It's Me Again...

Please tell me you have melt-downs too.
Don't mention whether or not you blog about them because then I might feel REALLY stupid.
But please tell me I'm not the only one who's world ends every once in a while.

My final word on the subject of yesterday's Debbie Downer blog; I am sorry.

Moving on.
I'm back to normal, or at least as normal as I can be.
I've created a start to my menu, which for now is just a list of meals I want to make, and I've created a shopping list to go along with it. I hope you enjoy.
(I will make my list better, longer, and more organized soon.)

Green chile chicken enchiladas

Green chile

Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Cream of chicken soup

Peppers

Mushrooms

Chicken breasts

G-ma Martin’s Enchiladas

Red enchilada sauce

Corn tortillas

Cheese

Eggs

Tuna Gravy Over Toast

Tuna

Milk

Flour

Wheat bread

Lowe Chicken

Chicken breasts

Dry Italian dressing

Cream cheese

Cream of chicken soup

Noodles

Grilled Chicken

Chicken breasts

Lemon juice

Peppers

Taco Salad

Pinto beans

Black beans

Lettuce

Hamburger

Tomatoes

Bean Bolognese

Beans

Olive oil

Onion

Carrot

Celery

Garlic

Bay leaf

Tomatoes

Parsley

Fettuccine

Parmesan cheese

Bean Chile

Yellow onion

Red pepper

Jalapeno pepper

Garlic

Vegetable stock

Tomatoes

Black beans

Kidney beans

Ground cumin

Chile powder

El pato

Re-fried beans

Bean Soup

Navy beans

ham bone

diced ham

onion

bay leaf

carrots

celery

Pizza

Wheat flour

Semolina flour

Salt

Cheese

Peppers

Spinache

Pizza sauce

Yeast

Posse Stew

Stewed tomatoes

Hamburger

Ranch style beans

Hominy

Corn

Tacos

Chicken

Black beans

Lettuce

Peppers

Sour cream

Ranch dressing

Cheese

Tomatoes

Chile Beans

Pinto beans

Brown sugar

El pato

Tomato sauce

Bean Loaf

Onion

Mashed kidney beans

Bread crumbs

Cheddar cheese

Tomato sauce

Eggs

Chocolate Chile

Onion

Garlic

Chicken breast

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Cocoa

Chicken broth

Tomato sauce

Parsley

Kidney beans

Honey

Sour cream

Shish Ka Bobs

Beef cubes

Peppers

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Happy Tuesday. And Happy First Day Of School to my fellow ASUers.

Most Important Meal of the Day

C and I are happy. We really are.
I love him and I love to make him laugh.
He tells me I'm beautiful every day and tickles my arms each morning.
When we got married my dad gave me some valuable advice.
He said to make a list of everything I love about C and refer to it often.
My list is long.
We hold hands any chance we get, even at home.
We have inside jokes.
He knows things about me that nobody else knows.
I know where he's the most ticklish.
He wraps his arms around me and says "Hi Lovey" every time he comes home from work.
And if there's a good song on Pandora when he gets home from work, he'll take me by the hand and lead me into the living room where we'll dance 1 or 2 songs.


I love marriage advice and I love hearing what works for other people because I think each marriage is entitled to its own personal revelation as to what will work for that marriage, but I also think that we can all learn and grow from each other and each others' marriages.
There are several things that I think contribute to our marriage being so happy and I'm going to share them with you.

1. We read scriptures together each and every morning.
2. We pray out-loud together at least 4 times a day (before scriptures, before he leaves for work, dinner blessing, couples prayers before bedtime and even more if we're at home during the day together).
3. We go to the temple together every week. (Of course we miss weeks here and there).
4. We protect each other. If somebody says something hurtful about either of us, we stand up and defend our spouse.

5. We play games together.
6. We eat dinner together every night. I don't eat until he's home, no. matter. what. And if we're at a buffet style dinner, we don't eat until both of us have filled our plates and sat down.
7. He opens my door for me every time, no matter what, no matter where we are.
8. We try to do service for each other each day.
9. We don't raise our voices. Not only is love important in our marriage but respect is also important and we respect each other far too much to ever, ever, ever yell at one another. Even when other people would think yelling is justified, and even if it might be, we just don't do it.

9. We have Family Home Evening every single Monday. Even if we're not home, we take a minute to sing a Hymn, say a prayer and quickly discuss what we have going on that week.
10. We have (at the bare minimum) weekly finance meetings. We go over where each penny was spent that week, where we can save, and where we can do better next week.
11. We talk every single day about our goals for ourselves, for each other, and as a couple.
12. We check in with each other several times during the day. He'll send me a quick text, or I'll shoot him a simple e-mail. But we never go a full day without saying I love you somewhere in there.
13. We have incredible examples in both of our parents' marriages. We try to emulate all of the good things they do in their marriage, because they are rock solid. How many couples do you know that still dance or play DDR together?

These are a few of the things that I feel have really helped our marriage grow, and it starts out each morning with our spiritual breakfast (reading scriptures together). Breakfast, be it spiritual or physical, is indeed the most important meal of the day.


Here's the recipe for my breakfast yesterday:

1/2 an apple
1/2 a banana
1 orange
1 handful of blackberries
1/2 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup of full-fat vanilla yogurt
3 Tbs. of raw rolled oats

Do you have any good marriage tips? I'd LOVE to hear what you and your love do to stay happy!

Happy Friday.

Coming To You Live...

...from the laundromat.

Yes, that's the divorce court on tv. Awesome huh?

It's been 3 weeks.
You read that right.
3 weeks.
Nearly a whole month since I last did laundry.
I don't know which is more embarrassing; that it's been 3 weeks or that we have enough clothes to go 3 weeks without doing laundry.
I guess this is the ultimate "airing of dirty laundry" as I spill my guts.
Anyway, I like this laundromat, and I'm able to do like 18 loads at a time.
Awesome.

Today is bean day.
I'm sure my brothers are singing the "beans beans the magical fruit" song right now.
I'll try to do us all a favor make beans a little more dignified than that.
I've had several of you comment or e-mail your favorite bean recipes and some of your other favorites as well.

Christina sent this link.
Jenn loves quinoa (never even heard of it before) and shared this link.
Shayla likes lima beans with a little butter and salt in the microwave.
Angela loves quinoa too and shared this green smoothie recipe:

if you have this stuff, use it:
spinach
kale
1/2 avocado
almond milk
frozen mangos
a tiny bit of OJ

if you don't have all that stuff, here's an easier recipe:
tons of spinach
frozen mangos
fresh squeezed OJ

And when I'm looking for super healthy recipes I tend to visit one of 2 sites:
Trainer Momma
And Bridget from Itsahuntlife (click on 'food' on her side bar)

I'm planning on making bean loaf (a bean version of meat loaf) this weekend.
I'll keep you posted.

Thank you all so much for sending recipes in and just being awesome! You guys rock.
And please send me more recipes! I'm loving them!

Now if you'll excuse me while I go put my laundry in the dryer.

Happy Wednesday!