Summer Fun

Today was fun. Jeremy and I made a super yummy salad (and super healthy!) Here's a pic and the recipe below. We add two bell peppers of different colors and don't add the avocado until we are ready to eat it, in each individual bowl, since the avocado turns so fast. :)

Then we went to McCord park with James' best friend Noah. They rode their bikes for a while, then played on the super freaking awesome playground equipment. Here are some pics from that ;)

 

We are trying to get all the playground time in before the weather turns insanely hot. Texas is not fun in the summer. Or any other time for that matter, but I digress. 

Peace and love,

Valerie

3 years later...

Thanks to a little bit of coaching from my girls at ALGT, I'm going to give this another go. I need to remember how this all works. I'll do a major recap soon, but here's the gist. I'm back in college, and have been for a whole year!! I'm making straight A's so far (cross your fingers!!) and am planning on graduating with my degree in elementary education in approx 2.5 yrs. (if everything goes my way). James is 7 and just finished 1st grade! (what?!) I know. My little boy is growing so.fast. Jeremy and I will be celebrating our 9 yr anniversary in October.

I'm gonna update waaaaay more in detail soon. But I just wanted to wake my blog up. And here's a pic to leave you with!

Through the storm...

If you live in the DFW area, you knew there were some very severe storms here last night. And if you know me, you know that I am VERY afraid of lightening and tornadoes. (well who isn't i guess but still). Anyways, I was driving home last night and basically trying to outrun the storm. What everyone tells you not to do, am I right?! I would look in my rear view mirror and see pitch black clouds. I would look pretty much right above me and see the line where it started to slowly fade to black. Then ahead of me a much lighter gray. Very close lightening all around me, as well as very heavy winds. Debris was flying all over the road. Well, I suppose it was debris and not hail...it was lightly raining, not pouring. There were some definite wall clouds (tornado forming clouds) and I could see what I only hoped was scud coming down from them. I.was.booking.it.home. I didn't care at that moment if I was speeding, or got a ticket. I just wanted to be home safe with my family. I was hoping that the storm wasn't moving faster than me (about 55mph) so that I could beat the worst part home. They were saying winds in excess of 70mph, and who am I to know that couldn't take my car out, with me in it? Needless to say I was quite scared. I did eventually get home, before the major part hit. I literally ran inside and went and sat in the hall and cried. Maybe a little over-dramatic? Possibly. But I was SO.SCARED. I will never EVER try to out run a storm like that again. If I have to stay somewhere longer, or be late to someplace else it is worth it to me.

Hug your families a little tighter today. :)

All About Meatloaf!!!

Today is all about Meatloaf day!!!! We are going grocery shopping later (because we are literally out of everything! haha). I want to know HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR MEATLOAF????

Here is my recipe that I got from my mom:

1.5 lbs ground beef

put in large bowl, chunk down.

garlic to taste

1/2 onion chopped

salt and pepper

1 egg

crushed saltine crackers (about a 1/2 cup)

1 can tomato paste

mix all this together

put in loaf pan, smear a little bit of leftover tomato paste on top and crumbled crackers.

bake at 350 for 1-1.5 hrs. :)

And enjoy!!!

What are some other favorite recipes of yours? :)

Valerie

Wild Olive Giveaway!

http://www.wildolivetees.com/hoodie-giveaway/

One of my favorite places is doing a giveaway!!!!! I love Wild Olive. Check them out!!!

Peace,

Valerie

Starting Fresh

It's no secret I used to be an avid blogger. I used to blog daily, sometimes even multiple times a day. It's been about a year probably that I "quit" blogging. I really needed a break, to find myself again so to speak. I had forgotten why I started blogging in the first place, and was too focused on pleasing everyone else, making sure I posted daily to get my quota in etc. It had become a chore more than an outlet of feelings. So needless to say I needed the break. I didn't intend to stop, but I am so glad I did. It gave me the chance to form even better friendships in real life, it gave me more time with my family and I was able to focus on my two jobs, which have really helped us. I feel I am in a good place right now, and have noticed that I have really missed it. I certainly hope that I can come back into the blogosphere. So, I started this new blog. I am still in the process of setting up my profile, my site and trying to make it look purty. Please add me to your blogging lists, "follow" me on the follow button etc. It's been a while, so I feel a little bit green behind the ears. But I'm sure as I get going it will allllll come back to me. :)

Please leave comments! They make me want to post more. :)

Peace,

Valerie

:)

Working on the way it looks!