Halloween, wedding showers, and regular life.

Well having a 12 week old makes for a pretty uneventful Halloween. But it was so much fun to just spend time with family and see some old friends. We dressed him up as a a little Jazz player! So cute. Bryce and I matched but he was the cutest! :)

Saturday I started out the day with a quick three mile run (in 25 ish minutes) and abs. We went up to Logan for a wedding shower for Natalie. This one was hosted by my aunt! It was super fun to visit with some family and eating nice warm soup. :) I have an obsession lately. After the shower we had to go to a taste testing at Kneaders.

Holly and I are doing "No Sugar November" were we avoid any foods that have more than 8 grams of added sugar per serving. So we got to give our input without trying anything. The have decided on having cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. I think I am going to keep the "No Sugar" until their wedding. I need to look rockin' for their wedding pictures, and my 2nd anniversary. :) 

To finish of Saturday, we compromised. I did not want to eat out. Bryce did. I knew if I ate out with him he would make a healthier choice. Lately I have been obsessed with Rumbi. I branched out and got a different salad than usual South Seas Chicken Salad. Bryce got a rice bowl. It is a much better choice than Five Guys. Then we got together with some of Bryce's old friends. Needless to say by the end of the night we were pretty exhausted. It was a long day. 

Sunday at church Bryce got assigned a pretty big job. It is going to teach me patience and how to share. It was first day I was not very happy that he had to spend time working on stuff with them and not with his family. I have issues. Bryce for dinner made this recipe. This is our third time making this Cheesy Quiona and Broccoli and we both love it. The recipe doesn't have any meat (though it does contain chicken broth) but that is a big step for Bryce. I have been learning in my advanced nutrition the importance of plant based proteins and how consuming large amounts of animal protein can increase risks for cardiovascular disease. I am trying to implement more vegetarian dinners into our diet. :)

On that note Monday we did not go vegetarian. I made these delicious tacos but I subbed out the fish for chicken because the fish we had in our freezer was not looking to fresh. After we ran to the store and I successfully made these cake mix pumpkin cookies without eating any of them (I do not consider this baking though. Anything out of a box does not count). Bryce then took them out to some people from our church (he likes to be a nice person or something). I stayed home with Brooks and did some online shopping. haha I LOVE TARGET.... and I am really starting to love carter's online too. I wish I could shop for myself online. It would be so much easier. Oh well.

On Monday I got a mirror for Brooks. It has really helped with tummy time because he hates it. After doing a little research, I figured well why not give the mirror a shot. It has not solved our problem but he lasts a little bit longer.

Tuesday I went up to class and then went on an  hour-ish run with my running buddy. She kicked my butt. Eventually I am going to be able to keep up... but that was not yesterday. We ran a much faster pace than we have been running. I am not sure what our pace was because I have been avoiding my Garmin. We estimated about 8:30 miles for almost an hour is better than in the past. But starting next week I am going to use it. Ha we will probably have to not talk as much in the future. We wear our selves out just talking the whole time, it is the best therapy though.

On my way home I heard some really sad news. It made me appreciate my little boy and that he made it here safe without any complications. We snuggled all night long. The best way to end my night. He was so tired before we gave him a bath. We had to record it.

10 Weeks, baby blessing, and first 6+ run

I can't believe baby Brooks is 10 weeks old! He is getting so so big! I cannot even believe it. Saturday was a busy busy day. Bryce had to work until about 2:30, so my sister picked me up and I hung out at my dad's house. Natalie and I went on my first 6+ mile run! I haven't been wearing my Garmin lately. I am just trying to get back in the groove of things. We ran along the canal. It was so nice to have someone to run with. We just had a little much needed therapy session. We finished the run in 58 minutes, I am just so happy to be running faster than 10 minute miles. Pretty pathetic, but I gotta start somewhere eh?

My dad and his wife are remodeling their house... haha it is crazy. So Holly and I bounced to go get all of the ingredients for Brooks' baby blessing food. We also had to buy new brakes for our car. Sending two girls who don't know a thing about cars... luckily the guys was super duper nice. I stood there and he got everything I need. And it was all right. Gotta love Auto Zone. I ended up making these cookies for the blessing, because I knew I wouldn't have time Sunday morning. They were a hit.

I decided because it was fall to have soup. Both of Brooks' grandmas brought a soup (well grandma Lesa brought two), and I brought one. We had a clam chowder, cream of potato, taco soup and I made a chicken and rice soup found here. My sister Nat, is the best to have around. She made Brooks' outfit. Everyone thought I bought it somewhere. Nope. She made it. And she also brought rolls. Alex is a lucky man. That is for dang sure. We had awesome salads and desserts. It was great. It was so fun to see everyone and Bryce gave an awesome blessing. :) I am so in love with my family. We didn't take very many pictures... I need to get better at that.

Bad picture... but whateves...

Look at those cute buttons

I love the bow tie. Nat is so talented. 

So update on Brooks. He is 10 weeks old. He loves to stand (with loads of assistance, and lots of wiggling and wobbling). He is starting to get more vocal every day. He loves to tell stories, and to have all the attention on him. He is sleeping really well. He will fall asleep around 8:00, wake up between 12-3 for a midnight snack. Then go right back down until 5-7 o'clock. He takes great naps and has massive blow outs. He is still living up to his angel baby name. I couldn't be more lucky. He has the greatest temperament. It is just harder to get things done because I just wanna hang out with this cute guy all day.

He is getting so big! 

I am headed on a easy run tonight... I am hitting the trails tomorrow with a friend. She's gonna kick my butt! :)

Date night!

So this past week has been a pretty good one! I picked up my cap and gown for graduation, got my acceptance letter for grad school (he bought me flowers!I have the best hubby :)), Bryce didn't have to go away for the weekend. We decided to celebrate! One thing that I absolutly love doing for date nights is picking a theme and running with it! I picked this up from a friends blog http://www.thedatingdivas.com/. If you have time check them out.

Our theme was Japanese night! We went out to sushi. Some tips that we use when eating out to sushi to make it a little easier on the waist line are:
-avoid the tempura dipped
-try having a Sriracha sauce instead of a creamy sauce
-ask the waiter for low sodium  soy sauce
-when choosing your sushi roll try not to have all of them with cream cheese (easy for me... I HATE cream cheese in my sushi.. weird I know)
-lastly, watch your portion sizes, try ordering an appetizer of Edamame or Miso Soup to help fill you up at the beginning

Next on our to do list was to go hot tubing... kind of a stretch for Japanese night but I did some research on Hinoki (wooden hot tubs that are famous in Japan. It was a stretch but it sure did feel great to just relax.

When we had had our fill of the heat we headed home to finish off our night with a movie! We watched The Last Samurai staring Tom Cruise. The movie takes place in Japan so it totally fit!

And of course you have to have dessert right?? Yes. So to find this recipe there is a little bit of a story. We were doubling with some good friends and she has Celiac disease (allergy to wheat gluten). So I had to find a recipe that we all could enjoy! I actually stalked her Pinterest account and found this Japanese Cheesecake! quiescence...? I think not! It was a little bit crazy of a recipe but all in all not to bad for you!

Adapted from http://www.thecookbookchronicles.com/blog/?p=3906

10 oz fat free cream cheese

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 egg yolk

1 Tbsp +1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2/3 cup milk 

3 egg whites 

1/4 cup sugar

Use a 7 in cake pan with a fixed bottom.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Put the egg whites into the freezer so it just begins to freeze around the edges.  Sift the cornstarch.
2. Wrap the cream cheese in clear wrap and microwave until it becomes soft to the touch.  You do not want to heat it up.  (I did this in about 15 second intervals.)
In a large bowl, melt the butter over a double boiler.  Add the cream cheese and whisk well to combine.
In another bowl, combine the egg yolks and 1 Tbsp+1 tsp of sugar.  Mix in the cornstarch.
3. Heat the milk so it comes to a boil.  Add it to the egg yolks and whisk until it thickens in a double boiler over boiling water.  Add this mixture to the cream cheese and combine well.
4. Add a small amount of the 1/4 cup of sugar to the egg whites and mix on medium low speed for about 2 minutes.  Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites and beat on medium until a soft meringue forms.
5. Add ¼ of the meringue to the cream cheese mixture and combine.  Add the remaining meringue to the cream cheese mixture and fold to combine.  Spray pan with non stick cooking spray. Fill the cake pan and smooth the top.
6. Put the cake pan in a roasting pan and add boiling water so it comes up 1-1.5 cm up the cake pan.  Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 326°F and continue to bake for 25 minutes until the top turns slightly golden. 
7. Turn off the oven and leave the cake pan for another 40 minutes to an hour.  (I left mine for 40 minutes.)
8. Take the cake out of the roasting dish and place on a wire rack to cool completely.  Refrigerate and chill completely before taking it out of the pan.  It is best served the second day.

Nutrition info: if you slice it into 12 pecieses it equals about 90 calories per slice! Top with your favorite fresh fruit! 

  
 So overall it was a great night! We had so much fun and it was a great way to strengthen our relationship and grow closer to one another!! I hope you enjoyed it!