It's ok to take a break.. and eat cookies!

So I just needed to take a bit of a break from the Internet world. I haven't been on my computer much the past week. And honestly I didn't even really feel like it. I am not 100% sure what was going on, but there was a lot emotionally and mentally running through me and I just needed some time to deal with it. I know it is going to take me a while to adjust to married life and slowly but surely we are learning things, whether is be the easy way or the hard way!

Have you ever had anyone say something to you that just made you question your entire personality and self? Then made you wonder if people really like you or maybe you just think they do? Well I heard a comment of this nature and it really messed with me. I pretty much just shut down and tried to process this comment and let myself focus on it so much it was starting to slowly destroy me inside. I was in this weird funk and I just really had no idea what to do with myself. I felt like blogging or facebooking was only going to prove this person's point even further, so I avoided it. I finally decided to tell Megan about it and she is always there with open arms to listen to me and give me advice. And she helped snap me out of my funk. I don't think I have had anyone say something like that to me in such a long time that my guard was down and I let it get to me. Normally I wouldn't listen to such nonsense because I am used to hearing things like that and just ignoring them, but it makes it a lot harder when it comes from someone close to you that you weren't expecting it from. I finally realized that I think the comment was made out of anger and I don't agree with it. I am not going to let this comment get me down anymore, and if people don't like how I am then they don't need to be around me anyways. I have a lot of good friends, and I must be doing something right if they are sticking around!

Moving on to marriage stuff! So, basically when it comes to marriage, you really just need to take it one day at a time. Because every day is different! I can wake up expecting it to be a great day, I am in a great mood, and he is not. No matter how much I try to change this, sometimes it just doesn't work. Learning each other's habits, and what's important to each other takes time. Developing new habits for both of us also takes time. If he leaves a towel on the floor or somewhere one more time! haha He is learning that this bugs me beyond ALL belief. Especially when a wet towel is left on my side of the bed and now it is wet as well! So now every time a wet towel is left out, it ends up on his pillow. I think he is learning.. he will get it at some point!

We go to a date night the first and third Friday's of the month. We meet with other married couples for about an hour, then go out on a date. Some couples have been married a short time, some 5 yrs, some 15, some 20+. So it is nice to hear advice from others who have done this for awhile and tips they have for us! It is also with other Christian couples so we learn a lot of things involving God and how to give our relationship up to Him. A few things we talked about Friday is that love is not an emotion, it is a decision. This may be the most profound relationship advice I have heard this far. When you said I do, you committed to loving this person the rest of your life. And when you are angry with each other you have to remember you decided to love already so you can't let your emotions tell you when you love. So as hard as it may be you still need to say I love you when angry with each other and not let emotions decide for you. This application can also be applied to SO many other things not just relationships! We also learned that when people use the phrase "always" or "never" do you notice it is most used for negative things? Like you never take the trash out or you always leave the towel on the floor. It may seem like they always or never do but chances are they don't do this or do do this 100% of the time. So they really are unfair fighting words. Unless you have substantial proof, like you never clean the oven because they really never have, then it is unfair of you to use these words to express how you are feeling. Do you ever hear always or never used in a positive sentence? Like you always wash the dishes! Or you never complain! Not usually! Think about it.When you have a disagreement, it is best to pray to God for help and to ask him to either change your heart or his heart to get to an answer and work things out. And we have to realize everyone will come with imperfections, they can not be perfect 100% of the time, so you have to let them be imperfect and not expect perfection. And you can't rely on them to make you happy and fill you up. They can to an extent, but you have to let God do the rest. He needs to fill up the rest of your cup that you may feel is empty. He is the one who will make it overflow, not your spouse. I think that was huge for me. You place a lot of happiness on other people in your lives but are you placing it with the most important person in your life? This is something I need to work more on and spend more time with God. Seek ye first and all these things will be added unto you. Seek his love first and your spouses love will follow to help fill you up.

One last thing on this! Our friends do this to let each other know what kind of mood they are in when they come home or see each other after working so that they may know how to treat each other or what they are in for. If she is having a bad day or is really emotional she says I am fragile, so he knows he has to adjust to this so he doesn't do anything to upset her. Or if he comes home and says I had a really bad day at work, give me 30 minutes alone to unwind and clear my mind then we can talk, and she knows not to talk his ear off when he walks in the door and will NOT hear anything she said because he does not want to listen to it. He said at some point in the evening he gives her 15 min of undivided attention and she can tell him whatever she wants. This way she doesn't hold it all in and explode or feel like he isn't paying attention to her. Sometimes we just need to talk, we don't need advice, we just want to vent and be heard. Once we basically word vomit, we are ok! Especially if we are around kids ALL day, we need adult interaction! Then after that we usually can go on about with whatever and feel like we are being loved since we got to talk and have undivided attention. He said 15 min of time can save you hours of arguing or an evening of a wife in a bad mood, and it isn't that hard to do! And as always pray about things on a daily basis and don't be afraid to ask for advice or help.

Church was about picking your friends. It was very interesting. Most of the time we end up picking our friends, who then influence our lives. We let others influence how our life is going to be, when it should be we decide how we want our lives to be, then pick our friends accordingly. We also care more about what we are wearing or take more time picking a car or an outfit then we do picking our friends. We barely put any stock into picking friends when it is hugely important to have the right people surrounding us. Look at your friends, do they influence your life to be a certain way, or did you pick them after choosing how you wanted to live? Do they bring you closer to God or farther away? Are they trustworthy, supportive, caring, loving, peace makers, safe, and followers of God? Do they bring you up not break you down? How do you choose your friends? It is ok to be friendly with people, God tells us to be friendly with everyone. But when it comes to close friends, we should choose more carefully. Be aware that if that person has bad intentions, you will probably get dragged down with them and do the same. Are you choosing how you want to live or letting your friends do it for you? Just some food for thought!

Speaking of food, picture time!! So friday I made French dip in the crock pot. It turned out pretty good! Would have been better with some horseradish but it tasted like something you would have ordered in a restaurant!
recipe: http://bakingbites.com/2008/02/slow-cooker-french-dip-sandwich/

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
approx 3 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast
16-oz. beef broth (1 1/2 cans)
1 10.5-oz. can condensed French onion soup
6-oz red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
4-6 French rolls
sliced provolone cheese, optional

Trim excess fat off of beef roast and season meat all over with salt and pepper.
Pour beef broth, condensed French onion soup, red wine and garlic powder into slow cooker and place beef roast into liquid.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Slow cookers have different time intervals that you can select, so work with your cooker. Depending on how the settings on your slow cooker work, the time will vary. Since this is cooking in liquid, you don’t have to worry about the meat drying out in the same way you might if you were roasting the meat in the oven. Mine took 7 1/2 hours and was falling apart tender.
Take beef out and rest it, covered with aluminum foil, for about 15 minutes. Slice beef and return to slow cooker on low or very low for 30 minutes.
Lightly toast the bread and evenly distribute cheese between rolls, if using. Divide beef onto rolls and spoon the beef juice* into ramekins or other small bowls and eat everything while it is hot. Serve each sandwich with its own dip.

Seves 4-6.

*Note: If there is excess fat in your au jus, simply pour it from the slow cooker into a large measuring cup and let it stand for about 5 minutes so the fat separates. Skim it off, then pour the juice into serving cups. 

I then made this as a side, lemon garlic roasted asparagus. DELICIOUS!
recipe here: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/03/lemon-garlic-roasted-asparagus-321.html

Added some sweet potato fries and this was the end result!

Yum!!

Then I made some red velvet white chocolate chip cookies. Guys, seriously, best cookie I have EVER had. Then again I LOVE red velvet, it's my favorite! But when these cookies are warm, it is beyond amazing. I think these came from God directly, because these are heavenly! http://whipperberry.com/2011/03/recipe-red-velvet-cookie-with-white-chocolate-chunks.html

recipe:

Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

• 1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
• 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of White Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy.  Slowly add cake mix and flour. Once combined, add egg and mix completely.  Add white chocolate chunks, and mix for a minute or so until well combined.  Form dough into one inch balls, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes. {Yields about 24 small cookies.} 

NOM NOM NOM!

Seriously you must make! And yesterday I found red velvet everything on Pinterest.. this could be bad! I must have them ALL! Last night I made quinoa burgers! They weren't too bad at all. Hubs was a little hesitant at a no meat meal, but he was pleasantly surprised! I also took the cumin out and used chili powder because I had no cumin! But the more flavor the better they taste! 

recipe: 

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

To cook quinoa:

In a medium saucepan bring the 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat.  Add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the seeds are tender.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 medium carrot, finely grated (OR 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 green onions, including white parts

1 /2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Olive oil for frying

.

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, Splenda, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat.  Measure 1/4 cup and form into patties about 1/2 inch thick  - mixture will be slightly sticky.  Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side.   Makes approx. 10 burgers.

Per burger:  Calories 132; Protein 8 g; Fat 5 g; NET Carbs 12 g; (Fiber 2 g); Sugar 0 g; Sodium 200 mg 

http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/love-my-quinoa-burger/

In conclusion, sometimes you just need a break. And hey it's OK to do this! You do whatever is best for you and don't worry about what other people think or say! We are humans, no one is perfect! It also helps when you have delicious red velvet cookies by your side! I guess this is enough for one post! Bad part of not posting for a week, there's lots to say!! 

I leave you with a cute picture of Dyson!