F.I.T. - CAULIFLOWER SALAD

f.i.t. = Food In Tummy!

My trainer gave me a challenge to come up with 1 new healthy lunch that can be saved and finished for another day. (apparently my soups and shakes on the go didn't qualify as a filling lunch). After filtering through many recipes, I finally found one that I new I would love! As always, I had to change a few things to make it my own but overall, this is definitely something that will be sticking around in my fridge!

Cauliflower Salad

1 1/2 cup cauliflower, cooked and chopped

1/4 cup celery, chopped

2 hard boiled egg, whites only, chopped

1 tbsp light mayo

1 tsp mustard

1/8 tsp onion powder

pinch of pepper and salt

dash of paprika on the top

Steam cauliflower and rinse in cold water to cool when finished. Pat with a paper towel until dry. Chop the cauliflower into small bites. Mix into a bowl with celery and eggs. Add the mayo, mustard, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Mix well. Sprinkle with paprika. Chill for 1 hour before eating.

COINCIDENCE?

I think not!

I got home yesterday and I walked straight to our back door to let our pups inside and I found Telly eating a huge stack of papers comfortably laying down on the grass. (what the). I thought "where on earth did he find these" and "what are they"? I picked up all the chewed papers scattered across our lawn, pried the rest of the papers out of Tweeters' mouth, and took them inside to inspect the damage. I found the title page soaking in saliva and read "Brokerage Agreement Contract". (eye roll plus sigh). I called Sweets a little panicked and asked him what these papers were and if they were important. His response was a little different than I had expected. He started laughing on the phone really loud and was cheering! (startled and confused). I asked if this was a joke and he told me those papers were his new contract for work that he needed to sign. Mind you, this contract change over the past month has been extremely frustrating and ridiculous. I joined in the laughter and we both congratulated Telly on eating the contract. I guess Sweets cannot agree to the new terms! Dang it! (joke)

THE COLORS OF FALL

Sweets and I took a scenic drive up American Fork Canyon and through the Alpine Loop into Midway over conference weekend. We listened to the wonderful and inspiring messages of our Leaders while looking at all the beauty that was created by Him.

We truly are blessed to live at this time that we do. The beauty that surrounds us is incredible and we are lucky enough to enjoy it on a daily basis. Not to mention, we have a living prophet and counselors to guide us and speak to us about the truths of our Gospel.

I love Fall and all the colors that it brings. It is happiness and watching/listening to Conference during this time makes Fall even better! 

NOT JUST A CLICHE!

A moment on the lips equals a lifetime on the hips!

This is what my Trainers tell me before they criticize my food logs and before they kick my butt for 2 hours 3 days a week. They tell me that any binge eating of sweets, sugars, salts, and junk foods will promote weight gain in the years to come. Who wants that? It just puts more emphasis on the fact that I need to be more aware and cautious of what I put on my lips for fear of it ending up on my hips. 

I have to be honest with you, my lapse in concentration on my body the last year has really taken its toll on me. The arrow on the scale has slowly but steadily kept moving to the right, my clothes have been feeling more snug, and people say I look "good" instead of "fabulously thin and fit" or any other description that doesn't mean that my face has rounded out a little more since the last time they saw me. This battle I have been on, for the last ever it seems, is finally coming to an end! I have climbed on the horse and have got back on the track. The 3 things that my Trainers are having me do to help spark change in my body is:

1-Reduce food intake to 1150 calories per day

2-Increase physical activity to 60 minutes 5 days a week  

3-Eat 6 meals a day and keep the foods fresh

So far, this plan has worked. I have lost 5 pounds, 1 inch off my waist and lowered my body fat percentage by almost 2% in 1 week. I am thrilled that I can see results and it makes me push myself that much harder. My goal is to get down to a more comfortable weight by the end of October when I have my IVF procedures. Wish me luck and remember:

7 days without exercise makes one weak!

OBSESSION #1

Don't you just love everything about fall? I sure do, and I am loving that the season has officially started! 

I love the weather. 

I love the layering of scarves.

I love sipping on hot chocolate morning, noon, and night.

I love boots. (stilettos and rider) 

I love cozying up in sweatshirts and sweatpants. 

I love snuggling by the fire.

I love going to and watching U football.

I love politics and watching debates.

I love Halloween. (decorations, pumpkins, candy, and costumes)

I love the changing leaves and the beauty of all the trees.

I love working out and running with the pups in slightly rain/snow weather.

I love soup. (butternut squash)

For me, Fall is the new beginnings that the 'new year' is to most other people. It represents the new me! I feel rejuvenated. Anew. Motivated. Independent. I feel like I am starting my life over with a colorful and fresh approach. But, with all these wonderful beginnings in Fall, my favorite thing still, is my love for Fall TV. 

I love and am addicted to: 

The Sing-Off.

The Biggest Loser.

Most Eligible Dallas.

House.

The Office.

The Rachel Zoe Project.

Modern Family.

Glee.

Up All Night.

One Tree Hill.

The Real Housewives.

It sounds like I have no life. This is not true! I do have a life and this is it in the Fall. I couldn't be happier with working out in the early mornings, heading to work, coming home and making my Sweets dinner, snuggling with my kiddies and watching that days TV treasures. Thank goodness for DVR though! It makes living that much more convenient... 

TWEE-TWEE

Our little Twee-Twee is just the cutest thing. 

He climbs on the couch all the time and when you tell him to get off, he lays down and makes himself more comfortable!

He wakes us up every morning around 6:45-7 with his whining. We think he has to go potty so we open the door, but instead he just lays back down!

He has to walk directly in front of you at all times and looks back to make sure you are following him, thus resulting in him slowing pace and you tripping over him!

He gets all satanic at night time and runs around the back yard at 100 mph hunkering down low, just to baja into Tahoe who is innocently standing there and they both go skipping across the lawn!

He snorts like there is no tomorrow! And I mean he snorts ALL THE TIME!!!!!!

He loves to put his whole face into the water bowl and pluck out the ice cubes one by one!

He squeezes underneath the garage door at a height of 5-6 inches as we pull into the driveway just to greet us faster!

He doesn't just lay down when it is bed time, rather he plops his weight down in a very dramatic and loud fall to the floor!

He snuggles with the best of them and loves to lay in your arms!

ROUND DOS!

I am back for some more of the game I like to call "catch up". This post is full of wonderful goodness. And as I type this, I am remembering other photos on my other computer...Shoot! Ok, so there will be another "catch up" but in the meantime, here goes nothin... 

UTAH 54, byU 10

I mean, do I even need to say anything? 

Yes, yes I do. What type of person would I be if I didn't? 

It was a total smackdown. 

A slaughter. 

An enjoyable embarrassment.

The UTES prevailed in the HOLY WAR once again!

Sweets and I invited some friends over to watch the "game". We ate touchdown chili, end zone desserts, halftime popcorn and 1st down chips and dips! It was really yummy and apparently I was too busy eating because I didn't take any pictures of the food of the decorations. (I tell ya, my mind is going!)  

My family and Sweets and our office, flew to Boise Idaho for an Announcement on a new project called 8th and Main in the heart of downtown. We made the announcement that Zion's Bank will now use this future building as their Idaho Headquarters. We have other tenants for this building but we are not yet releasing them. (Not that many of you care because I am pretty sure the 2 people that follow this blog live in Utah and not Idaho, however it is business and you know how it goes.) Anyway, Tommy Ahlquist, my pops, Christian, Michael Morris, Scott Anderson and the Boise Mayor all spoke a few words describing the project and the how excited everyone is to "fill the hole". We made the unveiling and the building looks fantastic!!!    

After the announcement was made, there was time for Q&A and some local news interviews. Afterwards, we went out to lunch with our Idaho office who is overseeing this project to Thaifoon. I got to meet everyone, officially, after talking on the phone with them everyday and then we all toured the other projects we have up there. It was fun to see the progress we are making on the other sites. We rented a 15 passenger van and crammed in there for the day. I can't complain though because we were lucky enough to fly private and I enjoyed not getting frisked before getting on the plane with my bottle of water!  

I did another craft. I know right? Amazing at my no-craft craft skills. 
I took a frame with matting,removed the glass, stuck some scrapbook paper behind it and glued on some mini gourds and pumpkins. VOILA! It isn't much, but I thought it was fun. I promise soon I'll post more on decorations. 

This handsome young man 

was honored at the 100th Anniversary Rotary Gala for the Service above Self award. It was such an incredible honor to receive. He was joined by 4 others some of which were President Thomas S. Monson and Jon Hunstman Sr. My father is an incredible business leader, a huge advocate for charity and service, and he is so community conscious. There is not a minute of conversation that goes by with out him trying to help others. He deserved this Service above Self award more than anybody in the whole world. I love him and I am very proud of all his good works.
The night was a great evening held at the Salt Palace. It was a black tie event so the pressure was on! 

Sweets and I have slacked in the mountain thing this year but we did managed to squeeze in some time for a little night hike up Dog Lake. This was Telly's first big hike/walk/run and he did awesome! He was so excited and was running all over the place. He just couldn't get enough of the smells from other dogs and the freedom of being off leash. He minded very well though. He came when he was supposed to and we never worried about him following other dogs back down the mountain. What a good boy he is. Tahoe, as usual was in Heaven and loving every minute of it!

FALL BACK INTO FALL!

This is just a little somethin' somethin' to keep you occupied while I finish downloading, uploading, tweaking, writing, and posting the rest of the "catch up" stuff! Until then...

LET'S PLAY THE GAME ...

CATCH UP!
Oh geez ... I am such a slacker! My apologies!
Here is my first of a few catch up posts. Maybe one day soon i'll be all caught up with this blog (but don't hold your breath).

Sweets has been doing a lot of Mountain biking with different groups of peeps. They usually bike the Crest up Big Cottonwood and they usually bike it at night with their nifty cool lights. However, this ride was on a Saturday morning and he went with his good friend Cody (pictured) and Kevin (not pictured). Although they somehow got split up from each other, they still had a great time!

Sweets and I are apart of Young Leaders of United Way and they had a charity golf tournament at Old Mill that we participated in. It was fun to get out and play a round as well as mingle and make connections with other people our age in the community. Our team (consisting of Sweets' two friends Jarum and Travis and us) ended up taking 4th overall and I ended up winning "longest putt" and snagged some really awesome goodies to take home! 

I still have been doing a lot of cooking and loving it. I promise soon I'll share some of my latest recipes but until then here is a teaser. While peaches were the thing a month ago, I couldn't resist and grabbed a bunch and made this super yummy salsa and incorporated it into dinner! 

Recipe:

1 large peach, peel and diced small (or 2 medium peaches)
1 large avocado, diced small (or 2 small avocados)
1/2 red onion, diced small
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 of a yellow pepper, chopped
place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir.  (add the avocados last so they won’t get mushy)
serve over salmon or chicken or as a salsa for chips!
I paired mine with salmon and pea couscous. (Normally I like my couscous with cinnamon but I thought it would be too many flavors).


I headed here:

for some R&R for a few days. It was fabulous and just what I needed. I flew down with my sis and my Parentals and left my three favorite boys home to fend for themselves...but something told me they were ok without me. We soaked up some "vitamin D", went shopping everyday, hit up daily trips to Trader's Joes, Holiday decor-ed our homes from Rogers Gardens, toured the island of Balboa, went to dinner and movies, and goofed around with each other. 

Thanks for the fab trip!


Lastly, I have been trying to get my home ready for Fall (the BEST and my MOST favorite season)! I made a wreath out of striped burlap for my front door, but it's not hung because it somehow ended up at my mother's house. I'm making a new one though for my door. I did fix up our entry way with some mirrors and branches and set out my Fall subway art. I just love how the leaves are starting to change and the temperatures are cooling down. It makes for a peaceful and pleasant existence. 

Stay tuned for more of the game CATCH UP!

CHEERS...TO THE FREAKIN' WEEKEND!

Over Labor Day weekend, Sweets and I and our friends Dave and Lindsey, decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go on an adventuresome trip! None of us had ever been to Seattle, so we figured that was a good place to go. We left Friday evening and came home Monday night. It was such an incredible, beautiful and fun trip.

SATURDAY:
started off with Pike's Market Place. We absolutely loved it here. We walked all around the market admiring the gorgeous (and inexpensive) flowers, handcrafted jewelry, garden vegetables and fruit, and all the seafood you could think of. It was fun to watch the fishermen throw the fish, but boy was it stinky!




Just behind the Market was the infamous Gum Wall! I have never seen a wall so huge loaded with chewed gum. It was really colorful but kinda of gross if you think about it. Each of us chewed a piece of gum and attached it to the wall. That was our contribution to Seattle.

From there we walked down to the pier for some lunch and took in the scenery of each of the islands across Puget Sound. Then we walked back up and did a little window shopping at all the stores. There was the original Nordstrom, H&M, Nike Town and a lot of other smaller local shops. The streets were flooded with people and cars and beautiful architectural buildings. Downtown itself reminded me a lot of San Francisco with its steep hills.

We then headed over to Seattle Center where we saw the Space Needle, the Science Center and Experience Music Project. Its funny, but we were taken back at how small the space needle was. We totally were thinking it was the largest thing in Seattle and its not even close. However small or big, it was still really neat to see.

Instead of going to the top of the Space Needle we thought it would be fun if we took a sea plane tour instead. I was a little nervous at first taking off and landing in water but I was surprised at how smooth it was and how pretty the whole city is. We were able to do the 30 minute tour and it was awesome! We flew all over Seattle and had the best views of everything. It was definitely a highlight of our trip!
  

SUNDAY:
was filled with even more awesomeness. We first headed to see the Seattle Temple and enjoy some spiritual time. It was a very pretty temple with beautiful statues surrounding it and a tiered pool of water in the front. We couldn't have asked for a better morning than to walk the grounds in the beautiful weather.

From there we drove up to Snoqualmie Falls. WOWZA! The falls were so big and loud...I loved it. The view of the falls and the mountains surrounding it were incredible. We definitely were in awe. I love the mist that surrounds waterfalls. There is something so peaceful about it. 

We then made our way over to the island Bremerton for some lunch. There happened to be a festival on the pier so we just had to check it out. The boys ate delicious corn on the cob and we all sat there people watching (our fav thing) and listening to a local band sing some Country music (also our fav). We decided to take the ferry back to Seattle which was such a fun experience. I had never been on a car ferry before and was totally amazed at how fast the thing moves with all that weight! The movie Deja Vu did cross my mind a few times...ha!

Once we arrived we thought we would check out the old part of Seattle and ran into the Underground Tour Center. It looked way cool so we signed up and did it. Apparently, there is a whole other city below Seattle that was the original city before a fire in 1889 wiped it out. We were in shock at the saloons, banks, and other buildings intact (for the most part) below the Seattle streets. It was really neat to take this tour and we are so glad we did it!

MONDAY:
was bittersweet. We headed over to Kirkland for some beach action and hit up the kayaks. We went out on Lake Washington and seriously loved it. The water was surprisingly warm and calm. The homes that we passed by were so beautiful and each had their own dock. We did learn that there are boats for every 5 people in Seattle. Amazing! After kayaking we ate a great lunch at a Beach Cafe and soaked up the last few hours before we had to head to the airport.

On our way to the airport, we made a pit stop at Cow Chips. I ordered the cow-plop and it was truly D-lish! It was just the dough, my favorite part about cookies. Sweets picked up some chiplets and we all chowed down on those. Everything was centered around cows which was really neat. You could order a calf, a cow, a herd, and even a bull chip. Who would have thought?

Thanks Dave and Lindsey for joining us on this fabulous trip and making so much fun! We had an absolute blast and look forward to our next trip with you!
As for you Seattle...we will be back again soon!