Healthy Meals on a Budget.

Health is my business but I'm not as interested in gyms and diet plans as I am in reducing health disparities. With enough time and money, I think anyone can live a healthy life. At that point, it becomes a matter of will power.

Where living healthy gets hard is when money and time are tight. Living paycheck to paycheck. working multiple jobs. That kind of tough. In my current job, I mostly advise people how to eat healthy while they are sitting in the waiting room at the food bank, in the WIC office, and GED classes. This population requires completely different advise. Every now and again, I challenge myself to "test" my advise.

One of these ways is my $30 per week challenge. This requires me to feed 2 adults breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 7 days. I also has to include healthier alternative foods, fresh fruit, and vegetables. There will be some "snack foods" that may not be healthy but are better than cookies and cakes. I also allow myself to utilize coupons ONLY if they are something that I was going to get anyways.

Here is this weeks shopping list;
- Orange Juice (free with coupon)
- Frozen broccoli and cheese packet - $2.50
- fat free turkey lunch meat (free with coupon)
- Bagged Salad (free with coupon)
- Fat Free Yogurt (free with coupon)
- 4 Bananas ($0.33 ea)
- 3 Apples ($1.00
- 4 Oranges ($2.00)
- Granola bars (2.50)
- Canned 95% fat free chicken ($2.00)
- Whole Wheat Bread ($1.50)
- 1 frozen pizza (not healthy) - ($3.33)
- Garlic Bread (1.60)

- 2 baked potatoes ($1.50)
- sherbert (free with coupon)
- milk ($2.57)

- cereal ($2.75)
- Tortillini ($4.00)
- 4 avocado (4/$1.00!!)
- 6 eggs ($1.00)
- bag of prezels ($1.00)

 
Breakfast Options:
Yogurt and banana
Cereal with milk
toast

Snack Options:
Granola Bar
Apples with Peanut Butter
dry cereal
prezels



Lunch Options:
Turkey Sandwiches
salad
boiled eggs
tuna sandwiches

Dinner:
Tortellini w/ salad
Pizza w/ pasta salad w/ garlic bread
Broccoli and cheese baked potatoes
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwiches w/ prezels w/ sherbert
Lasagna w/ spinach salad w/ garlic bread

Puppy Postage.

Spring is here and that means more color in the house!

We brought out the oversized letter that I DIYed to the living room for over the piano. The portion was not right so I wanted to add art to each side. I already had extra frames but what to put in....

Puppies, of course. Our children.

I decided to make art that matches the postage stamp on the letter. I created puppy postage stamps!

The first step is to take a good picture.

 

Then, photoshop the background color to match the original and add "Forever USA" in Photoshop.

Hang it up. 

Oooo and Ahhh...

We love adding a little character to the house. 

The pictures really show their personalities, too.

Summer Reading List.

Growing up, I always had a summer reading list. First because of school. But as I got older, I wanted to. I got all excited! I would go to the library to research book I wanted to read in early May so that I could check them out as soon as school let out. Well, when I got a real world job, summer days were the same as fall and spring and winter days so I didn't get to have a "summer" reading list. BUT, this year, I do!

This is what I am thinking: 

My Beloved - Sonia Sotomayor

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult

Wicked

Pride and Prejudice

and

Northanger Abbey

Between airports, airplanes, and exploring D.C. I think I can manage these. 

Any other suggestions?

 

 

Timing.

Timing is everything, right?

I mentioned timing in an earlier post because it has been on my mind.

To have faith is to trust in God's timing. 

Our lives right now are a testament to this truth and I want to share it. 

In prayer, I have asked God for many things. 

Security. 

A less stressful job for Neil. 

Time to see the world. 

New relationships. 

Renewed relationships.

A community of faith. 

A time of rejuvenation.

Little did I know that all these prayers would be answered in one month.

God's timing is in everything! I love the human body cause I am in awe every time I study it. 

Every second, the body creates new cells, new blood, and new breath. Millions of interactions occur simultaneously to ensure life. 

Why then am I always surprised at the perfection of God's timing in my life?

With huge changes on the horizon, it is easy to get overwhelmed but WAITING FOR HIS ANSWERS, will allow me to REJOICE IN HIS GOODNESS.

The beginning of new jobs, start and end dates of travel plans, fellowship funding, the first and last paychecks, long term house guests, and random gifts are only some of the tangibles that are making these changes possible. 

There is nothing like the freedom of Trust in His timing.

An opportunity to see D.C.

My husband is an awesome teacher. 

I know everyone says that about their spouses so I guess that my not be saying much. 

But he is passionate in ways that you hope your kid's teachers are. He works late, goes the extra mile, cares about the future of kids that may not believe they even have one. He is dedicated to social justice and never points fingers.

He is intelligent and innovative in the in classroom. 

He was asked to participate in a fellowship in Washington D.C last summer. The timing didn't seem right so he turned it down. Well, he was asked again this year and this time, the timing is perfect!

He will spend 5 weeks working with the iCivics program with Sandra Day O'Connor and I get to go with him! I don't know what I will be doing, but I'm sure it will be fun :)

Looks like this is going to be a fun summer!

My new J-O-B.

Since all the most important and necessary people in my life know, I am glad to finally make public that I have accepted a new position as a full time lecturer at Baylor University! As you might know, I love Baylor, so this is like a dream come true.

 I will be teaching various health classes. The first semester is Stress Management and Death and Dying, both of which I am so excited to be teaching! I am looking forward to being on campus again. The department I will be in is the same one that I spent doing by Masters Degree in. I now get to work with the same professors that mentored me as a student.

The interview was long (2 full days) and interesting but it gives me confidence that the University is grounded in its mission and provides full support to its faculty. I start in August but will stop my current job in the middle of June (more on that later). 

Birthday Boys.

We got to spend the weekend celebrating birthdays! That means, lots of fun, food, and family.

We went to dinner Friday night and started Saturday by going to the Farmer's Market.

With lots of food vendors to choose from, we chose tamales! They were good and much healthier than traditional tamales.

The weather was beautiful so we went for a walk down the river. 

We walked to a small Art Fair and enjoyed the scenic route. We saw ducks, paddleboarders, and some of Waco's landmarks.

 We went shopping until it was time for the Baseball game. We got to see Isaiah Austin throw out the first pitch.

We had Dad's birthday dinner at Heitmiller Steakhouse.

Sunday we went to church and then Neil's choice of birthday lunch...Domino's Pizza followed by ice cream cake.

Another Birthday boy opened gifts.

It was a great weekend celebrating great men in my life!

Easter.

I know its a little late but I just wanted to share our Easter. We met at my Grandma's house and filled her backyard with food, family, and fun! 

It's always nice to see cousins and aunts and especially the littlest, newest members. They always seem to have grown leaps and bounds every time we see them. Like little Evan.

The food was AMAZING!! Not traditional mexican food but prepared by my uncles, so I guess its still Mexican food....? Anyways, here is some of the spread.

The fajitas, vegetables, and fish were seasoned with Julio's seasoning and grilled to perfection. And of course the rice made by grandma was the best! I gotta get that recipe!

As usual, we take casarones pretty seriously around here.

It's fun to explain to the little ones "yes, you can smash it on his/her head". "No, you don't have to ask". "You can even get the adults and they won't even get mad". 

We do have some rules: 1. break it in your hand, not on the head. 2. stay away from food.

When my little cousin got cracked on, he was upset because "i have easter in my hair" :)

Beautiful Day. Beautiful weather. Beautiful family.

Lewie's snack.

Silence is golden.....or a sign of trouble!

Lewie was too quiet and when we found him, this is what we saw!

He loves his raisins!

Master Makeover.

Our “roommate” moved back in and that means we are back in the downstairs bedroom. Which I have decided I like better, anyways. I took this chance to spruce it up a little. For $100 I redecorated the room. 

We used the same comforter, bed and paint. The only thing different was that I used these teal pillows to add a little color. We already had them and were being unused in the library so it was free.

 The photos are of a few landmarks in Waco. I took them via Instagram and had them printed at OfficeMax. The black frames are album frames from Michael's and were 3 for $9.99. I added them to painted 2X2 plywood squares.  I already had 2 of them so I bought one for $5.99 from Home Depot.

  The lamp was the biggest splurge but I love it! I got it at Marshall’s for $50.00.

Put it all together and bam!

 Call it Spring Cleaning but It makes me happy! I love change and a little color never hurt anyone, right?

No sew curtains.

I have been searching for curtain fabric for the kitchen window for a really long time. I put up some temporary ones until I found something else. I came across this website called SPOONFLOWER and they sell awesome fabric!! Anything and everything you could think of...bacon? Got it.

 ....pickles? got it.

....scrabble??? Got it!

I've got to figure out how to use that fabric!!

After searching "yellow and brown" to match the paint colors in the kitchen I narrowed it down to a few fabrics and Neil got to choose...and he did great!

The fabric showed up at our door about 5 days later and i got to work. I was busy lazy so I tried a no- sew- method. I ironed out about a 1 inch hem all the way around the fabric and layed down a piece of adhesive tape between the fold.

 

I put an iron to it for 30 seconds and about 3 minutes later....the whole thing was done. The hems looked great! Probably better than if I sewed it.

I created a little pocket on the top for the curtain and put it up. It matches well and was so easy!

I have since used the tape for the hem of some dress pants, the lining of a purse, and trim on another curtain!

The Glorification of Busy.

Busy-ness. Its an excuse. Its an addiction. Its a way of life. 

I hate it! I don't believe anyone wants to live a busy life. A full life? Yes. A busy one? Probably not. 

Busyiness makes you miss out on life. That's where I am now. In the middle of battling busyness.

- working 7 of the next 8 weekends.

- responding to store emails everyday.

- product research to make sure that prices and image of the store is up to par with similar items.

- rewriting a new edition of the Dining Guide at work.

- doing Rosetta Stone 3 hours a week.

- journaling daily.

- keeping in touch with family.

- planning a trip around the world.

- filling 32 etsy orders in three days! And they are still coming in! (guess all that research paid off)

- preparing/presenting to Baylor faculty and staff.

- on that note, lots of hoping ;)

- keeping a house clean.

- cooking healthy meals at least 5 days a week.

One of my professors used to say this all the time: 

I know I am stretching myself thin and not doing any of these things well.  I want to make sure that I am spending QUALITY time with my best friend.  QUALITY time with my Bible. Providing QUALITY work.

So I have been taking inventory and cutting back where needed.  

Giving mom some etsy orders. Catching up on emails AFTER the BFF is asleep. Abusing my crockpot. blogging less. taking flex time to workout and do Rosetta Stone. Avoiding Facebook.

All this to say, sorry for the blogging inactivity!

I will catch you up soon!