New diet: Paleo

Hey, y'all. It's been about 2 weeks since I posted last. Brandon and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on the 24th and it was blissful! (well, except the part where I was in the dog house for forgetfully changing my shift from the 25th to the 24th...). We went out to Hibiscus and it was amazing! More on the expensive side, for sure, but so worth it. We'd done a little research before going and knew what most people raved about eating, so we pretty much already had our meal planned. What we did not plan is to find our favorite wine we "discovered" in 2006 when we went to Las Vegas. I had to take a picture.



It's Steele. As we've come to find out, it is not so easy to find in Texas, so we happen to know which 2 stores in the area even sell it.

For an appetizer, we had the Baked Dungeness Crab Dip, which was so yummy. I ate the Texas Lamb Osso Bucco (first picture below) that had polenta and roasted carrots with it, and Brandon had the Prime Strip "Brick", the second picture. Both were delicious, but mine was the best, especially since it was cold out. We also had, as an extra side dish, the Deep Dish Mac Casserole, which is to die for, seriously. I was stuffed full and found myself still eating at it. We really enjoyed the money we spent at Hibiscus, lol.



I've felt like since I last posted my job has been psycho. Work has run me into the ground! Some of our patients have been trying on my...well...patience, and I was actually looking forward to approaching the unit from the opposite side, instead of nursing, being in charge. Well, my first night in charge was HELLISH! The unit was calling for me to no longer charge (a joke, btw) because I had to take two admits myself AND perform the charge nurse functions, never mind you that one of the 2 patients I had to take was so sick we had to emergently intubate (breathing tube placed), perform a bronchoscopy (stick something into the patient's lungs to, in this case, clear blockages), and then transport over to our sister hospital for the CVICU care. What a freakin' mess. Followed by my immediate next shift being in charge, again, and, AGAIN, taking an admission from a rapid response (a floor or rehab patient getting sick enough that he/she needs extra care, and sometimes admission to the ICU, as in this case.) Needless to say, I was T-I-R-E-D. And I still had 2 more days of work left in the week. Either way, when I was done, I went home and slept...and that is pretty much what I've done all weekend. I needed it.

We did run a few errands. Brandon has our tax return in already and it has already been approved. We should be getting some money back, which is nice. Got Brandon's truck some new tires and this Wednesday we're going to take my car to the shop and see why my check engine light stays on now. (I think I know what it is, but I can't be sure. I kinda hope its what I think it is, as it shouldn't be too expensive, like <$200.) We're doing this now because we're very close to our goal money to start looking at houses seriously and want any foreseeable major expenses covered before we dive in to a home. We went out to Denton and looked at a new home construction site. The homes were nice, but the neighborhood, which would have HOA dues, offers nothing to us (as in, no community pool/center, no golf site, that seems popular, etc.), is a bit on the secluded side, and is small. Some of those could be pluses, but, for me, looking at the neighborhood, I wasn't wow'ed or excited. It was, meh. And, for the price, I could get a pre-owned home, bigger and cheaper, with more stuff in the community (pools, ponds, walking trails, nearer to movies, stores, dog parks, etc) with the down side of it being an older home, we have no say in the construction, and it would be a lesser school district (not that I'm currently using that as a huge decider, but I really can't ignore it). Either way, we decided since we're so close, we need to look at some of the houses that on the internet look nice. A couple at church have been raving about the wonderful real estate agent they found so we're hoping to get her name and number and get the process rolling. Not buying yet...but getting closer.

Moving on to the most important, and scary, in my opinion, thing we did so far, is we've signed up with Crossfit Richardson's 45 Day Paleo challenge. Mostly, we'd be doing Crossfit workouts (and we really enjoyed the Richardson location a while back, with John being a wonderful influence and encourager) combined with resetting our diets. The Paleo/primal diet is about eating what, supposedly, our bodies were evolved to eat, like a caveman. No dairy, no grains, no sugars. Meat and vegetables and fruits. And to do it cold turkey. Do it for 45 days, then learn to "cheat smart," which we'll cross when we get there. I'm not sure I 100% buy into the idea that our bodies aren't designed for breads and such, but the foods that are recommended to be eaten are not bad foods in the least. From the nutrition stand point (should I remotely remember my Nutrition training from college at all), is that carbs are quickly spent energies and can be good for you, but, as a whole, most Americans eat too many carbs, and simple carbs at that, and thus the extra energy gets stored as fats. Well, it doesn't look like we'll be eating a whole lot of carbs, at least not like white breads and such which would be on the simpler side. Combined with the intensity of the workouts we'll be doing, we should be doing something pretty decent for our bodies, I think. I'll try to get something set up with our meal plans for the past week and how much I liked/didn't like foods and how full it kept me. I won't be counting calories, but I'll try to include recipes for the stuff.

We bought The Primal Blueprint Cookbook to learn to cook from, mostly because of the awesome pictures it includes (I sound like a kindergartner there, but cook books with tons of pictures are serious scores in my opinion.) We have to watch it because the book still uses butter and cheese in some places, but not many. Most of which are easy to leave out or substitute.

The first Crossfit workout was, of course, painful. I'm sore everywhere, but at least I've mostly regained the use of my arms. I slept very little and, what sleep I did get today, felt like I wasn't asleep at all. Hopefully Day 2 of it all will improve...maybe. Of course the weather is crappy so we'll see. I just really want to go regularly and not feel totally spent (as in no sleep, no time). I really want that for us...to do Crossfit regularly and still function well. We could be so healthy and Brandon already has dreams of SWAT going through his head. We'll see. I can keep at it though. Since it's so early in the process, I don't want to doom myself before I get started.

Anyhow, I'm gonna go work on seeing how I can share my meal plans and recipes, in case anyone cares. Until next time!

It's been cold!

Well, since I last posted, only a few things have happened. It snowed, a friend visited, and I managed to change my work schedule such that I work on our anniversary instead of the day after! Oops!

Which, yes, our two year anniversary is coming up! We plan on going out to a nice dinner the day after (since we can no longer go out on the night of), and that is it. I know I mention money way too often, but we've just about reached our half way savings goal for a down payment plus wiggle room! So, we'll keep on saving, hope to get a decent tax refund, and try to get that Toyota sold (assuming my dad doesn't want it). Either way, I'm excited. We said our anniverary present to ourselves, along with Christmas and birthday crap, is the house. Lots of events rolled into one item...but holy crap. The stuff we'll be buying for ourselves (assuming the house isn't buying something for ourselves as it is) to go in the house will more than cover many birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, Valentines, and anything else you can think of. We just don't spend that much money on each other...and the both of us tend to get what we want when we want it anyways.

Well, the day my friend drove up is the day the snow decided to start falling and the roads iced over. Go figure. I was super mad because by the time I was supposed to go out to meet him and hang out, since I hadn't seen him in a year, the roads were truly unsafe on which to travel. I was really bummed, but we quickly made plans to try again the next day, which I'm glad we did. Brandon, him and I ended up going shooting guns, then we went out to dinner. His buddy, who was up here with him for the same convention, came out, too, and we had a really nice time. If we only didn't live so many hours away from each other, we could definitely do that more often!

We tried a new to us restaurant this past week. There are a couple locations around, but I really enjoyed Patrizio's. I read some Yelp reviews before we went, and one of the reviews mentioned how the poster enjoyed the seasonal fish option. Well, there was a crab claws appetizer on the seasonal menu, which we ordered, and it was AMAZING! Soooo yummy! I also wanted to try the mussels appetizer, but maybe next time. I went with my safe option of baked ziti with meat sauce, which I always love, and Brandon got the frequently mentioned on Yelp Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna with smoked Gouda sauce. It was pretty tasty, as well. And the prices weren't all that bad either. So, a nice little win of a restaurant find for us.

Since I don't have so much to talk about, lets talk about food when its cold! There is nothing more perfect than having some homemade comfort food, snuggling inside where its warm, and just enjoying it all to your heart's content. Of course, comfort food can easily be fattening food (duh, fat=insulation which is wonderful when its cold, not so wonderful for waistlines, diets, etc.). My mom makes wonderful stew and cornbread (which I put tons of butter on the cornbread and thicken the stew with saltine crackers), and she's been making the most divine chicken noodle soup (which I also put a lot of saltine crackers in). I should get her recipes on those two because they're just so good! And they have meat and veggies all within, so they're one pot wonders. Chili is also a favorite! ...again, saltine crackers are a staple. And Brandon and my mom have both made some tasty chili lately.

However, the Mexican Corn and Shrimp Chowder, although possibly not traditionally a cold weather comfort food (I'm not sure, we never ate it before), is another of my favorites.



Serves: 8
Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chili peppers
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed, divided
1 1/2 cups defatted chicken stock, divided
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
12 ounces frozen shelled uncooked small shrimp, thawed bhy
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onions, red peppers and chili peppers. Sauté until the onions are transparent but do not brown. Place 2 cups of the corn and 1/2 cup of the stock in a food processor and blend until pureed. Add to the pot. Stir in the milk, the remaining 1 cup corn and the remaining 1 cup stock. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer gently for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the shrimp turn opaque. Stir in the chopped cilantro and black pepper. Serve garnished with the cilantro sprigs (if using).

Ok, so when we make it, we use evaporated milk, not skim, nor do we get the defatted chicken stock, we get just plain chicken stock. And, depending on how Brandon is feeling, he sometimes adds a small chopped, seeded jalapeño and bacon pieces. We also get a loaf of French bread (either fresh from the grocery store or one of those Pilsbury out of the can French bread loaves, which are great) to go with it. Our Dutch oven is perfect for making this and it is so yummy (at least in my opinion) every time I eat it. And, as I almost never eat things right out of the oven (I cook in the morning so I can eat them at night), it's not bad as left-overs!

Just wanted to share some of the food love!

Ok, random picture time, since I don't have any to go with the other stories.



I nearly tripped and fell into our med room at the hospital when I saw this. Who expects to see a Beagle puppy on the walls at the hospital? Not me. But this is so funny, and if you know how Brandon insists random things such as Beagles are the best warriors in the world or how it is a well known fact that Beagles saved humans during the ice age, you could understand how this little flyer about Beagles saving lives is right up his alley. Of course, it has it's purpose, but, wow, I was dumbfounded.



We picked up burgers one afternoon when we were staying up way too late and Bella had gone outside to bark, potty, and do her general dog-like things. Of course she wanted back in, so, this is how she let us know...while we were eating.

And, ok, these next two are dumb. I know. But I couldn't help it! Brandon has already made fun of me.



I'm not sure why an onion was cut in half and left out to dry, but I just COULD NOT get over how much the onion looked like a flower in bloom! The second picture is about how I found the onion...that pepper used to be green but it has dried into a really pretty color. Too bad neither of which were on purpose, and they turned out the way they did because we were careless and didn't properly store or throw away our vegetables. But then we would've missed out on the vegetable art that mother nature gave us!

Happy New Year!

Since my last post, we've had Christmas and rang in the New Year.

This year for Christmas, we didn't get to see many people since we were working. My ICU has been crazy full and busy for weeks now with no hope in sight of it calming down. I know it will...it always does, but sometimes you need the break NOW instead of later. And, of course, some of us in the ICU will go back to "missing" the challenging patients instead of the ones who are there "just in case." (sometimes you just need to be challenged, you know?)

Anyhow, we were able to have Christmas morning breakfast, after work of course, with most of my side of the family. We weren't able to see Brandon's family, which sucked. But Christmas morning was good. Brandon came in from work and the boys just freaked, begging to see his gun. We showed my uncle on my dad's side our rifle, and the next thing you know, just about ALL the men in the house were drooling over the gun. It was quite the scene. If only I'd had my camera out for it. It was like moths to a light bulb.



"Santa" was way too good to us and we loved and appreciate everyone thinking of us for Christmas. My dad even surprised me with new headlights for my car!!! Camaro headlights, as I'm sure other cars as well, have a tendency for the plastic of the headlight to fog over and become more opaque than translucent over time, and my poor headlights suffer a bit at night because of it. We've tried polishing them, with some improvement, but they're still not like they were. I teased my dad that he got them because he'd been driving my car some and he had to get them so he could see at night!



My brother was in town. After Christmas Sunday night at my grandmother's house on my Dad's side, mom, he and I went out to see Black Swan. I liked it. It was different and interesting and, strangely, beautiful at the same time. Definitely NOT for everyone, but I enjoyed it. Brandon and I hope to go see True Grit this week, maybe Wednesday. We couldn't do it this weekend because, after celebrating, we REALLY needed to clean up around the house!

To bring in the New Year, since Brandon and I had been working the past couple years on New Year's Eve, we decided we really wanted to play it low key and stay in, so we did. We had bought some pizza to cook when we woke up (I was super pleased with the DiGiorno Pizza and Breadsticks Supreme combo, Brandon got the Flatbread Italian Sausage and Onions, too). We'd also bought some French bread and got some Brie and English cheddar to eat with it, as well as some super yummy cocktail shrimp (which turned out to be a huge hit with my parents...even though Daddy had to help me quickly defrost it on the kitchen island under the fan since I forgot to take it out of the freezer.) Brandon made Irish car bombs for me and him, everyone had some champagne at new years, and we drank some beer as well. We completely forgot about the "monkey wieners," as Brandon calls them, and BBQ sauce until Sunday, when we ate them as a snack. OH! We also found the most yummy salsa, made in Rockwall. The catch is, oh my gosh it is spicy! But it has such a wonderful flavor you just keep eating it!

My dogs got to come inside after the fireworks started. JJ is deathly afraid of fireworks. He sits in a corner and mopes (and sometimes shakes) with fear of the loud noises. Ribby, he's afraid of them, too, but its more like he's mimicking JJ's fear because that dog can just pass out on the bed with you. JJ? No, he's still scared, even inside. Kinda sucks because we never get to shoot fireworks, but I'd rather have sane dogs...I mean dogs that aren't scared, as mine aren't sane in the least. But they all got New Year's kisses from me. Brandon did, too, he got the first one, then my pups.

Brandon found a new neighborhood in the Denton city limits that we may look in to buy a house, too. It's practically in another city, but still Denton city limits. Not Denton schools, lol. But the houses are similar in size and age to the neighborhood we were looking at, but so much cheaper in price! The neighborhood is also a longer drive for me to work, but thats about a 5-10 minute difference. I won't mind that.

And we hit level 85 on our main characters! Woohoo!!!

Well, that was how we ended 2010. Here are some thing we would like to see in 2011!

Buy a home

Pay off the last credit card debt (may not finish in 2011, but I can hope)

Get accepted to a Master's in nursing program

Brandon get started on bridging to his Bachelor's

Shoot better with the rifle, and shoot more often with the handguns

Get back into raiding (assuming our work schedules don't get all screwy)

That's all I can think of right now...though I'm sure it's not comprehensive of the goals we have for the New Year. I don't do New Year's resolutions, but I wish everyone a happy 2011 and good luck with any resolutions they have made!