My Young Husband

  Michael and I make jokes around our birthdays about how I'm so much older than him. It feels that way more from June 11th to October 11th while I'm "two" years older than him in numbers. Until last Thursday, I was 30 and he was 28, but now he's catching up again and is 29. But 30 doesn't seem that old anymore and even 60 doesn't seem old since that is the age our parents are in the area of. Now 90 seems old, so we have a ton more years to keep being young. And I often feel "Full Sail young" (age 22), especially when I'm dancing to music in my car at red lights. Tired half of the time and paying a mortgage, but still young. =)

Hubba hubba!! *heart eyes emoji* (photo taken by his mom)

   Anyway, this post is about my amazing husband! ☆  ♡  ✞
On Thursday after walking with Jackie, I met Michael at VAMP for birthday lunch at Panera. I felt kind of bad after, kicking him out of my car because I had an hour to get home and pump before getting to the hospital at 2:15 so I could hold Emma before the nurse started feeding her at 2:30. That night we went out to eat again since he wanted to go to Chili's. The next day his mom drove down, but I barely got to see her since I worked all weekend. They invited me to dinner at Bahama Breeze, but I went to the hospital instead due to the scheduling. On Saturday they went to the Farmers Market so Michael could get more juicy mangos, then they saw Emma, went for a bike ride, and out to eat again at a Thai Place Michael likes, then to see Emma again. On Sunday they saw Emma, ran errands to Target and Babies R Us where they picked up curtains for Emma's room, a cute bathing suit for her to use later when we can play in the baby blowup pool outside at home, and a "big girl" bathtub to use at the hospital. She's too big for those little gray buckets now!  On Sunday they saw her two more times, then made dinner at the house. Luckily his mom was still there when I got home after work, so I got to see her for 45 minutes before she drove back to her hotel and then left early this morning.

   I was really glad that she got a picture of him with some of his presents. She made the best photo album with a ton of pictures of Emma starting with when we told them I was pregnant last November. He opened the ones from me and my parents on Friday night. I got him The 100, Season 1 and Hook.  I also made him a card telling him how he is such a great husband and dad. Sometimes I feel like he needs (and wants) those reminders. He often asks Emma how we got so lucky to have her, but its us who are the lucky ones because we have Michael! I put two of our recent favorite pictures of us with Emma on the front and back of the card so he could take it to work as a make shift picture frame.

   I like to link back to previous related events in my posts, so here is the post from Michael's 28th birthday, but I never wrote about what we did for his 27th birthday in 2015. That might have been the year that he went to see a movie by himself because I didn't want to go. I'm not sure why I didn't since it was a cute kiddy movie (Hotel Transylvania 2) and not something scary and creepy, but later that night I felt bad and got dressed up then met him at the theater when the movie ended and "made him" go to dinner with me.. still makes the day sound like it's about me.. I need to work on that, but hopefully I've gotten better about it in the past two years!! Michael still asks me to go to Halloween Horror Nights with him every year, but I can't do that again.
   So in 2015, to make up for being a tooty pop head, the next day I asked him what else he wanted to do to celebrate, and he suggested kayaking at Shingle Creek in Kissimmee. I only have two pictures below from that which were saved in my email- thank goodness they were titled decently since I forget where on my laptop that I put my million of pictures years later. (We've been backing up all of our Emma pictures in several places and I try to keep those organized by month.) In the third picture with us wearing gray, I can only assume it was around the same time since it was in the same email.

   This year Michael said he wanted to go kayaking again, but found a different area. We woke up early and he drove us to Wekiva Island (close to Wekiwa Springs, and no that's not a spelling error. Half of the names in that area are Wekiva with a V and the other half are with a W.. confusing!). It had free parking which was wonderful since the springs cost $6 per car, although the kayaking was not cheap! But since it was for his birthday, his parents paid for it. They are super generous that way. I also love how his mom keeps complimenting me on my strength during the past four months- how strong I was in my C-section recovery, how we are learning so much medical stuff for Emma, and how I've been dedicated and have lost almost all of the baby weight already! Go me!.. I promise this post is about Michael! :)

  We rented the kayaks for almost 4 hours!! I tried really hard to keep a positive attitude when my arms were sore and we had to paddle against the current on the way back and I couldn't stop or I'd be pushed backwards. One arm felt sore the next day, but it wasn't bad. Michael said he didn't have any soreness, and I was so proud of him being responsible about applying more sunscreen every hour so he didn't get burnt! After kayaking Michael stopped by the food truck in the parking lot and ordered chicken tenders with fries and mango coleslaw. I loved that they had five vegetarian options and the veggie burger did sound good, but I waited until we got home to eat. We napped when we got home, then he said he wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. Ooooh, now who is trying to stretch out a birthday extravaganza?! ;)  We also have plans to go to Typhoon Lagoon on Saturday. I hope the weather is as clear and sunny as it was out today. Woooo, fun life!!

 And so much love from me, Emma, and Sasha!! You are the best ever. Like, for real. Other people may think that they have the best husband in the world, but they don't even know!!

Tru Nature

  I think 117 may be my new normal weight. That's what I have been the past couple of times I've weight myself. It's definitely not my wedding weight, but last summer I was 116, and with doing a lot of exercise videos, I thought I looked really good. ;)  My body works well in a way that once I switch from junk like pizza, chips, cookies, and ice cream (yes, those all do sound amazing) to real food like fruits, veggies, salads, and sandwiches, it likes what I'm putting in it and I can quickly lose ten pounds. And it has done so several times. Thank you, body.

  It's been 20 days since I've eaten meat and over 6 weeks since I've really had dairy (just a small amount of cheese or Ranch dressing on a rare occasion). I'm not really trying to do a "vegan challenge" for a certain amount of days, it also just seems normal for now. Yesterday I thought about stopping to get a chicken pesto wrap, but then thought about the chickens crammed together in cages so they can't move with their beaks cut off and getting pumped with stuff to make them at least twice as big and their skinny legs not being able to support their bodies. I went home instead and had a quinoa burger with hummus, lettuce, sprouts, and peppers. I've learned recently that I like red peppers!

  I will admit that going to Chevy's Fresh Mex will be difficult because I love the chicken flautas there. When we went last weekend, I got the vegetarian wrap (lots of crunchy veggies with rice and beans), but I probably would not order it again. Although I would be fine eating all of the crispy chips and dip. Those chips are so thin and flaky, it's easy to pile through three baskets!! In one of the vegan books I was reading, it mentioned a term called "flexitarian" which I had never heard of before, so I looked it up. "The flexitarian diet is increasing in popularity especially with people who do not want to commit to a full vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. It allows them a flexibility that they can adapt to their lifestyle, social life or health conditions." I told Michael about this and his accurate response was, "So they are just regular humans! If they want a salad, they eat one. If they want a steak, they eat it."

  My new favorite foods lately have been acai bowls. Last weekend I found a new (its been there at least a year according to the reviews on Yelp) smoothie and juice place called Tru Nature. I had never had an acai bowl before, but loved it so much. It's basically a smoothie in a bowl with toppings. I went back the next day and tried one of their pitaya (dragonfruit) bowls. It was even better and more beautiful than the first one!!  Michael got the pina colada smoothie when he went, but he said it had too much coconut and not enough sweet pineapple, so it tasted bland.

  I also was trying to be creative with more meal options and made avocado toast one morning which was good and bruschetta Triscuts for lunch using vegan mozzarella. Wow, I ate a whole lot of those!! I would make more but I'm out of mini tomatoes for now. I work again tomorrow so I've been thinking of what kind of easy meals I can bring to eat. I love my loaded veggie burgers, but they are messy and would be hard to eat when I'm talking to the deputies at the same time. I think soups, pita sandwiches, nuts and fruit will be the way to go! Maybe spaghetti and I love my quinoa salads too.

I call this the Big Veg (instead of a Big Mac)!!

  Michael and I just got back from a local farmers market that I've been wanting to go to for a while. There are a lot of vendors selling food, soaps, and other decorative things and it wasn't just fruits and vegetables. I was pleasantly surprised to see Michael paying for three mangos while I waited for a smoothie to be made. He just whispered "yes" to himself as he cut open the perfectly ripe and juicy mango. When he gets them from Publix they have to sit out for a while because they are too hard to eat. I got two bananas and a handful of green beans, which only cost me $1.24! On Monday, Michael went with me to try a small restaurant we hadn't been to before called That One Spot. He has been such a sweetie lately when we plan to go out to eat, he lets me check the menu for vegetarian or mostly vegan options before we pick a place. It's so nice how he goes along with everything rather than saying, "You're not really vegan. Don't be dumb. We're going to (insert name of restaurant without healthier options)." He got a regular burger, I got a black bean burger, and we shared a side of sweet potato fries.

   My mom visited a couple weeks ago, which was great and we walked two miles along one of the nearby trails, then stopped into two of the lunch spots before deciding to eat at home. I was impressed with myself and all of the ingredients available for her since usually the only thing I have to offer is chicken nuggets and cereal. I laid all of the fruits and vegetables out on the counter and it looked beautiful!

 Trying different food choices is definitely a learning experience. One I am happy to dive in to. Sometimes I love it because it helps me explore different parts of a menu for familiar restaurants, sometimes it helps me find new places to eat, and sometimes I waste my money on fake meat that turns out to taste like dog food.. I'm looking at you fake bacon, but there have also been several non-vegetarian meals I have ordered at Cooper's Hawk that I did not enjoy, giving Michael leftovers to take to work. Plus it never hurts to have something keep me occupied that way I have less time to think about being sad that I'm not pregnant again yet.

Health & Hurricanes

  After watching the documentary Vegucated and re-learning how terrible animals are treated and how quickly they are killed (poor "useless" baby boy chicks, not being able to lay eggs), I am testing out the vegan waters again. I say that I am re-learning this because I know that a bunch of us watched Food Inc. at the beginning of Full Sail (for fun, not during class) and I remember being effected by it then. But I guess not for very long because I don't remember having a "vegan phase" during that time. Sadly last year, I remember that the reason I switched back to eating meat in September was because I was visiting my Grandma in Naples and got very hungry and needed a quick snack, so I went to the Publix deli and ordered turkey slices to go with my crackers. I'm sorry, turkey. This could end up being another 12-day phase, but as of right now, I don't think so. Trying and preparing new foods has been pretty fun, although time consuming while I get to decorated just right for the pictures.

  To be honest I do get nervous to try foods that are so different, and part of that is just because I don't like wasting money on food I don't like, but I do like trying new things! I was pleasantly surprised that I really liked the kale and veggie burgers that I bought. I tried butternut squash (the yellow stuff in the picture) which doesn't really taste like anything and is kind of crunchy like carrots. "It provides significant amounts of potassium, important for bone health, and vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems." I got meatless bacon today and when I ate it "raw" it tasted pretty good like salami, but when I cooked it -as instructed- it got dry and sort of tasted and smelled like dog food. I remember a long time ago Sharanya had Mia and I try tofu. To me it tasted like wet cat food, so I probably won't try that again. 
  Side note: V8 has way too many grams of sugar (12) for being vegetable juice.. Here are some other beautiful pictures I have taken of food I have eaten lately:

   I got very excited pushing around my cart of fresh fruits and veggies! I felt so healthy already. Another thing I started doing is bringing a cloth bag with me to put my groceries in so we don't waste so many plastic bags. Today when I shopped and only got four items, I told the cashier that I didn't even need a bag and simply carried my items out. =)

 Sasha likes to help with my breakfast photo shoots. I really like when she follows me around.

  This spaghetti was very good and I will have to make more soon, after I buy another jar of sauce. I used spinach noodles and added more of the spaghetti squash spirals as a filler rather than eating twice as much spaghetti. This morning I whipped up some vegan pancakes that are made from bananas and flour. They were okay. Better than the fake bacon, but I might not make them again. I mixed two recipes and left out a couple ingredients from the main recipe.

   The first pancake didn't brown as much since the pan wasn't as hot. I actually liked the ones that were burnt a little more. It added taste. Also, if you make these, don't use Pam in the pan. The batter is slippery enough (probably because of the coconut oil) that they flip easily and don't stick. I did spray Pam in at the beginning and the very first pancake, which I didn't take a picture of, got so messy and wouldn't stay together when I tried to flip it.

   Dog tested and approved! (She only licked a strawberry. I didn't let her eat any of it.)
Recipe:
     1 & 1/2 bananas, mashed
     1 & 1/4 cup of flour
     1 cup of almond milk
     2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
I also added an unmeasured amount of oats (probably at least one cup?), salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, brown sugar, and chia seeds.

   This post will end up being pretty long since I'm less than half done, but I also want to post some pretty walk and flower photos. The first photo below is from yesterday when I walked to the nearest library- the second closest was still closed due to the power being out from the hurricane. I had my distance tracking app on during the walk home and I have to admit I was a tad disappointed that the walk was not as long as I thought it was. The total roundtrip was 3.4 miles and I thought I would go at least 4. But that's still pretty good since most walks are closer to two miles!

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   Florida was hit by another hurricane recently. We are very lucky and chose a great place to live considering we did not have any house, window, or fence damage. A lot of our neighbors did though (to their fences). Michael and I stayed up streaming the various weather and news channels on his iPad. He stayed up until about 11pm that night and Orlando was scheduled to get the worst of it starting around 2am. I was a little bit scared as I snuggled in bed with Sasha, pulling the covers over us each time a huge gust of wind made the tree branches hit the walls and roof. Michael got up a couple times to look outside and take videos to send to his parents later. We had one branch that kept scraping against the dining room window, but that was about it. There was a lot of yard work to be done (we still aren't finished yet) and it made me miss living in an apartment. In the morning everyone was walking around looking at the mess and see which trees fell where.  It was really nice to see people working together, especially since we all seem to own different tools.

 I took the pictures around our neighborhood on the Canon using the zoom lens.

 One thing that I liked about the fences being down was that we could finally see what some of our neighbors' back yards looked like.  I guess the hurricane brought these brown ducks from another area because before we've only had white ducks.

 I picked up a few nests around our yard. They were all empty.

   I thought we had lucked out again without having to worry about our power going out, but Monday morning at 9:20am, it went out and stayed out until 10am Tuesday morning. An alternate title to this hurricane half of the post is "Amish is Better".  Not spending so much time on our phones (because we can't charge them) and not watching TV is better. Doing plain things that don't require electricity, like making scrapbook cards, is better. Taking shorter showers because the water is cold is better. Talking to each other is better.

  Sasha was able to get her cone taken off after the hurricane. She has been good about not scratching her neck in the area where the papilloma was removed. I would not have minded the power staying off longer knowing that we had ice to keep the milk cold. I could have kept eating peanut butter and jelly crackers with grapes, but instead we were excited that it came back on and proceeded to spend the next hour on our phones texting everyone about it. Why? Why was that so necessary? Next Lent has to be about me not using my phone. It is a serious time waster.