Here's the first New Year's Resolution I am sharing with you. I wanted to do it for a couple of days without blogging first, because I was honestly afraid of calling it quits. However, this is one challenge that's hard to stop doing once you've started. It's addicting. It is forcing me to look at what I eat.

There is this amazing blog/site called 100 Days of Real Food (go figure). If you like the Facebook page, you can get four meal plans already laid out for you, including the links to the recipes. Basically, the goal is, for 100 days you cut out processed foods. Get rid of all the nasty preservatives and things that you don't need yet manufacturers are throwing into the food that you eat. It is better explained here.

I started this a couple days into the New Year, once the hubby left for this work period. I was so excited and so motivated, and I'm still feeling that way. Which is pretty awesome. I was afraid by day five or so I was going to give in and just buy a frozen pizza or something and indulge.

The thing is, this challenge goes hand-in-hand with making better eating choices and creating a healthier lifestyle this year. This is one of the reasons I started it. I wanted this year to really be the year that Clark and I start eating better. After all, Michael is on solids. I don't want him growing up on boxed dinners and potato chips. We didn't eat to that extreme before, but we would indulge and have "special nights" that involved a lot of foods that are truly atrocious for us.

100 Days of Real Food makes it easy. She even provides a list of foods that are OK for this challenge.

I have to be real with you, though. I'm cheating in a few areas.

That is, the things we already had that may not be on the approved list are still being used. Like instead of buying 100% fruit spread we're still using the Smuckers Strawberry Jelly we have in our fridge. Or instead of buying organic pasta we're still using the Penne we have from Sam's Club. That sort of thing. But once they're gone, we're going all organic/approved-list-items-only.

I decided to start this while Clark was gone because I knew if we started it while he was home he'd con me out of it. He'd want to make acceptions or talk about how difficult it is for all of us. I'm not saying he doesn't want to make healthier choices, I'm saying he's a southern boy who loves a lot of things that aren't healthy what-so-ever. And I don't want Michael growing up like that.

The truth is, this really isn't that difficult. I have to find creative ways to use fresh veggies and fruits, something I love to do as it is. I have to make some meals in advance, something I've really longed to do. And I have to introduce new foods to Michael, something that needed to be done anyway.

It is difficult, however, because there are certain things that I go to use and then realize I have to come up with an alternative. The other night I made enchiladas and made a plain sauce (thanks to this recipe) using tomato sauce, chili pepper, and cinnamon. A combination I never would have thought of, and it was so delicious. I'd have to add a little more spice for when Clark is home, but overall the changes we're making are fabulous.

Here are some things we've been eating:


Egg salad over spinach. I didn't use mayo. This was strictly mustard, nonfat plain yogurt, and spices.

Veggie stir fry. All I did was use basically all the veggies in our fridge, made a yummy teriyaki sauce, and served it over bron rice.

Veggie Muffins (recipe to be posted tomorrow)! This was to get more veggies into Michael, since he doesn't particularly care for them on their own. I used fresh ingredients only.

Whole Wheat Waffles. This doesn't exactly help with my low-carb desires, but I couldn't resist making these. We lived off the mix for nearly five days! When it's just me and Michael it's easy to make food last longer.


These are only a few of the things we've been trying! This week I have a homemade mac & cheese recipe I'm going to try as well as a plain-pulled-pork recipe for the crock pot! I'm mixing low carb and carb-focused meals to begin with, simply because there are a lot of things we're working on cutting out and I don't want to make all complicated meals. But as it goes on, I'm definitely going to work on cutting back our carb intake as well.

I know, I know. Christmas season just ended. We're only a little over a week into the New Year. How can I be thinking about another holiday?

You may or may not remember from posts past that I LOVE Valentine's Day.

This year it's looking more and more definite that hubby will not be home for it. We are so thankful for his current job, especially in this economy... but boy is it rough. I never expected for him to be gone this much, or for it to be this hard. I mean, I survived 13 weeks of bootcamp, you'd think I could handle three to four weeks intervals. I suppose then I didn't have a toddler. It definitely makes a difference.

Sorry for the tangent.

I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY.

Everyone says it's a card holiday. A day to promote chocolate and love and depressing for those who don't have a significant other. Well, if you remember my first post and second post from last year, Valentine's Day has always been much more than that to me.

I was trying to find a specific craft to do and share with you, but the truth is Pinterest is overloaded with some fabulous free DIY Printables. I couldn't pass up sharing them with you first. I'm promising a craft for later, but for now, here are my favorite ideas/printables from Pinterest. (You can also follow my Holiday Specials and Me & My Love boards for more ideas to come!)

Candy Bar Wrappers from the former Anything But Perfect, now Hello Cuteness!

Valentine Party Circle labels for bags of treats and such. From Anything But Perfect/Hello Cuteness.

S'More Friends Like you! Adorable idea to bag up some marshmallows, chocolate, and grahams and give them to friends. From Domesticated Lady.

Heart Seals from Ms. Martha Stewart.

I hope these put you in the mood to share the love come February 14th! Remember, it doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to let others know you care!

New Year's we had a small celebration. Although you may remember that the little one ended up waking and staying up until almost elevan, we enjoyed the last of 2012 as a family.

We also enjoyed some super yummy food... including these! I'm not sure if they're technically tarts, but I didn't know what else to call them.

Ingredients:

- Follow the dough instructions/ingredients from the pumpkin pasties recipe.
- pears
- honey

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350. Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Roll out your dough or pick of pieces and roll it in your hands. Take sections and line your muffin tins with the dough.
- Cut a pear into small pieces, cubes if you can manage. The pear doesn't have to be extraordinarily ripe, but it should be relatively soft to have the best flavor.
- Fill each muffin tin with somewhere between a teaspoon and tablespoon of pear pieces.

- Drizzle honey over the pear. This part is your preference. I probably used maybe 1/8 tsp of honey for each, but I'm not sure if it was even that much!
- Bake for around 18 to 22 minutes.
- Remove and let sit, giving the melted honey/pear juice time to settle.
- Serve warm and enjoy! Simple and beyond delicious, especially right now when pears are in season!



Linked on:

I decided for 2013 this is something I really wanted to take part in. It's a way to share certain thoughts that maybe don't get whole blog posts, or review things that are on my mind in one post. Whatever way you look at it, it's another way to get personal with y'all. And I love that.

Dear 2013, I am so excited for you. We're on Day [4] and already I just have wonderful feelings about your potential. Maybe this is a "hangover" from the fresh start you have offered, but I intend to seize the feeling and hold on to it for all [361] days that I have left of you. I have so many things I want to accomplish and work on, but ultimately it comes down to just living and enjoying you.


Dear Friends, There are a few of you who I have become so close to, or closer to, as of late. I cannot tell you what this means to me. Clark's new job has added a great amount of stress (although I am so thankful for it) and you help relieve it. Your encouragement and companionship mean the world to me. Thank you.

Dear Journal, I promise to revisit you soon. Sometimes I think I avoid you in fear that I have nothing *substantial* to write, but I should know by now that writing isn't about making things pretty or perfect, it's about writing in my unique voice.


Dear Sweets, I'm very ready to be at the point where I can pass you by without a second thought. Chocolate, candies, baked goods, carbs (in general)... you are constantly at the forefront of my mind. I'm doing my very best to confront you and turn my cravings towards God, but it seems this journey is a lot harder than I anticipated. Please help me out by staying away, or at least somehow start tasting like something gross so I don't want you so badly.

Dear Blog, I must admit I have high hopes for you this coming year. There are many times that I get down because I've been writing for around two years and still don't even have 50 followers, but I'm working on reminding myself that I started you for me. You are a way to keep track of my life and day-to-day projects that I may want to look back on in the future. You are a witness to my life, in a sense. Whether there are 35 followers (who I am so grateful for) or 350, I am going to continue to write.

The idea for this post came from Ashley, of The Sweet Season.

You may recall we left off with Clark's Family Day. When I think of his Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation, I always think of Family Day. Perhaps because graduation was a blur to me, partially because I was a bit angry at this and that, and I didn't want to focus on it. So, let's not focus on the negatives but the positives.

Clark's graduation was very inspiring. It was the moment in his Marine Corps career that I was the proudest. They played the anthem, told us history, and handed out awards to the battalions and individuals for this and that.

This was still very early in our marriage. I constantly felt like I was battling my in-laws for my rights as a wife. I know we eloped, and both of our parents weren't quite ready to see us as a couple over their individual children. This, sadly, was a situation where I felt like I was fighting to come first in Clark's life. I wasn't fighting him on it, mind you, but his parents.

When we first arrived for the graduation we were sitting in rather poor spots in the bleachers. I really wanted to try to move closer, and knew that Clark's grandparents got handicap seats which meant that one of us could be down there with them. Of course I offered, but Clark's dad insisted on sitting with them. That's only natural, since they are his parents. Well, as graduation began, my mother-in-law said she'd be right back and went to sit with my father-in-law and her in-laws. I was left with Clark's younger siblings, in the bleachers, struggling to see.

I wasn't a very happy camper.

I know it's petty, and looking back on it now I see that it wasn't that big of a deal. At the time, though, it really felt like I was being shorted.

When the ceremony ended and the Marines were released, I saw Clark looking around. I nearly bolted down the bleachers. He saw his parents moving in, but looked to me and came to me first. He even pointed out that he did it. He said he saw them sitting closer to him during the ceremony, but he wanted to share it with me.

It was for us. For our family.

I was so proud of him.


Graduation began our ten days together. Moments where we would have to turn down going to Hawaii with his family (that's another story) to look for a new place to live and enjoy our limited time together before he left for more training. It all worked out in the end. Clark was with me again. I wasn't going to let anything spoil our time together.

This was a time I really had to learn to depend on God to see me through things. Not just because my husband was gone a lot, but because I was really growing up and coming into my own. I had to learn to let go of my anger with people and focus on the positives. God was providing and seeing us through. Not only that, but he was helping us grow together as husband and wife. We were facing trials with family, life, and more that we would not have made it through if we hadn't been focusing on God and our relationship with him as a couple.

I. Love. This. Recipe.

When Clark was gone for round one of his new job, I lived off of it for a good week. Seriously. Serving it over rice, or in a wrap, or just the bean mixture without the chicken (note the vegetarian label)... it's just delicious. And SO easy!

Have I mentioned how much I love my crock pot lately?

Well, I do. I LOVE MY CROCK POT.

OK... on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 14 oz (I think) can diced tomatoes with chiles
- 15 oz can black beans
- 1/2 to a whole 15 oz can of corn
- 1/3 C fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 C chicken broth/ water with chicken bouillon (or vegetable if you're making this a vegetarian/vegan meal... without the chicken, of course)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin (minimize if you don't want so much spice)
- 1/4 to 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (you can leave this out if you wish)
- salt to taste
- 3 scallions, chopped

Directions:

- Combine your tomatoes, beans, corn, cilantro, chicken broth, garlic, and spices in the crock pot. Mix it up nicely.

- Lightly salt your chicken and lay it on top.
- Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours. Somewhere in there, turn the chicken over so it cooks more evenly.
Can you see the chicken?

- 30 minutes or so before serving, shred the chicken. Stir it into the mix so it's well combined.
- Top with scallions (not pictured) and serve however you wish! Shredded cheese goes great with this as well.





Want some other crock pot recipes? Check these out!!

Spicy-Sweet Crock Pot Barbecue

Beef Tips

Kansas-Style BBQ




Adapted from the fabulous SkinnyTaste.com.

Congratulations Katie M. from Standpipe & Sprinkles for winning the wonderful giveaway from Diana Meredith Designs! You can contact Diana through her facebook to receive your $10 credit to her etsy shop! For the rest of you, make sure to check it out, still. Diana really has some beautiful creations!

Happy New Year!

Like I said yesterday, I'm so excited for 2013. Because Clark and I decided it is going to be "our year", we thought it only appropriate we stay up until midnight. We're paying for it this morning, since Michael woke up promptly around 6:30... and we didn't really get to bed until 1am. Woo hoo!

It wasn't too difficult staying up since Michael decided he wanted to be up until 11pm. He went to bed around seven or so, but then around 8:30pm woke up screaming and would not be consoled. So we moved into the living room, offered him some "juice" (water), and let him stay awake until it was easy to put him to sleep without screams. I think there's a molar to blame.

I've decided that, for now, I need to keep my resolutions private. While I desperately want to share with y'all what exactly I have in mind for 2013, I'm giving it some time. If I put it all in writing immediately and want to hold myself accountable to numerous things, I will put an overwhelming amount of pressure on myself and end up caving in a matter of days, weeks... maybe months. But I wanted to share one thing with you.


This verse is Proverbs 19:21. It is my verse for 2013.

Normally I stick to Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.:

But this year I needed something that was a little more personal. I'm not saying that knowing God has wonderful things already mapped out for me isn't comforting. I just needed a verse that took in to account the fact that I can still make plans.

Maybe this makes me a little selfish... but I'm only human. I want to know that I can make plans to my heart's content that revolve around God, and know that the plans that are meant to be will be-- because the Lord's purpose will prevail.

Happy New Year! What are your New Year's resolutions?