I Do! I Do!

I Do! I Do!

Theater has been a pretty big part of my life. When I was four years old, Santa gifted me dance lessons for Christmas and thus my love of the stage began. Singing, dancing, and acting was all I ever wanted to do growing up. I was involved in competition dance, plays and musicals, choir, voice lessons, cheerleading, and anything else that involved performing in some way. I had high hopes of making it to Broadway someday, but reality set in and I realized that I was nowhere near talented enough for the NY lights. I graduated with my Bachelors Degree in Dramatic Art, and then I got married and settled into teaching dance and theater at a charter school for the arts. I loved teaching and found myself still learning from my co-teachers and the students themselves. I still tried to maintain some performance aspect in my life during my early married years, and then my early mommy years, but I've found myself off the stage for about 5 years. I was asked to be a part of the show, I Do! I Do! and was instantly excited about the opportunity but also scared of the large commitment. I've really enjoyed delving into the role of Agnes. At 31 years old, (and only 8 years of wedded bliss), I have only experienced a small portion of what Agnes has. I'm constantly searching for the truth in her character though. I'm not a professional, but I have had some acting instruction and I never want to sell myself short. I know that I'm just acting on a community stage, but theater has always been more than just lines on a paper to me. Theater is a gateway into emotions and life experiences. Theater is a way that I can express myself in a positive way. Theater is a way that I am able to step out of my introverted ways. Theater is life on display, with paying patrons that might add some audible support along the way. I'm happy that I was able to dip my toes in the water again, for I don't know when the next experience will be? Until then, I'll relish in the love and support that I've been shown in this production.

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

 

I'm at it again - another spaghetti squash recipe to add to the collection.  I only have 2 spaghetti squash left from our garden; what will I make once I use these up?  Will another vegetable come into my life as the spaghetti squash did this year?  Will I survive until next year's spaghetti squash crop?  Stay tuned for more on the spaghetti squash saga...

 

Within the past few weeks Josh has really become interested in canning.  He loves to research and has been investigating this whole canning biz.  We already had some canning supplies, but he went out and bought a few more things after talking with our neighbor, who is our resident canning expert.  We are so grateful for the knowledge she has shared and the day she spent helping us can chili and spaghetti sauce.  Spaghetti Sauce - the whole reason for this post, right?  Well, the first thing that Josh canned was a salsa batch that he whipped up (it was pretty tasty).  When we were deciding what to can next, our neighbor offered her marinara sauce recipe which is what I used to make the spaghetti squash primavera.  We made the marinara sauce with and without ground turkey, but I made last night's dinner with the ground turkey.  We had canned it so it was already made when I decided to make dinner last night, but if you want to make everything at once, here's what you'll need to know.

 

Marinara Sauce:

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 28 ounce cans of tomatoes, cut up (we were able to use fresh tomatoes from our garden)

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crushed

Dash of pepper

Dash of red pepper

1 pound of Ground Turkey (optional)

 

In a 3-quart saucepan cook onion, carrots, and garlic in hot oil until tender but not brown.  We added ground turkey into our sauce, but that choice is entirely up to you!  If you decide to use the ground turkey, you can put your carrot mixture into a bowl and set aside.  Brown the ground turkey in the 3 quart sauce pan and then return the carrot mixture to the pan.  Add the undrained tomatoes, salt, sugar, oregano, pepper and red pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes (or to desired consistency).

 

While this simmers, you can prepare the spaghetti squash.  There are various ways to prepare your squash, as I've learned this past summer, and I usually opt for the quicker cook times, but this time I went with the oven method.  If you want a quicker cook time, you can boil the squash or even microwave it, but make sure to puncture the squash first.

 

I learned a little trick about cutting up the spaghetti squash so that you don't lose a finger.  Place a towel underneath the squash so that it is a little more stabilized.  Use a smaller knife to lightly cut the squash vertically (on both sides).  Then take your larger knife and start to cut through.  Once I have cut the spaghetti squash all the way around, I take the knife out and jiggle the squash around until it opens.

 

Scoop out all of the seeds and membrane.  I put a little olive oil on the inside of the squash, and sprinkled on some salt and pepper then put them open side down on a cookie sheet.  Place these bad boys in a preheated oven at 400 F and bake for an hour.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients for everything else:

 

(I'm sure you can use all sorts of vegetables here: broccoli, zucchini, onions...but I went with what I had in my refrigerator).

 

1 tsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup celery, diced

1/4 cup carrots, diced

1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced

mozzarella to top it all off (optional - but so delicious)

 

In a medium/large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-low heat.  Add the minced garlic and heat for just a minute or so.  Add the celery, carrots, and bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Season with a little salt and pepper, if you desire.

 

 

The marinara sauce should be ready by now, so you can add it into the celery/carrot/bell pepper mixture and increase the heat to medium and simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes (until the vegetables are tender).

 

When the squash is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool for just a little bit.  Scrape out all of the inside "noodles" and add it into the vegetable/marinara mixture and cook for a minute or two.

 

 

 

Grab a casserole dish (I sprayed some coconut oil spray on mine) and fill the casserole dish with the spaghetti squash primavera.  Top with mozzarella cheese, if you desire...

 

   

...and place everything in the oven until the cheese is ooey and gooey. 

 

 

 

We didn't have any leftovers.  I guess you could say it was a hit?!

My husband asked if we could have this for dinner again the next night...maybe I'm not the only Spaghetti Squash lover in this house?

 

 

 

 

 

5 month transformation

I started eating better and exercising at the beginning of June.  I am now 5 months into my journey, and I am pretty excited about what I have accomplished.  I have set up a Clean Eating Recipes group on Facebook and I love sharing the clean recipes that I find with my friends and family.  I have an Accountability group on Facebook too, and the 15 ladies that are a part of the group inspire and motivate me to keep truckin' on in this process.  Today we started a challenge to move for 30 minutes a day while eating as clean as possible.  The support and encouragement from the group is infectious and I am so happy to be sharing in this transformation process with all of them. 

 

I hosted a 21 Day Fix challenge in October and the 5 ladies that are in my group are now on their second round of the "Fix."  This program is an amazing teaching tool for portion control.  Clean eating has been so beneficial for me.  I feel better, I have lost weight, I have more energy and I know that I'm nourishing my body the best that I know how.

 

I'm going to be starting a new fitness challenge group on November 10 and I'm really excited because PiYo is on sale this month.  PiYo has been such a wonderful workout for me as my background has been in dance.  I love that I took a year off from teaching, and haven't trained in dance in quite a few years, but PiYo has given me back flexibility, strength, and has even started to give me some muscle definition!!  What?!  I'm in the best shape of my life and I can thank PiYo, the 21 Day Fix and Shakeology for that.  I stepped on the scale today and I was shocked that I'm down 11 pounds and 14.45 inches. 

 

 

I'm embarrassed to show these pictures, because I can't believe that I used to be the "before" picture, but I'm also proud to show these pictures because I can now say that I am the "after" version.  It's taken a lot of will power and support from my husband, friends, and family to get to this point, and I don't want to go back to before.  I love that Beachbody allows me to coach because it keeps me accountable and moving forward in my journey. 

 

This is before and after the 21 Day Fix - that's right...just 21 days and I was able to make these changes! 

 

 

 

This is my progress after 60 days of PiYo

 

I started this journey for my health.  I don't want to be a fitness model, I just want to be around to watch my children grow up.  I want to live a life with energy where I can play outside with my children and not be exhausted.  I don't want to be stuck on a couch, wasting my life away because I don't feel like doing anything of purpose.  I would still like to tone a little more, because my body has seen its wear and tear after two children, but I'm proud of where I have taken myself in these last 5 months. 

 

 

 Your wings already exist, all you have to do is FLY!

 

Join Me - don't wait to start on your health journey

 

Spaghetti Squash Pie/Lasagna Boat

This summer, I fell in love with Spaghetti Squash, and it's a good thing that I did since we were growing it in our garden.  To be honest, I'm not sure who picked out the squash for our garden, because neither my husband or I had ever cooked with or eaten this form of squash before.  I was searching clean recipes on the internet and found a recipe for Spaghetti Squash, and so I bought a squash from the store.  I later found out (when browsing through our crops) that I had squash that looked very similar to the one I had purchased from the store...bada-bing!...I no longer had to purchase Spaghetti Squash all summer.

 

One of my favorite recipes for the squash was a Clean Eating Spaghetti Pie found here Broke and Bougie's Clean Eating Spaghetti Pie.  I was set to make this a couple nights ago, when my good friend posted a new squash recipe on my Facebook wall - it's as if she read my mind and knew that I was preparing Spaghetti Squash that night!  The new recipe Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats by Skinny Taste sounded just as yummy as the one I had planned, but I didn't have the Italian Chicken Sausage (the main ingredient) so I decided to play around and combine the two recipes together.  The result was DE-licious.  I had anticipated leftovers so that I wouldn't have to cook the next night, but I wasn't let off the hook that easily.  Lucky for me, I didn't use all of the squash so I was able to make a Spaghetti Squash and Cheese meal the next day...another yummy, low carb recipe that we can save for another time.

 

Enough talk, here's what happened in my kitchen Thursday night:

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Basil 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 

 

The directions for both recipes said to bake the Spaghetti Squash in the oven, open face down (after cutting it in half lengthwise and scraping out the seeds and membrane) for about an hour at 400 degrees F.  I didn't want to warm the house up for an hour, so I boiled my squash in half the time, adding in some salt and pepper into the water.  I've read that you can boil the squash whole, and once it cools down you can cut it, and scoop out the innards.  I cut mine first, scooped it out, and tossed it in the water.  30 minutes later, my squash was cooling and getting ready for another scooping session.

 

 

While the squash was boiling, I combined the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.  I used a bottle of grated parmesan cheese, because that's what was in my cupboard already. 

 

 

Then, I added the oil, onion, and garlic to a large sauté pan, and watched the onion soften for about 4 minutes.  Next, I browned the ground turkey.  I added in the can of tomatoes and chicken broth once the turkey was browned, and topped it all with a dash of salt, pepper and basil, covered the pan and turned the heat down.  I let this simmer for 20 minutes or so.

 

While the ground turkey mixture was simmering, I took the Spaghetti Squash off the stove and let it cool down.  After about 10 minutes, I was able to scoop the "spaghetti" out of the squash.  Then, I turned on the oven to 400 degrees F.

 



 

The assembly line came next - I combined equal parts squash with the ground turkey mixture and placed them into both halves of the squash.  I placed the squash, face up, on a cookie sheet and topped them with the ricotta cheese mixture.

 

 

Then, the mozzarella cheese.

 

 

And, into the oven they went.  20 minutes was just enough time to make the cheese bubble and melt.  This will be a new family favorite meal.

 

 

 

 

Clean eating and all that jazz

It's been awhile since I've posted anything new and I guess that's because I haven't had any new parties or ideas to post about.  I became distracted at the beginning of the year trying to keep up with some school work and a couple small jobs.  I'm happy to report that I received an A in my Kinesiology class, I finished my Healthy Kids Assembly tour and I was nominated for an Elly by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance for my choreography in a high school version of Hairspray.  I had a busy year, considering I'm still a regular ol' stay at home mom.

I finally decided to post something new, because I'm finally compelled to write something new.  As I've stated before, when I transitioned from a mom who worked outside of the house to a mom who worked only at home, I lost who I was.  I struggled with some depression, loneliness, and feelings of inadequacy.  I have a beautiful family and for that I am truly blessed, but I couldn't shake the feelings of doom and gloom - you know, that dark cloud that hovers over you all of the time?  The cloud was raining on me too often, and I wanted so desperately to escape it.  It wasn't necessarily that I didn't know how to escape it, but I wasn't allowing myself to open up the umbrella and block the downpour.  I guess I felt safe in the dark.  New things scare me when I try to do them all alone.  I knew what had to be done, but I wanted a helping hand and that's just what I got with a couple friends and Beachbody. 

 

Last year, I was eating clean and trying crazy concoctions like turkey crust pizza, because a friend was eating clean and working out.  I was following her, but I wasn't incorporating the workouts since I taught dance for a living.  When we moved, I quit my job, and my mom got sick, I lost all of the clean eating momentum and switched back to my old ways.  I survived on Dr. Pepper and pretzels - and I'm not kidding.  Now that I look back on some pictures of myself, I can't believe the person that I was becoming.  I knew that I felt down and out, but I didn't realize how much weight I had gained along with all of the self doubt.  Taking a class emphasized on treating my body appropriately and performing in an elementary school show focused on healthy habits, while guzzling soda and processed foods to keep my energy up was just counterintuitive.  It was time to make a change.

 

A friend was offering a free clean eating group challenge on Facebook, and I figured that if I could keep accountable with other people - strangers - then I could start on my journey.  I feared making the change alone, but knew that this group would be the hands that I needed to guide me out of the storm.  I "liked" her status (I didn't even tell her that I wanted in because I was still so unsure) but little by little, I got the confidence I needed to fully commit to this one week challenge.  I had made a pact that I would follow through with this "clean eating thing" for ONE week, and evaluate how I felt when the week was over.

 

Before the end of the week, I had already committed to another challenge with another friend.  The new challenge involved the workout program The 21 Day Fix and drinking Shakeology, and would be longer than just a week.  I was addicted to the workout highs I had been feeling, and for the first time in a long time, a rainbow started to peek out from behind the clouds.  I was happier and I felt healthier. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been eating as clean as possible for four months now and I've been working out six days a week.  My husband can see a change in my demeanor and I can feel a change physically and mentally.  I started sharing my journey with others, and now I get to be the hands that help guide others to a healthier life.  I can't believe how much the food we eat affects us.  I want to be a better mom and wife.  I have chosen to live and not hide.  I am still not perfect (and I'll never be) but I have the confidence that I need to step away from the rain cloud.  Let's just hope dear Mr. Hubs doesn't decide to move again anytime soon.

 

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/Candee25

A Blissful Wedding Present

My cousin got married last week. He's only about 8 years or so younger than me, but it's still bizarre that he's married! I guess it's pretty bizarre that I'm married - with two children. I just don't know where the time goes? Anyway, his last name is Bliss, hence the title of this blog. They had a lovely reception with lots of desserts and I probably gained a few pounds trying most of those desserts out.

A few days prior to the wedding, (I'm perfecting the art of procrastination), I drove to "town" to run errands and purchase a wedding present. I stopped off at Bed, Bath, and Beyond but the boys had fallen asleep in the car, so I decided to look at the registry on my phone while I waited for the boys to wake up. It's a good thing I looked on my phone because the couple wasn't registered at BB&B! I'm glad that I saved the time and effort of pulling the kiddos out of the car, into the store, fighting the shopping cart, just to find out that there was no Bliss registry. So, I decided I better get a game plan and look around for a store that they were registered at. Target - everyone registers at Target! The other two stores they registered at were nowhere near me, and since I had procrastinated so long, I knew that Target was the place to go. I headed to Target, the boys woke up, and we got out of the car, into the store, and fought the shopping cart. Unfortunately, this was not my lucky day. They hadn't registered for very many things at Target, and most of the items had already been purchased. What was I to do? Well, I could go with the garden hose - nah! I'm too girly to bring a garden hose to a wedding. A trash can?! I got it - I would fill the trash can with odds and ends that a newly married couple might need. Wait a minute? What was I thinking? I can't put a garbage can on a wedding gift table!! Then, it hit me. I wasn't going to get anything on their list, and they would just have to deal with it. Years ago I bought a laundry basket for a friend's wedding and filled it up with various things from her registry. I don't really remember what I put in it, but I know that I used the basket as the gift wrap. I was going to do the same thing, BUT, I had to theme it. I remembered those cute candy cards where you write, "To my Sugar Daddy...Love, your Hot Tamale" with candy bars. (Yes, I totally did one for my high school boyfriend, don't judge!) I decided to use cleaning supplies to fill the basket with, and then I would write up a little note using the cleaning supplies names. I thought I was so clever, but I'm sure it's been done many times...just don't tell me that it has and let me feel special about my light bulb moment.

I walked down the cleaning supplies aisles, one child crying to go home, the other crying to be held, and threw anything in the basket that I thought I could use for a little story. I literally would think through the name in my head and try to use it in a sentence, and if it worked out, the product went into the cart. I added a small ironing board, and after a second trip to the store, some towels, a picture frame, and a sweet ornament to decorate the laundry basket with (Christmas is right around the corner) that said "Mr. Mrs., 2013." Perfect! Now, to put it altogether. I put the children to bed the night before the wedding, and made sure that my husband was snoring so that he wasn't bothered by my absence from the room. Then, I headed downstairs to the office, and started brainstorming some ideas for the little story. I'm pretty proud of what I wrote - it just took me hours to do. I don't know why I had to write and rewrite the little thing so many times, but I'm happy with what I decided to use. I designed the poem from scratch on a scrapbooking program on the computer. Again - hours of arranging and rearranging - for a silly little note!

 

If they don't want to keep the note as a decoration, they can take it out and add it to a scrapbook, or GULP, throw it away, and use the frame as a wedding picture frame.  Just let me think I'm clever, okay?!

Here is how the basket turned out...I added tissue paper around the outside and a little fluff in the front.  The laundry detergent made the basket so stinkin' heavy!  Word to the wise - maybe opt for the small box.  :)

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Bliss - may you find happiness for the rest of your lives.  Have fun cleaning!

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