Getting Ready for Whole30 Round 2

Well I did it. I ate my way through Alabama. And I enjoyed every.moment.of.it. 

In what seemed like a bid to have cake every day, I started out at the bakery that did my wedding cake. It was a sweet memory lane. That was the beginning of the end. I won't bore you with the details but there were plenty of carbs, alcohol, creamy sauces and not nearly enough veggies.

I even got a college favorite, a vanilla frappuccino, with two extra shots of coffee. They looked at me like I was crazy. It was still to sweet but I enjoyed it. 

Now I am enjoying my hard boiled eggs, sliced up raw green pepper and black coffee as I knock out another Whole30. I have my list of favorite things to get from the store. I have motivation. I have the husband on board. So here we go...

Memorial Day

 Can you tell we weren't in West Texas? I don't think the kids had ever seen so much green. 

One Down, One to Go

The first wedding of the summer was a blast. Turtles and Green Bean were the perfect flower girls.

Enjoying some leftover Tangerine Blossom Wedding Cake, Chocolate Grooms Cake, and Chardonnay after the ceremony. Surprisingly no weight was gained despite eating off plan for a few days. 

We had a western themed rehearsal dinner where Husband and I thought it would be a good idea for the guys to wear belt buckles. They never let me get a picture of them all together so this one will have to do. My dad, 3 brothers, Husband and brother in law all donned them for the party. Want to guess which ones was Husbands? 

  

While at home my sister introduced me to this pear cider. Now I'm usually a Woodchuck girl because the Thirsty Thursday Bar I went to in college had it on tap. I hate beer and it was the only cider on tap so I acquired a taste for the 802 Dark and Dry or the Pear. This blew Woodchuck out of the water. ACE also makes an apple but I didn't get a chance to sample it. 

Zucchini, Green Pepper, Onion Sauteed with Pan Drippings from Steak Added. Amazing! 

We have been eating pretty clean since getting back and are gearing up for Whole30 round two starting in one week on June 12th!  Green Beans turns 3 during our Whole30 so that will be our challenge to staying strong. My favorite holiday (4th of July) also will fall before the 30 days are up. I'm not sure I could bring myself to eat a non-compliant hot dog anyways. But I'll be on the hunt to make those events special and complaint. I'll write a post about our impressions from our 1st Whole30 and what we want out of our next Whole30. 

107 degrees. Poor Sam finding the only shade in the yard.

So for now, I'm getting ready to go out of town for a 4 day kid free weekend. It will be fun to be back with all my girls from college and celebrate the marriage of NatNat and Gabe! 

Kiddie Pool is Out and Working!

Some Real Cowgirl Boots and West Texas Style

So now that I am a Texan it is time to start dressing like one right? 

Rhinestone Jeans

Before you worry, rhinestone jeans shall never touch my butt. Just so so wrong. Here in West Texas pretty much anything goes because 1. Its hot, 2. Its hotter and 3. There are people from all over the country working the oil fields so the "Texas Fashion" gets diluted. I also live in a metropolitan area of 200,000 people so its not like I'm really all that country. So long story short I'm going to wear whatever I want and what Dillard's has on sale.

Mother/ Daughter New Cowgirl Boots 

That being said, I had to buy cowgirl boots because I needed them for a friend's wedding. We are wearing these navy blue lace dresses with boots.

This whole look was not made for my mother of two build, but we do what we need to do for our friends. Even if I never wear the dress again, I will wear the boots again. I got Ariat boots since they came highly recommend by everyone I talked to. Plus they were some of the cheapest I came across so win win. While out shopping I came across some kids boots on sale. Green Beans tried them on and wouldn't take them off. She had outgrown her Payless boots so I went ahead and got her some real leather boots. Turtles will be able to wear them next so I feel like it was worth the investment of $39. Plus they will look super cute with the outfits my mom picked out for Auntie MJ's Bonanza rehearsal dinner.

Poor Turtles will be wearing something other than boots since her foot is so hard to size.

Welcome to the Fred Flintstones Foot Club Turtles

The Lack of a Garden: What to Grow this Summer

HWY 176

Looks like a great place to garden no? There are 3 reasons I am not gardening this summer despite having a success last year

1. New environment 

2. Water

3.  My gardening expert is 2.5 hours away. 

Last year's sunflowers with squash in background

Since moving I have found that we are only 2.5 hours to the east but the conditions seem to be a bit more extreme. I'm used to the lack of rain, but the wind and the heat seem to be more intense. And the sun!  We are at the same elevation but the sun seems is be much more intense. I'm going to give it one summer before investing to much money into plants that will fail. I will also use the summer to map out where the best position for the pots will be. I'll need protection from the wind but need varying levels of sun. Something out of reach from little hands would also be appreciated.

New Mexico Sun

To Few Rainy Days

Water is hot topic here. We live in the middle of a desert that is having extreme drought conditions (along with wildfires). Top that off with exceptional population growth and there just isn't enough water. Our house doesn't have a drip system which is perfect for water conservation. We also don't have our own well which means we are subject to strict watering rules. Here in Texas neighbors are encouraged to report any abuse witnessed. There are hefty fines ("Any violation may result in a fine up to $500.") and there are surcharges attached to your water bill depending on your usage.  Our grass is a priority this year due to the kids wanting to dig up all the dirt in the back yard and dump it on the patio.

Sand/Dirt Patio Dump

I am also a very bad gardener. Had I not had help last year I'm pretty sure everything would have been under watered/over watered and died. Thanks to technology I have a camera phone and email but my expert just had a baby so I think she will be busy for the next few months.

My Role Model 

But I am not giving up completely on my budding green thumb. I have tried to do herbs in the past and the only thing that worked was rosemary and I cheated and got a baby plant from the nursery  It now has grown into a nice large plant and could be moved out of the pot into the ground since rosemary does well in dry climates. So here is what I will try:

1. Dill. I love fresh dill
2. Basil
3. Parsley
4. One cherry tomato plant (Green Beans can eat her weight in cherry tomatoes)

All that is left from last summer. Geranium, Lantana, and Rosemary.

My plan of attack to buy the herbs as baby plants and grow them inside the kitchen or on a stand on the patio. I'll also set the tomato plant behind our shed where it gets morning light and wind protection. I'll just have to use a watering can but I think I can commit to a few herbs and one tomato plant. I'll get a start after the May wedding of MJ and Esq. Can't leave my plants for 2 weeks!

Whole30 Day 11 & 12, Beef and Broccoli, Strawberry Fields Cafe and Meat Market Steals

The post root canal haze is starting to lift and life is looking a little more bright. Or it could be because I ate 3 square meals today including two with red meat.

Day 11
Breakfast-I think it got skipped by both Whole30 parties.
Lunch-Husband had leftover wings and an orange. I had water and lortab.
Dinner-Beef and Broccoli with Onions


Day 12
Breakfast-Strawberry Banana Smoothies
Lunch-Leftover Beef and Broccoli
Dinner- Sirloin Steak with Sweet Potatoes

The dinner of Beef and Broccoli came around by accident. I had some cubed steak I was going to cook up with onions. I gave Husband a choice of frozen green beans or frozen broccoli and he wisely chose broccoli.

Beef and Broccoli

Cubed Steak

1 yellow Onion

1 bag of frozen Broccoli

Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder 

I had a 3 pack of big cubed steak. Probably about 1 lb.  I set them out on the counter for 45 minutes before I was going to cook them. I rubbed them with sea salt and let them sit. After sitting for 45 minutes I sliced them into thin strips, sprinkled black pepper and garlic powder, and fried them in coconut oil. I also cooked an onion in another pan. It was soft but not caramelized throughout.  I cleaned out the cubed steak pan and put in a tablespoon of Ghee and tossed the steak and onions together. I then warmed up the broccoli and added a tablespoon of Ghee and tossed. I served separately but next time I will toss it altogether in the pan since it ended up that way on the plate. 

Strawberry Fields Cafe

 This is the 2nd healthfood store I go to in town. It has an organic cafe attached to it which serves really good food. They also have Whole30 compliant smoothies which are made of fruit, ice and 100% fruit juice. Now I know it isn't the best idea to eat an 8oz cup of concentrated fruit, but I figured the lack of intake from the tooth issues warranted at least one smoothie. I also had to share with two little girls so I'm not sure how much I actually got to ingest. It was enough to give me an energy boost to make it to the farmers market and Albertsons. 

Downtown Farmer's Market

(not today, but wanted to show set up)

I've been wanting to get down here the past few weekends so I was really excited to go today. As you can imagine there isn't a lot of produce for sale yet but I wanted to get the lay of the land. The best surprise of the day was there was a local rancher who sells grass fed beef  at market store prices! I didn't plan to buy anything but now that I know they are there, I plan on stopping back by. There are also green house tomatoes that looked great. I'm excited for the summer produce to start rolling over. If you are close to the Pecos Valley you must try Pecos Watermelons and Cantaloupe  They are the most amazing fruit. I really can't wait for those to come in towards the end of the summer.  

I do not normally like to shop at Albertsons but I had two girls who were about to lose patience with me shopping. HEB was going to take to long so we all ran in to grab a few things (EGGS!). We hit up the meat aisle and they were having a huge sale. I got 

1. Two family sized chicken leg packages on sale with an added in $3 dollars off. Making what was over $7, only $3. 
2. Two packs of pork chops, 50% off
3. Two packs of sirloin steaks, 50% off
4. 6 lbs hamburger $6 off

Overall we saved $43. Not to bad for an unplanned grocery store trip

Whole30 Day 10 and a Root Canal

I got a root canal! Half of one technically.  Normally someone might not be happy about that but after all the pain I have had I was more than happy to get rid of the nerve in that tooth. So yay! Hopefully I'll be back to eating raw veggies and meat in no time!

Breakfast-Apple but most of it was stolen by Trutles and Green Beans
Lunch-Leftover Quiche with Salsa on top
Dinner-Buffalo Wings and sauteed asparagus

Now I only cooked the wings, but Husband said they were really good. I forgot to take a picture because I was laying on the couch trying not to think about the pain in my mouth. We all know what wings look like so just use your imagination.

Ingredients: Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, Natural Flavor and Garlic Powder

Buffalo Wing Sauce

1 cup Frank's Red Hot

2 T Coconut Oil

Mix in a sauce pan and simmer until it thickens (about the length it takes the chicken to cook). Pour Over Baked Chicken. 

I know I have put the recipe for this chicken before. So let me cut and paste for you just to make it easy. 

Chicken Drumstick Non-Spicy Rub

1 part Garlic powder (or crushed garlic)

1 part Onion Powder

1/2 part Salt

1 part Pepper

1-2 part Italian Seasoning (optional)

I rubbed the wings all over with EVOO and then tossed the seasoning on. I left off the Italian seasoning since I was doing wings. Baked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. They turned out really nice and crispy. If you have a roasting pan or a rack for a cookie sheet I would use that. I can't wait to get one and try it out for even crispier baked wings!

A Sunset Good Enough for a Drink

Taken in The Land of Enchantment 

Remember Your Childhood Summer Days?

It's not quite summer, but it is warm enough that Canadians would say it is down right stifling! To me this picture of Green Beans and her best friend running around the peach tree represent what is best about being a child.