Jump on the kale train.

On Sunday, we went to a potluck birthday party for a friend and it was amazing.  Not only because of the loveliest of company but amazing looking food. 

I say amazing "looking" because I was rude and didn't try all of it but those grilled wings, stuffed shells, and HOMEMADE Raspberry Chocolate cake looked/smelled incredible.  I feasted on mountains of fruit, kale salad, and three different hummus options (heaven).

 I got the recipe for the Kale salad with Tahini dressing from here...and it was really good.  At least I thought it was.  I like tahini (ground sesame seeds) though.  If you don't, peanut butter would probably be deliciously Thai tasting. 

Kale Salad 101.  Make sure you either massage the kale or let it sit for a while after putting the dressing on or it will be bitter and hard to eat. 

Would probably feed 4-6 people, but for a potluck, it served around 10-12 smaller portions.

Kale deserves a close up.

From my last grocery trip, I also got lots to juice.  And we've only made one juice.  I've been working more hours this week because of other people going on vacation (rude) and our FOUR DAY holiday coming up (not rude) and usually by the time I get home it's dinner time and no mid day juice snack. 

This one had loads of kale in it so it was a nasty brown color once it was all mixed up but it looked super fun before that.  Despite it looking like a mud milkshake, it was tasty.

Rainbow Juice:

One green apple
Two bunches of kale.  That's right, TWO.
Three carrots
Little piece of ginger
One small beet




This turned out looking pretty gross once I'd mixed it up, so I poured it into our pint glasses and pretended it was a stout.


The first meal from this weeks trip to the market was grilled veggies and BBQ vinaigrette.  I'm sure there is a more sophisticated way to make vinaigrette but all I did was put about a quarter cup of BBQ sauce in to a jar, a teaspoon of honey, and a half cup of apple cider vinegar.  It was super spicy so I added about a 1/8 of a cup of some ranch dressing for Matt's. 

Can we take a moment and appreciate how amazing vegetables are when grilled?

Dressed and ready.

Whole Foods had some of their essential oils on sale and I went a little crazy.  It was a good crazy because the ones that were on sale were the ones that are in a couple different bug spray recipes I'm going to try. 


Grapefruit, German Chamomile, Citronella, Cedar wood, Clove, Lemongrass, Lavender


I guess I thought the chamomile would smell like tea but IT DOES NOT.  Maybe because I got the "German" chamomile?  Not sure but I smelled like a big fat cigar.  Either that or they accidentally poured Tobacco Oil into the bottle. 

Happy Saturday!

If you live in Tampa, you've been hearing about the cold weather we were waking up to today. I was excited to try a long sleeve dri-fit long sleeve running shirt finally with some cold weather so I put it only to skip out the door expecting 40s and it was 60. Sports bra weather maybe.

Weather smether. You know what Saturdays in the 60s are for? Kale smoothies and spray paint. Mmmmm.

Happy EP Release Day!

In honor of this nationally recognized holiday I'd like to allude to a surprise that no one is going to really care about except for me and Luke.  And probably Matt.  Here's a hint.  It's a really good hint.

Today is special in that Matt is releasing his Forever EP today.  Make sure you wish him a "Happy EP Day!" because that's a thing and I'm sure he wants it on his Facebook wall.  I'm not really sure what EP stands for but in the past it's been an album pressing with less songs on it and it's cheaper.  His full length record comes out in May so this is just a teaser.  A cheaper tease.  That sounds dirty but it's not really.  And "EP" sounds a little more PC than "Cheap Tease".

So that is good news numero uno.  You can buy it here and it looks like this.  You can also get it at a show but Matt refuses to play in Tampa so you really can't if you live here.  If you are planning on going to any of the Matchbox 20 tour where Matt is opening, you can buy it there. 





Good news numero dos is that the first single off of the album, "Restless Heart" is the itunes single of the week.  Which means you can get it for free.  Which is also why I put it second.  Haha, you already bought it.  Just kidding.  You can get the free one and I won't care (or know).  When you see me selling my juicer on Craigslist and Luke feasting on Kibbles and Bits........you'll know what you did.  But seriously, get it for free. 

Then you can give it 5 stars because you are my friend and it's good to run to  <----try it!!!!

Tres is pretty cool but pretty dumb at the same time.  Matt has a new website that is great.  But it's dumb to get to and we can't figure out why.  There is this splash page that come up when you hit the link and you have to scroll down to the link where it says "Enter Site" to actually get there.  I need to dust off my html for dummies tonight. 

www.matthires.com   <----Mom and AC, that is a link, click that.

Good news numero quatro is that you guys are the best.  My friends have been so supportive of my 20K for FCA run and I even started to tear up thinking about them (honestly). 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME!! 

I love these kids, and am so excited to work with them and can't do it without support and I'm humbled that you chose to support me.  I know there are so many places that need financial support today and I can't even express how overwhelming it is when you trust this ministry to help students.  I love you all so much.  THANK YOU!

Tomorrow starts my February juice cleanse.  It's pretty obvious I am no expert at diet and nutrition (or anything really except dog loving) but I honestly have never felt better (in body, mind, and spirit) than after a juice cleanse.  Key word being after.  I feel energized, lighter, clear headed, and more focused.  My skin clears up, any water retention is gone (and I'd like to believe 90% of my body fat is really just water retention), and I just feel good.  Food tastes better and I don't feel like eating a bowl of french fries with a Coke after I've finished drinking kale juice for three days.  Even if a full on cleanse is too much to handle (I get it), try incorporating kale smoothies into your routine.  Kale and spinach pretty much disappear into a smoothie with bananas and peanut butter (my favorite).  And your pee turns green.  (<---that's not true, but that would be wicked cool). 

Dark greens are going to be my valentine this year.  Matt is coping.  Luke is relieved.  

Sweet Tea Kale juice?

Yesterday I got to visit Plant High School to meet with girls about a bible study.  I had to catch them in between school and flag football practice and I followed my rule for getting people to like me.   

Bring food.  

Chic-fil-a is on the way to the school so I stopped in for some after school treats.  I wish I had a picture of me doing this but I got to re-live my glory days of a high school track star and complete one high jump.  HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHA.  And no, I'm not laughing at calling myself a "track star".   I'm sure this girl is at least laughing with me........It was funny.  I also can't believe I don't have a picture.  I didn't have any Chic-fil-A but the smell of french fries wafting through my car on the way home was making me want awful things so I turned to my sweet friend, green juice.

Because I was so determined to add a whole bale of kale to the juice I neglected to make it palatable to anyone but me, much less, "sweet".  Kale, grapefruit, and starfruit made for a tart juice.  I liked it.  In a warhead kind of way.  Matt and his parents drank it but I'm not sure it wasn't for my benefit.  Jokes on them because it is actually for their benefit.  Kale is the jam.

I'm going to call this balanced living.  Or refusal to wash more dishes than I have to.  Dump out the remainder of a jumbo sweet tea.  Fill with green juice. 

We were meeting some family for dinner at the mall and AC (Aunt Carol) really wanted us to see Kever (my uncle) shopping around Nordstrom.  He honestly looked grumpy when I said I wanted to take a grumpy picture but then he started laughing at me and only I look grumpy which is hilarious because I could live in that store.  

 

 You see those socks in my hand?  One of my Facebook friends posted about new running socks yesterday and I couldn't stop thinking about new socks all day.  Done.  I live for gimmicks.  And they were recommended by Runner's World.  And I read that so I believe them.  We'll see.  I have a free afternoon, new socks, an audio book that is so good, and perfect weather....I feel a long run in my Friday plans.  A full review up tomorrow.  .

Marriage restored.

Yes, yes, and yes.  I brought home this beautiful bounty of kale yesterday with a great big smile on my face.  Love love love.  And how much was that giant bale?  $3.99.  Shop local.  Or grow your own, that would make you really groovy.  





I chopped up some sweet potato, zucchini, onion, garlic, and kale for veggie bowls last night.  If anyone is into turnips (I'm on the fence, they can have that wasabi sensation in my nose if I don't cook them all the way and that makes me want to die), I had some left over from last week's grocery run and sliced them thick for the grill.  I left them on the grill (on high heat, for about 15 minutes) while the other veggies cooked on the stove and they were delicious.  Almost like potatoes that have been grilled but with less calories, more flavor, more filling, and better texture.  So good, I may be a turnip convert.  And nothing is wrong with potatoes, they are the peanuts to my jelly, and oh so good fried to blissful perfection.  But if I ate a french fry everytime I wanted one, my runs would need to be 6 hours long on the daily.  Suprising though how much Vitamin C a potato has, check it out below.  French fries over Emergen-C?  Done.

Turnips:

Potatoes:



At the market I shop at, I saw these beauties.  I vaguely remember "fresh garbanzos" being an ingredient on Top Chef at some point and the contestants being stoked about them but that was years ago.  I didn't know it was something that un-prentious Padma wannabes like me could have on their grocery list.  After searching the Internet for how to cook them, I found they are apparently the "new edamamme".  You can steam and salt them and pluck them out from the shell.  I'm excited.  Pinterest had some fun things to use them for too.  And Pinterest never lets anyone down, ahhemm...Pinstrosity. 

Yesterday I had a meeting with the FCA club at Tampa Prep.  It was awesome and I've never been more excited to start working with the organization.  The meeting was completely student led; they prepared some games, they prayed, they prepared the lesson and read scripture, and succeeded in blowing me away.  I was such a crummy example of Christ in high school.  Seeing these kids interact with one another, kids from different groups, with no excluding anyone was inspiring.  I am starting a bible study with the girls that will take place before school. 

Hopefully the bible study will take place on their track so I can roll around on it and kiss it.  It was amazing.  I know it's a private school with more resources than a public school, but oui vey, it was incredible.  A blogger I love, Meals and Miles, wrote yesterday about speed work on a track and how there really isn't one in Tampa that the public can use.  It's true!  It is danagerous running sprints on the sidewalks and I feel like every person I pass that sees me speeding by and then slowing down at the end of the sidewalk thinks I just speed up so I look like a great runner as I pass them.  I need a track!  Maybe I can dress in cute track gear and pass myself off as a high school track star to be able to run on theirs.  I think the "rolling around kissing the lanes" might give me away though.  Or the fact that I'm 28 and administrators aren't as dumb in real life as they were in "Never Been Kissed". 

My FCA staff page is up so if you want to read what it's about and see a picture of me looking goofy and Matt looking foxy you should go here.  You can also sign up to be a partner with me which would be soooooo great!  I'm a terrible fundraiser and hate asking for money but I really want to be able to sponsor some of these kids to go to leadership camp on top of my own funding.  The camp is closer to home this year so it's a bit cheaper than in past years but it is still $300/kid and having that taken care of really helps some students that have incredible leadership potential but not the funding to get to camp.  We try to chose underclassmen so that they can go back to school after camp on fire and ready to lead their clubs.  If you want to make me run for the money go here and donate for my Gasparilla race....20K for FCA.  Or you could run with me and raise money for FCA on your own.  We can sweat together, repeating "it's for the kids" as a mantra as we run like crazy people in Tampa's glorious 90 degree February weather.  Aren't I a great marketing guru?  I makes things sound so awesome.  Sterling Cooper, watch out.

Alarm clocks and traffic, oatmeal and coffee. Bless you.

Weird waking up early, eating oatmeal and coffee with my dog in our humble little house watching the local news in English. Yesterday I was drinking coffee on our balcony overlooking lush gardens, in a white robe, drinking in the warm salty air. We awoke each morning to birds chirping and the light rain tapping on our roof.  Paradise. Not reality. And that's okay.

My alarm chirping merely 24 hours later is a jolt from the easy living of vacation. I've traded up margaritas for kale smoothies and late night buffet lines for 9pm bedtimes. It's good though, I missed home.

I will definitely miss blogging, checking emails, reading, and talking about black holes with Matt here though.... as you can imagine, I found black holes incredibly interesting and I had a lot to add to the conversation. 

One fun thing we discovered was at the resort you could ask the grounds keepers to cut open one of the many fallen coconuts on the property and drink the water out with a straw. Once you've re hydrated with delicious fresh coconut water you can take it to a bar and dehydrate with a piña colada that they'll pour into your coconut. It weighed like 25 pounds though so "one for each hand" would have been pretty difficult. However, I should have man-ed up because I may have developed some killer biceps instead of a killer headache.

This week brings many meetings with coaches and teams and I'm excited to meet a lot of the students I'll be working with. I met with some students from Plant High School last week at Palma Ceia Methodist Church and got to spend some time with one student who hasn't grown up a Christian or ever gone to church but recently had some things happen in his life that he couldn't manage himself.  Some tough hard things that 17 year olds shouldn't have to experience or know about.  Then his best friend told him about church.  Church told him about Jesus.  He's been walking to youth group each Wednesday and church on Sundays for about a year.  Because he loves this Jesus.  Because he believes that however crazy the Bible might seem on paper and from the mouth of a youth pastor, to a young boy who tragically has never known a McGee & Me video or Psalty the Singing Psalm Book, he knows Jesus lived, Jesus came to redeem those that knew Him, He died for those that knew Him, and was resurrected for those that knew Him and those that know Him today.  He knows Jesus because He is working in his life, to make it new, to make it mean something.  I was humbled hearing this young man talk about this with no pretenses or cliches, no "christian-ese", he wasn't trying to impress me with his Bible trivia, it was pure, unadulterated amazement. 

So while I'm sad to wave good-bye to an incredible January full of family, and love, and sun, and snow, and friends, and adventures, I'm overwhelmed with joy that I get to spend more time hearing about the lives of the students in Tampa Bay.  Cheers.

Sunshine-y Day.

Fortunately the bug we caught in New York (probably from that blasted subway) was not bad and I woke up feeling 90% after going to bed trusting that a truck running me over would have been relief.  Expecting to feel terrible and instead feeling amazing is the sweetest thing.  Thank you Jesus.  Thumbs up is a really cool way of showing how fun you are.  Take it from me. 

It was so nice to drink coffee, eat breakfast, take my Luke for a walk in the sunshine, watch news and catch up on emails from my living room.  I love mornings that feel normal and aren't clouded in a flu-ish haze.  Sick days are weird.  I've been going through kale like no one's business and praying it is the miracle food I think it is.  Just to note, pink bags for his poop just suggest how comfortable he is with his masculinity. 

Today is the start of a short work week but I love the routine of it.  Yoga, Oatmeal, Coffee, Good Morning America, The Word, all fill up my routine and create a calm before heading out the door to pick up more coffee, open mail, respond to emails, return calls, schedule, go to meetings, and drive around Tampa like a city bus.  After I quit teaching I didn't work for about six months and filled up my time redecorating our house, running, swimming, and watching silly ABC Family TV shows.  The ladies on The View were my friends every morning at 10am.  It was a fun time to lunch with my friends, shop with my mom, and hang with my dog, but having purpose is so crucial to my well being.  I need to product, to create, to go, to feel like waking up is needed and going to bed is deserved. 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I am not my own, my life, my body, were bought with a tremendous price and that price was so monumental that the dedicated watching of four ladies (or five depending on how dramatic the news of the prior day was) hash out current events seems like a poor way to spend 5 hours each week.  This is not to condemn anyone that likes the View (I still watch it on days off), or running each morning, or having lunch with their friends, those memories are sweet and to be cherished, but after those memories being my routine each day I went to bed each night feeling un-accomplished.  All of this rambling to say I'm glad to be back to my normal routine of being productive in between traveling.  Tangents are my middle name. 

Last night I got the opportunity to celebrate a wonderful friend and Aunt who is turning ** this year and in Tampa to party it up.  She is precious and has had a tough couple (more than a couple) of years and watching her claw through life even though it's hard and sometimes it sucks and is not fair has been admirable.  She is feisty and is always honest and I loved being able to surprise her on her birthday with her friends and family. 

Happy Birthday Aunt Janet!! 

 PS- I'm so sorry Donna made you wear that pin on your birthday, not fair:)