I cook blog food.

Today was wonderful. It was the first weekend day in a while that we haven't been out and about visting family. We started off the day with a trip to the farmers market.

Ben got to make friends with my red potatoes...

Then I let my ADD run wild and ping-ponged around my house working on random to-dos. I FINALLY got my sense of accomplishment back. The reason I think this happened is because, (1) Ben is getting a bit more predictable. Therefore, I can really utilize his naptimes. (2) I realized I the amount that I can accomplish in a day is less than 1/4th of what I used to. I started setting realistic goals and ticking them off my list.

Todays goals were:

1. Sweep and mop the dining room

2. Sweep and mop the kitchen

3. Weed the garden

4. Cut out two sets of pieces for Katie's wedding garland (more on this to come!)

5. Fold and put away 2 loads of laundry

6. Write a blog post.

I actually crossed everything off!

The real meat of my post is about the two dishes I made tonight. I think I might make this a feature on the blog. I will cook a meal entirely of recipes from one blogger. This week Pioneer Woman posted two recipes that I could not get out of my head.

The first was Summer Stir-Fry. I think I couldn't get it out of my head because I had everything for it already in my fridge, aside from the corn... which I purchased this morning at the farrmer's market. Squee!

This was a light and refreshing summer meal that went great with my sauvignon blanc (pump and dump, baby). I used basil from my garden which added a great flavor. I don't think the hubs loved it, but I would definitely make it again. Especially if I was having the girls over.

The second PW recipe was Mystery Mocha. All I have to say about this is...

HOLY. HELL. MAKE . THIS. IMMEDIATELY.

It is a chocolate lava-type cake and it was super easy. If you have company coming over they will be super impressed! Greg forgave me for the 'light' dinner after he dug into this one.

Hope everyone is having a great summer weekend!!

Finding the time...

Right now I am really struggling to find the time to work out. Currently, I am 10lbs heavier than I was pre-bug. Losing those last stubborn pounds is certainly a goal of mine, but also I need the endorphines like no other. Sometimes I think working out is the only thing that keeps me from needing some serious anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication.


However, when I leave work, I want to drive straight home for a snuggle session, so getting to the gym is super hard. Monday I made myself go for a quickie 30 min workout. But the rest of the week I have had to get home for some reason or another. And not to be a whiney ass... but it is just too freakin' hot to workout outside in the evenings right now. For now, my goal is to workout 3 times a week. That feels so lame for a former 6 X week worker outter, but I have to start somewhere. Most likely, two of those workouts will be on the weekend days.


I think I will make a deal with myself (and with my husband). If I can stick to my workout and daily calorie goals for four weeks, then I will buy myself a pair of spin shoes. I love me some indoor cycling, and have had shoes on my wishlist for about 2 years. (p.s. It ticks me off that my road bike shoes won't fit on the spin bikes).


I already have them picked out.



Oh yeah. To counteract the fact that we aren't working out nearly as often as we used to, Greg and I BOTH started diligently counting calories. We can't indulge in all the little cheats we used to when we were burning them off with so much working out (though since I am breastfeeding, I have little more wiggle room). Having his support in this area is amazing. It is so cute when my buff husband who can eat his weight in burritos marvels about the amount of calories in 24 almonds!

If at first you don't succeed...

I am trying again here on the blogging. Unfortunately, I missed out on what would have been the most entertaining blog topics in the past few months. But honestly, Motherhood hit me like a ton of bricks. I think I was a little overconfident going into the whole ordeal. I thought I could do it all. Turns out... I can't. That realization sent me into somewhat of a tail spin.

I am getting back on the blogging bandwagon and it will help me resurface and realize that there is still a little bit of "me" left. Hopefully, I can fill in the gaps and do some retrospective blog topics on the birth day, postpartum bipolar disorder, and all the wonderful things that come along with being a Mommy.

For now... here is a recent pic of the boy, Benjamin Douglas Axelson. We call him Ben...or Bug, or Angel Pie, or Monkeyboy, or Pickle Toes.

I am promising to post twice a week from now on.