The First Anniversary

This was a year ago? I can't believe it. This is right as we're about to walk out, which I think turned into a run and a squeal. Our wedding was amazingly fun but the past year has really given it a run for its money.  I have compiled a list of a few highlights from the first year as well as some of my favorite things about Kevin and being married to him.

This year we have:

1) Had many awesome meals, both restaurant and homemade. Some worth mentioning are the Greek feast Kevin made for my birthday, the Meddlesome Moth meal for Kevin's birthday, all of the chickens Kevin roasted or grilled in his quest for the perfect chicken, some homemade mac and cheese that I knocked out of the park, shrimp and grits, jambalaya, and the list could go on and on.

I love that Kevin appreciates a really decadent gourmet meal, but will also eat WHATEVER I put in front of him. I pride myself on being able to pull together a meal out of the barest pantry or fridge and Kevin will love it. I also love that Kevin and I have put value on mealtime in our first year as a family. We celebrate with a big fancy meal, we make meals with friends that turn into celebrations because the food is so good, we show love with food (we are Southern after all) and we make time to eat at our table. Sitting at the dinner table, even if its just the two of us, feels special every time we do it. I can count on one hand the number of times we've eaten dinner in front of the TV and I feel like we are building an important tradition that we will continue for years to come as the family grows (hopefully).

2) Driven a lot of miles. We drove home from New Jersey in the (new to us) party Saab, drove to South Carolina and back for Thanksgiving, drove to Hayley's house multiple times, drove to OKC, Dallas, Austin countless times, drove to Colorado for a senior trip and drove to San Antonio for our anniversary!

I love road trips with Kevin because we (almost) never get bored! A little tired or sick of being in the car? Yes. But bored of each other? Never. We just talk, laugh, sing real or made up songs, snack and generally enjoy each other's company. Listening to Bossypants was particularly fun. I most definitely never fall asleep while Kevin is driving through the night. :)

3) Reached a happy medium on the state of "laundry" in our house. Kevin contains his mess to one pile in the general vicinity of his hamper and I don't gripe about it (seriously if you saw his old room when he lived with boys you'd know the VAST improvement). If Kevin's pile starts to push the limits, I'll fold some of his clothes myself. On the other hand, I do laundry about once every 8 weeks and Kevin doesn't gripe about it.

I love that Kevin and I have found a groove of not picking on each other's tactics when it comes to housekeeping. There are bigger fish to fry than the "proper way" to wash dishes. There are way too many things to love about Kevin to get hung up on his pile. There are (I hope) way too many things to love about me to get hung up on my general demeanor before my first cup of coffee.

Which brings me to the most important thing that I love about Kevin. It may not be the most profound thing but it is the one thing everyday that reminds me that Kevin just gets me: Kevin makes the coffee everyday. Before I wake up. It is hot and ready for me to pour as soon as I get out of bed. Now THAT is my love language.

So this post about our first anniversary turned into a post about our first year. I'll leave you with pics of our celebration in San Antonio that you probably saw on Facebook and then the feast that we made last night at home. We couldn't decide on anniversary traditions to start so we did them all. We watched the video from the rehearsal dinner, watched our wedding video, read the story Kevin wrote me, looked at wedding pictures AND danced to Beauty and the Beast. I think our anniversary might be my new favorite holiday*!

Do you have any traditions you are proud of in your home? What's the state of your laundry? :) 

*Tied with Christmas of course

The Day Hayley Did Me a Solid

Does that even make sense? Who cares. I am working on a post about our first anniversary but it is taking forever because thinking about it makes me too emotional for spring break. It feels like yesterday and feels like a million years ago, all at the same time. In the meantime, I have scored some major loot in the process of celiac dominating 40% of the women in my family (sorry girls :/ ). The greatest thing so far is this:

Protein powder! It may not look like much, but it is something I never buy for us but frequently wish I would/could. Bringing this home motivated me to 1) work out really hard this morning and 2) try something new in the Magic Bullet. I have it in my head that I need/want to eat more beets. I think it is mostly because of how pretty they are and how they make the kitchen look like a murder scene. I have tried the Berry UpBeet smoothie from Jamba Juice and it is good but the "beets" come from "red veggie juice." I think Jamba Juice is pretty conscious of the stuff they put in there but that is just a little too vague for me. So I whipped up this post-workout smoothie today:

See what I mean about pretty?! All I did was peel a beet, cut it up into chunks, and put about a third of the chunks into the Magic Bullet cup (I saved the other chunks for future smoothies). I added half of a frozen banana, a handful of frozen berries (strawbs, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries I think), a scoop of the protein powder and then filled it up with milk. Blend and voila! I think next time I'll add more frozen fruit so it will be a little thicker. For a first try it was really delicious! I could smell the beets but not taste them. The vanilla in the protein masked any bitterness. I will definitely make this again! I would like to find a way to include probiotics in this smoothie but prefer the smoothie texture with milk over yogurt. Any suggestions? Do they make probiotic powder? 

Thanks Hayley for making my week! 

Two Things

That I never thought would work.

Number 1: When Kevin is sick (as he is this week) he wants nothing more than a big bowl of pho. Pho is that Vietnamese soup that supposedly has noodles and veggies and what not. The thing is, the only place in Waco to get pho makes me so angry. He pays $8 for a bowl of pho and it has like 3 noodles in it. Unacceptable. I have always been under the impression that I don't like pho but this may have been because it was just pissing me off. Broth is not soup. Broth is broth.

Cut to Sunday afternoon, I'm trying to make a grocery list. "Kevin, what do you want for dinner tomorrow night?" Kevin with his hood pulled up, wrapped in a blanket and surrounded by kleenex, "Pho." Well, ok. So I did some research and decided I could probably create something close enough to pho to make him happy. Plus I could stock it full of veggies and noodles and all the good stuff. The great news? HEB had all the unusual spices in the bulk section so I got the ingredients for a full, huge pot of soup for about the same amount it would cost for one serving at the under-noodled hole in the wall.

Pho is basically a heavily spiced broth with onions, bean sprouts, beef, cilantro, fish sauce and rice noodles mixed in.  I improvised by using regular chicken broth I already had frozen and simmering it with the spices for awhile. I could provide the recipe but I'm not going to fool myself in thinking that anyone reading will actually want to make it :) As we sat down to eat I felt the need to say, "I hope you realize just how much this proves I love you." Pictures to prove it:

Number 2: I saw a recipe for "mashed" cheesy cauliflower on Pinterest that is supposedly a mashed potato look-alike. I doubted it instantly but decided to try it anyway. Kevin grilled steak for Valentine's dinner and I made the cauliflower to go beside. I was fully expecting it to be gross and for us to have to toast up some bread or something for a last minute replacement. Man was I surprised when it was delicious! Its not as creamy as potatoes obviously, but it doesn't taste like cauliflower. Of course, if you put enough milk, butter and cheese in anything I'm sure it would be good. Plus, it was so easy. Just microwave cauliflower with milk (cream, half and half, whatever) until it is mushy then throw it in the food processor or blender with the cheese and other stuff. Bam. Delicious creaminess without the leaden, carb stomach after effect. I know, I know, Hayley has long since passed out or disowned me for talking like this. I'm not claiming it to be something that could fool you for mashed potatoes. I am claiming it to be the most delicious cauliflower I've ever had. (Flashback to Allison gagging on cauliflower and getting in trouble for spitting it down the sink in the red bathroom.) Once again, picture proof:

I Instagramed this picture b/c it was horrible :)

So what have you made that impressed even yourself? Any fun Valentine's meals to discuss?

Small Miracles

Today has been about small miracles. Tiny victories in the quest to teach yoga to the kids at West Ave Elementary. It was my first day back after Christmas break and the crazy month of January and I was not excited about it this morning. Around lunch time I decided, I have got to make this better.

Let me back up. Last semester I went to West Ave every Monday and Wednesday from 3:15 to about 4:30 with the intention of teaching yoga. Every Monday and Wednesday it looked like someone fired a gun in a hen house and then locked me in there. Kids.screaming.running.hitting.flipping and the one little girl at the front listening attentively and mastering her down dog. This class was organized by the after school program director and she and I tried every kind of positive rewards, consequences, pep talks, stern talks, three strikes your out, and then some tactics that we could think of. Every Monday and Wednesday I could pretty much laugh it off and keep trying, I'm pretty patient, kids are wild, whatever. But after over a month away, it didn't seem exciting to go back.

So I determined to do more research, to make changes, to MAKE.IT.WORK. I did some googling and found this:

(Update: I deleted the video b/c I was sick of it starting automatically and scaring the pants off me.)

Inspiration! I decided to go up to the school a little early to talk to the director and formulate a new plan. Here are the four small miracles that followed:

1) I show up and she immediately says "Oh Caitlin! I'm so glad you're back, the kids made you this for Christmas and have been dying to give it you!"

It is a precious work of art made by melting crayons across a canvas. But it's not about the artistic ability. It's about being greeted with a token of appreciation. I didn't expect it and I would've kept teaching without it, but it sure was nice to receive. 

2) We get into our conversation about making the class better and I tell her I think we really need mats. I tell her I've been brainstorming fundraising ideas and she says, "hold on, I just got an email from a church group that wants to know if they can do a fundraiser for us!" What the what? Mats are a done deal. 

3) We decided to have a "meeting" today; one with the older grades and a separate one with the younger grades to talk about yoga this semester and how it's going to be a club that they can sign up for (with a lot more explanation). I explain what yoga is supposed to be, why we want to have this club, and then give them the chance to ask questions and clarify. One little boy raises his hand to say "I want to sign up for yoga because it helps you relax!" Done. You're in and I love you. 

4) Finally, as I gently say something like, "if you know that after school is not the time for you to try to sit still and you'd rather run laps around Ms. Sullivan then maybe yoga is not the club for you" the wildest, craziest, grab every marker, throw every tennis ball, pull everyone's hair, scream for no reason, precious little girl says, "I don't think yoga is for me." Couldn't have said it better myself little one. You're out and I love you. 

The Latest in a Long List

My beef with the online community-social media-whatever you want to call it could go on for days. But lately, I have been especially perturbed by one aspect in particular.

Whatever happened to reading something, disagreeing, and moving on with your life? Or better yet, whatever happened to common sense? People say things online that they would NEVER say to someone's face (I should hope). That's still a person. Some individual is going to read your comment and probably have their feelings hurt. If your mom heard you say that (or saw you type that) she'd knock you to next Tuesday.

Some examples:

Dear old Pinterest provides many ideas for new ways to do your hair. Apparently, if you see a picture, read a two sentence description, and then try it, it should work on every head of hair ever created. If for some reason it goes awry, the person who posted it is clearly a moron who can't teach and deserves to go bald.

Some websites (blogs, Pinterest, you name it) have cute little tips for turning a muffin tin upside down and making cookie cups, taco salad bowls, cute little party hats...anything under the sun. If yours don't turn out perfectly? No possible way your oven is different, your muffin tin is different, you read wrong, it was a fluke, you live in the high humidity constant summer hell of Texas, you had a momentary attack of stupid. Nope, it's the idea person's fault. The only acceptable course of action is to berate him/her online.

Let me be clear, I know that investing in a craft or project and it failing is FRUSTRATING. My best bud and I tried to make a paint handprint Christmas ornament thing of her infant son's hand and it was a massive failure. Was it the little lady's fault who posted the idea on Pinterest? No. We only have ourselves to blame. We forgot that infants cannot be commanded to spread out their fingers. We didn't think about how the feel of a foreign substance all over an infants' hand would prompt a clenching reaction. We didn't consider that maybe the crafty idea is best tried with a sedated two year old. That's on us. Our bad. BUT did we go online and tear that little old lady a new one? Nope. We had a good laugh and put the poor infant in the bath.

Some times I can't trust everything I read online. Sometimes people are different than me. Sometimes I should just shut my mouth.

How did I learn this and not the rest of the general online public?

A Recap in Pictures

So it's been awhile. I'm over my oppositional streak now and am feeling motivated to get back to the blog. Plus, I noticed that Murn had written on hers again and figured if she can do it, I can do it.

Here's the lowdown on what's happened since my last post:

I went to Florida for Allison's BIG 3-0 birthday and had a great time with this chunky dunk-
                                                                               

         

and these nonchunky dunks-

We got to spend a weekend in Fort Worth with awesome friends and all their babes-

                                    

I attended my second annual National Adoption Day celebration. It is always one of the happiest days of the year! Not a dry eye in the house. 

Kev and I loaded up to drive to South Carolina for Thanksgiving with (most of) my family where we did lots of eating, lounging, game playing, hot tubbing, etc at this wilderness wonderland- 

                                   

Hayley, Mom, Mary Beth and I went to the Natchitoches, Louisiana Christmas festival which is famous world wide for being featured in a little movie called Steel Magnolias! So maybe just Steeleworld wide but we had a great time. 

Kevin and I spent Christmas with his family and got to see Les Miserables on Christmas Eve! Other than that lots of lounging and eating of course :)

                                               

When Kevin headed off to Turkey to visit his friend, I went to Oklahoma to spend New Years with my family. I enjoyed the tail end of Haven's first Christmas 

and celebrated New Years Eve with Mama and Hayley (taking the picture). 

Next came the Senior Trip chaperoning for Kevin's school. Drove to Pagosa Springs, CO with 9 high school seniors. Cooked dinner, dropped them off at the ski mountain, wandered the little town, saw beautiful scenes such as this, 

and went DOGSLEDDING. That's right, it was one of the coolest things ever. 

Last but certainly not least, I went with Grace, Jaron and Emmitt out to Tennessee to see Kristin and Eli! We had the best week ever. Eli is precious,

 Emmitt is precious, 

they were both less-than-pleased about their car seats 

and they held hands (we died).

So what have you been up to? 

After A Run

Stretch! It doesn't matter if the run was 1 mile or 22 miles, if you stretch after a run you will be less tight and recover faster. Your muscles will be so happy! I have put together a quick yoga sequence that is great for after a run and will take less than 5 minutes. My camera is currently taking a sabbatical so I am going to use pictures from Yoga Journal's website. The people look so much calmer anyway...which is probably because they are in that all white room. Except wouldn't that make you feel a little insane? I feel a little bad about hijacking their pictures so here is the link to their Pose Guide. Yoga journal pictures do tend to look like the people don't have bones in their bodies so I'll give my own descriptions, for the more realistic versions of the poses!

So you've just come inside or stepped off the treadmill. It's important to let your breath and heart rate slow a little bit so you don't pass out or vom when you start folding. Just walk it off or shake out the arms and legs for about a minute till you catch your breath.

 Quick Post-Run Yoga 

Forward Fold: Feet together or about 3 inches apart. Bend at the hips, keeping the legs straight. Let the arms and head hang heavy or place the hands on the thighs, shins, ankles or floor...whatever you can reach. Obviously Serena here is pretty flexible, don't worry about her. Just fold as far as you can. Hold this pose for 5 deep breaths then roll back up to standing. 

Wide Leg Forward Fold: Spread the feet wide, keeping them parallel to each other. Fold at the hips, again reaching the hands and head as far as you can. Mindy appears to have her head on the floor too. This is accomplished by simply removing the hamstrings, no problem OR practicing yoga for many years. Hold this pose for 5 deep breaths then pivot to the left, turning the feet. 

High Lunge: Both feet are pointing forward, the front knee is over the ankle. Extend the back foot and keep the leg straight with the knee lifted. Placing the hands on either side of the front foot, look forward  and try to lift the chest (to keep the core engaged, rather than just laying on the front leg). Hold this pose for 3 deep breaths then switch sides. Hold the other side for 3 deep breaths then stand up. 

Pyramid: With the right foot pointing forward, step the left foot back about two feet (a much shorter stance than the lunge). Turn the left toes out slightly to about a 45 degree angle. Keep both legs straight and the hips level as you bend over the front leg. If you are not quite as limber as Theresa here, you can rest your hands on your thigh, shin or the floor, again whatever you can reach. The point is to keep the legs straight so the stretch is in the front hamstring. Hold this pose for 3 deep breaths then switch sides. Hold the other side for 3 deep breaths then stand up. 

Wide Leg Prayer Squat: Standing up, spread the feet wider than the hips and turn the toes out slightly. Squat down as low as you can, with the goal being to bring the booty lower than the knees. Bring the hands together in front of your chest (like you're praying, hence the title) and use the elbow to slightly press the knees out. This does not have to be a hardcore, full body engaged squat even though it may appear that way. Once you get into the pose and find your balance, you can pretty much just hang out with the booty hovering over the ground. "Hanging" the booty like this stretches and releases tension in the lower back. Pressing the knees slightly helps to stretch the inner thighs. Hold this pose for 5 deep breaths then rock forward, place the hands on the floor and lay down on the belly. Laurel is so sassy here with her hair cut and that look on her face. Feel free to make your squat as sassy as you'd like. 

Bow Pose: The point of this pose is to stretch the quads- the front of the thighs. If you'd like to go with the standard standing on one leg, pulling the lifted foot into the butt while the knee points to the floor, go for it! That is a great stretch. Bow pose is just another option to mix it up. Laying on your belly, bend up both knees and reach the arms around to grab the outsides of the ankles. Pull the feet up to arch the back and stretch the front of the body. Lance has got this pose DOWN. But if you need a less intense option to start, try doing one side at a time. Rest the left forearm on the floor in front of your face, keep the left leg straight and laying on the floor, and just pull up the right ankle. Hold this pose for 3 deep breaths (if you are doing one side at a time, hold each side for 3 breaths). Release the ankles and lay flat on the belly. 

Child's Pose: From the belly, push back on the hands to bring the booty over the feet. Lay down over the thighs bringing the forehead to the floor. The arms can reach out long in front of you, fold in front of you to place the head on the hands or reach down the sides of the body like Theresa is demonstrating. If your body won't touch your thighs put a pillow or folded up blanket between your booty and feet. The lift should allow the chest to come lower. If your chest is laying on your thighs and you'd like a deeper stretch, scoot the knees apart and allow the chest to lay on the floor between the knees. Hold this pose until you fall asleep, get hungry or your Stout Boyz come jump on you! :) 

What do you think? Do you usually stretch after running? Is there anything you would add?

Obviously I made up all the names in this post and all the information about the models. I don't know them and they certainly do not know me.