mom always had fun games, too. One was even a mystery dinner!

Opt for low-cost or homemade gifts. Remember when Monica and Chandler decided to "make the presents" for Valentine's Day? I mean, only good things can come of this idea. Sock bunnies, mix tapes, you know.

What's your plan for Valentine's Day?

Full Body Strength and Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Well, well, well, today turned out to be quite the day! Yesterday, Terry asked me what I would do with my day off (school is on holiday--my district splits up Presidents' Day into two 3-day weekends), and I really wasn't sure. But that never worries me.

As I mentioned this morning, I ate a pancake for breakfast and then puttered around the house--dishes, changing the sheets, playing with Scout--until it was time to meet Jenn for a workout. We warmed up with a lap around the park (maybe a fifth of a mile?) and then completed the following full-body strength workout twice through:

One minute on, 15 seconds rest

• Walking lunges
• Push ups
• Plank (or other core work of choice)
• Plie squats
• Bench dips
• Step ups (right leg) with biceps curls
• Step ups (left leg) with overhead press
• Plank (or other core work of choice)

Now, Jenn is getting over being sick and I'm almost six months pregnant, so twice through was plenty.  I also modified for myself:

• Push ups on my knees
• Stationary lunges instead of step ups (my balance isn't what it used to be)
• "Resting plank" (this is my own phrase)--instead of holding for a full minute, I drop my knees but keep the plank position every ten seconds or so

You can kick up the intensity, though:

• Complete the workout a third time
• Tack on a cardio or HIIT workout
• Increase your weights (just make sure you'll maintain form--one minute is a long time!)
• Add dumbbells to your walking lunges and/or plie squats

We felt decently fatigued after two rounds and enjoyed working the entire body in just ten minutes per round. Hope you like it!

I also had to run a few errands. Terry and I switched off cable in our apartment (we just weren't watching about 95% of the channels and didn't feel the need to pay for them anymore), so I dropped off the cable box, and then I needed a few items for dinner. Sadly, Trader Joe's parking lot looked insane, so I went to Ralph's instead, but that turned out to be a happy accident because some of my favorite cereal was on sale! No, it's not officially "real food," but it's a hell of a lot better than most cereals out there. And since I've been craving cereal, I have to get my fix every few weeks!

(If you're a Cinnamon Toast Crunch fan, the "Cinnamon Crunch" is a much better alternative.)

Before I enjoyed my cereal (ahem, two bowls), I chose a tuna "pizza" and carrots for lunch:

Half a whole wheat pita, toasted with some havarti cheese, topped with tuna salad

But today's real treat was dinner! I mentioned to Terry last weekend that I feel like I've struggled to eat enough servings of fruit and vegetables every day. I have no problem with protein, grains, and dairy, but I need more produce. So dinner tonight was lettuce wrap tacos!

I often notice that--while tacos are not an especially unhealthy food choice--the vegetable-to-meat ratio can be a little sad, especially at restauraunts. I love ground beef tacos, but I always feel like it's so easy to add veggies to the meat, which is what I did here.

Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Serves 4-6

• 1 head of Romaine lettuce, rinsed, leaves separated
• 1 lb. ground turkey, beef, chicken, whatever you want (aim for organic when possible)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion
• 2 bell peppers (I chose red and green)
• 1-2 cups black beans
• 2-3 tablespoons Mexican spice mix: 
• Preferred toppings for tacos (see ideas below)

Finely chop your onions. I usually get lazy and make it a rough chop, but you know what kind of texture you prefer. In a large pan, heat one tablespoon oil over medium heat. Throw in the onion and let it sweat for a few minutes, stirring here and there. Meanwhile, chop your peppers. Add those to the skillet. Let the vegetables cook on medium for about 5 minutes. Then store the cooked peppers and onions in a dish so you can use the same skillet to cook your ground meat.

Add your ground meat to the pan to brown. You'll want it to cook almost all the way through, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to cook everything. Next, add in your spices with about half a cup of water. (The water will cook out, but it helps bring the flavors together and keeps the mixture moist.) Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the flavors hang out for a bit--at least 15 minutes on low. 

If you're making this veggie-meat mixture ahead of time, you can stop here, refrigerate for up to three days (in a sealed container) and reheat when you're ready to serve. If you're going to serve immediately, get your toppings going while the pan simmers away.

For toppings, you can get creative, but I suggest:

• Sliced avocado
• Diced tomatoes (tomatoes aren't so good this time of year, so we skipped it)
• Shredded cheese
• Finely chopped jalapeno
• Plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• Salsa or hot sauce of your choice

Use a big leaf of Romaine as your "tortilla" and pile on the meat mixture with black beans and any toppings you like. 

Anyone notice the baby brain incident here? I forgot the black beans.

This recipe was just a simple, delicious, quick way to load up on several different vegetables (onion, peppers, lettuce, plus avocado) all at once, with plenty of protein, too. Since I'm not struggling to eat my fill of carbs (pancakes, cereal, bread, pita, AND dessert all in one day is not an unusual occurrence around here), I didn't mind skipping the tortilla in favor of more vegetables.

Off to watch some Olympics before bed! Happy Tuesday to you!

Weekend Recap (Happy Birthday, Mom!)

Happy Monday! And a very happy birthday to my mom! I hope it's an awesome day for her especially. :-)

I really wanted to post last night, but I just felt completely drained. It was a wonderful, relaxing fun weekend, but lately I've felt so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open after 9 pm. I know it's just the pregnancy, but I can't help feeling frustrated at my lack of energy. More on that in another post (I'll post a 24-week update later this week!).

As I mentioned, we had a great weekend. After we returned from Lake Arrowhead on Friday, I fell asleep super early, as I tend to do now, and we woke up the next morning ready for a big day, starting with a frittata! It was my first time making a frittata (I used Pioneer Woman's guidelines, but used kale, sweet potato, and onion for the fillings), and it was so easy and tasty!

Terry and I made some decisions last week about our future, including the choice to look for a new, bigger apartment. It's tough for a few reasons, including the fact that we absolutely love where we live now. Our apartment is tiny, yes, but it's cozy and cute and has been a wonderful home for us over the last three years. We also love that we're walking distance to several of our favorite restaurants, our farmer's market, and lots of running paths. Plus we have several friends in the neighborhood, and we have a neighbor who watches Scout when we're away.

But, ultimately, we have a little nugget entering the world in a few (um, less than four!) months, so we need more space! We agreed that we would rather move now and give ourselves a chance to settle in a bit instead of waiting until after the baby arrives, which seems far more stressful.

(No, that's not our apartment.)

Our search this weekend yielded some positive results, but we're aiming to move at the end of March, so it's still a bit early (I don't know about where you live, but in these parts apartments don't like to arrange move-in dates more than a few weeks in advance, so it becomes sort of a scramble after you put in notice at your current residence). But at least we got a sense for what's out there and what we can afford.

After our long search on Saturday, we spent the evening with friends at our regular "book club" meeting, which is really more of a dinner party where most of us (or sometimes just a few of us) have read the same book and we may or may not discuss said book for a few minutes. It's a fun get together, and Saturday was no exception.

Sunday morning Terry let me sleep in a bit and then we went into a cleaning frenzy, organizing and tidying the whole apartment. I kind of love those kinds of mornings, slow and relaxed but still productive.

Scout managed to avoid any cleaning. 

And then we took a long walk around our beloved neighborhood (taking advantage while we can) before having our friends and their one-year-old over for dinner. We realized it was the first time we've had friends with a baby visit, and Scout didn't quite know what to make of this small human who made more noise than the rest of us. He was pretty patient, though, and we had a great time catching up with our friends and taking in some of their advice. Terry made a delicious chili and some homemade honey butter (he made the butter from cream--crazy what that stand mixer can do!) for the cornbread I made. My friend Anna brought some Mexican-spiced brownies, which were beyond delicious. She offered to let us keep some and I took more than my share, so I'm excited to have more over the next few nights!

And then, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I fell asleep on the couch. Spoiler alert: I will probably do that every night until June.

Today is off to a great start already. I woke up with Terry, made pancake batter for the week and enjoyed one with bananas and almonds

and am now off to get ready for the day. Jenn and I have plans for a full-body strength workout, so I need to plan what we're doing! I hope you have a wonderful day!

23 Hours in Lake Arrowhead

Terry and I are back from a wonderful, quick trip to Lake Arrowhead! 

We drove up the mountain around 11 am yesterday and drove through some intense fog to arrive at our hotel, the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa. The hotel was particularly beautiful inside, with a sprawling lobby and a cozy fireplace. Our room was very nice with a partial view of the lake.

My favorite aspect of the hotel was its proximity to the small village and the lake. Yesterday, right when we arrived, Terry and I took a short walk to the town and grabbed some tea, cider, and a crepe at the Tea Exchange.

This is what Terry looks like when he is pensive.

Then we headed back to the room to change for the wedding!

My dress is from Target (Liz Lange Maternity), and I loooooove it. So comfy and flattering on my ever-expanding hips. 

The wedding was for Terry's coworker Ian and his beautiful bride April. We've gotten to spend a good amount of time with them over the last three years, and they are truly an awesome couple. I loved listening to the various speeches that highlighted how April and Ian balance each other so well.

April is actually a ballroom dancer and had several ballroom dancing friends at the wedding, which meant lots of entertainment for us. These folks were amazing! Granted, we were far too intimidated to actually dance very much (seriously, they were SO good!), but at least we had fun watching them. Plus, they had a live band instead of a DJ! When Terry and I did brave the dance floor, I found my bump a little awkward and had to pee every five minutes. Oh, well.

The wedding also included some impressive food. I especially loved the hot chocolate bar and late night snacks (sliders, hot dogs, and onion rings).

And milkshakes!

Our advice to the couple. :-) 

Oh, and the bride played drums!

Congratulations, Ian and April!

Terry and I were asleep by 11. It was lovely. And in the morning, we woke up to gorgeous, clear skies for a long walk around the lake.

 Just for fun, I insisted that we take this picture by the lake.

Lake Arrowhead 2014

Because it's the same as one we took six years ago!

Lake Arrowhead 2008

 We made it three and a half miles before stopping at Tea Exchange again. We also grabbed a cinnamon roll from a local bakery, which was deliciously sweet.

Then we packed up and headed back home! The drive down the mountain was far less foggy than the drive up, and we didn't even hit any traffic. We arrived home around 3 and spent the afternoon apartment hunting online (more on that later) before fixing a super easy meal of kale salad, baked sweet potatoes, and brie and cheese.

I love little getaways like this one--quick, easy, and perfect for relaxing.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

TGIW + WIAW

As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, it's a short one for us, but it's been tough for Terry and me. We've made some decisions about our future, talked a lot about getting ready for the baby, and worked hard at work and at home. Unfortunately, my body didn't like all that stress at once, and I got another massive stomachache today. Thankfully, I felt better fairly quickly, and we took a rest day from working out to just relax. We just started watching Burning Love, which is hilarious (if you haven't heard of it, it's a parody of The Bachelor with tons of celebrities and awesome writing).

Tomorrow we're heading up to Lake Arrowhead for the night to celebrate Terry's coworker's wedding. It looks like it'll be chilly but not as cold as DC, so I'm looking forward to the road trip, the wedding, and hopefully a hike in the morning. My friend Jenn stayed where we're staying, and she suggested some hiking trails for us. I'm sure the views will be gorgeous!

Alright, let's get to the nitty gritty: What I Ate Wednesday!


The theme of WIAW this month is "Love Your Veggies," which I guess I did today. Or at least I ate some varied veggies, which has become unusual around here. 

Ummm...minus the strawberries, this was my breakfast. I can't wait for berries to come back in season!

Cottage cheese at work

Broccoli cheese soup does not photograph well. But it was my lunch. I only ate about half, but it was plenty. A little later, on my way home, I ate a pear, which was perfectly ripe. 

Afternoon snack: a peanut butter "brownie"

And then half a PB&J sandwich with milk

Dinner: leftover stir fry from last night, which included green beans, red bell peppers, onion, pineapple, broccoli slaw with carrots (bagged from Trader Joe's), brown rice, and the sesame-ginger dressing we used on our similar pasta last time. 

Dessert tonight: hot cocoa with homemade whipped cream (I told you I can't get enough of the stuff!), and I have a feeling I'll enjoy a blondie soon enough.

Other highlights of the week have included cuddling with Scout:

It looks like he's snuggling with the bump, but really he's just starting to figure out that he really doesn't fit on my lap anymore. He later moved to his own spot on the couch. 

 and some good workouts. My arms just finally loosened up from the upper body workout, and my legs are still sore from that crazy tush workout the other day.

And that's it around here for now. I am so looking forward to a very early start to the weekend tomorrow! Hope you have a great end to the week.
Of possible interest: 

• 18 Female Friendship Truths as Told by Bridesmaids
• Journalists at Sochi Live Tweet their Hilarious and Gross Hotel Experiences
• Have you heard about the Biggest Loser controversy?

At-Home Upper Body

Yesterday, before taking a little walk around the neighborhood, I completed a short upper body workout in our living room. All you need is a set of dumbbells and a chair or other support for bench dips. I made a few modifications to accommodate the pregnancy, including:

• Using very light weights (only 5 pounds--but actually it was still challenging!)
• Completing the push ups on my knees (again, still tough)

So obviously this workout is perfect for any fitness level. For beginners (or pregnant ladies), you can modify as I did. For more of a challenge:

• Complete bench dips with straight legs or with one foot off the ground.
• Complete the push ups on the toes, and play with the arm width (closer together works the triceps more; farther apart works the chest), or try a decline push up (feet elevated). 
• Increase the weights (but not too much; remember, 20 reps is high, so this is an endurance workout and you need to keep good form throughout!).
• Complete an extra round or two to really fatigue those muscles.
• Minimize rest between exercises.

Honestly, if you implement a few of those challenges, you've got a completely different workout on your hands! Play with it; you'll find something that challenges and motivates you.

Hope you like it!

Today's workout looked quite different because I was eager to get outside in the gorgeous sunshine (hey, if it's not going to rain, I guess I may as well be positive about the sun, right?). Terry came with me to complete three rounds of the following (we broke it up with a long walk, so we did one round, half the walk, another round, the rest of the walk, and then the final round):

• 50 walking lunges
• 50 squats
• 50 plie squats
• 50 calf raises

We'll be feeling that one tomorrow! 

For dinner, I made another batch of broccoli cheese soup, a new favorite around here. I'm going to freeze some of this soup to make sure I like how it defrosts; if I do like it, then it'll go on the list for meals I can make ahead of time to freeze and reheat when baby's here! But I would LOVE some suggestions for other freezer-friendly meals that don't take up a lot of space in the freezer. Normally, Terry and I don't mind leftovers (not that we usually have a lot), so we eat everything fresh. Therefore, my experience with freezer meals is unfortunately limited.  

I'm sure we'll also rely on some quick and easy meals that we already know and love (and therefore are able to make without too much time or fuss), including:

• Sandwiches! Come on, how much easier does it get? Grilled cheese, BLTs, PB&J...
• Pasta with pre-made (frozen) marinara
• Pizzas 
• Breakfast, especially egg burritos, pancakes, and egg sandwiches
• Stir-frys
• Crock pot meals (though usually we only have a main dish in the crock pot, so we'd need to come up with easy side dish options, too)

Meals and snacks I'm planning to make (and freeze, if necessary) ahead of time:

• 1 or 2 kinds of soup
• Pasta sauce
• Some sort of casserole?
• Muffins/breads
• Brownies or cookies (come on, you know I need my sweets!)

And I have no doubt we'll rely on a few super easy favorites:

• cheese, crackers, and salami with fruit (luckily one of our favorite meals anyway!)
• wrap with cheese, store-bought hummus, and peppers
• cereal and/or granola
• delivery and take out! (Fresh Brothers, Wahoo's, Fresh Corn Grill...yes, those will be happening)

All this food talk is making me hungry (shocker, right?), so I'm off to enjoy some pudding before calling it a night. Hope your Monday was a good one!

Any suggestions for make-ahead, freezer-friendly meals?

Another Weekend on the Books

Welcome to February, folks! And happy belated Groundhog Day. Looks like another six weeks of winter, huh? I'm actually excited, in hopes that maybe we'll get some much needed rain out here in California.

I guess I should acknowledge the Super Bowl, huh? Well...it happened.

The rest of the weekend turned out to be pretty wonderful. Terry and I both had Friday off, so we started the day with a three-mile jog. I've said since I got pregnant that I'd love to be able to run three miles as long as possible during the pregnancy. At times, I've felt like that won't happen (like when walking up a small hill gets me completely out of breath), but then other times I feel fantastic. And Friday was one of those fantastic days where I managed to keep a slow, steady pace and made it the full three miles! I am realizing that I may not be able to jog for that much longer, but I'm thrilled with Friday's mini-victory.

Friday also marked the end of Restaurant Week in LA, and--in true Terry and Julie fashion--we successfully waited until the last minute to visit a restaurant. We chose Second City Bistro in El Segundo, a small place that we'd likely revisit. We shared sweet potato fries (shocker, right?); Terry had a tomato bisque and a burger; I went with the roasted chicken salad. The burger stole the show!

Friday night we invited Jenn and Justin over for lasagna. I had made the sauce on Wednesday, so the flavors came together beautifully over two days. Jenn was a trooper and brought over some gluten-free pasta for herself (I set aside some sauce for her). The lasagna was a total hit. Terry raved that it was the best I've ever made!

Saturday morning Terry and I met up with our friends Nick and Jocelyn and their dog Cali for a super windy, fairly challenging hike followed by brunch at Blue Daisy Cafe. It was so great to catch up!

Terry and I also attended his cousin's baby's first birthday party on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed some time with family. The night was super mellow: leftover lasagna, a batch of peanut butter brownies (I made this recipe, but obviously peanut butter instead of almond), some TV, asleep by 10.

This morning we slept in a little, I got an upper body strength workout in, and we took a walk around the neighborhood. After some errands, we headed to Terry's coworker's house for some Super Bowl festivities. Mostly, I focused on the hosts' three adorable little girls and all the delicious food.

  

My contribution: Ina Garten's Blondies

Our Super Bowl game, provided by the host

Terry's Buffalo Hummus Dip

Terry's hummus was a huge highlight for me, and many guests commented on how great it was. He started with Gina's recipe, but made a few changes:

• Instead of BBQ sauce and hot sauce, he used 4 tablespoons of Frank's Hot Sauce (Buffalonians will tell you it's the only way to go)
• To make it creamy, he added a tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt
• To serve, we garnished with blue cheese crumbles (remember the shopping cart incident? It happened because I was searching for pasteurized blue cheese. Worth it)
• We also served with celery and carrot sticks. I always find that events like this one have plenty of chips and breads, so any opportunity to serve with vegetables is a win, right?

It rocked! Good job to my husband. :-) 

And now we're home, chilling on the couch, enjoying some post-Super Bowl TV. We're gearing up for a short work week because we have a wedding on Thursday night. Should be another fun one!

What was the highlight of your Super Bowl? Food? Fun with friends? Not watching the game?