Long weekends

I cherish long weekends, any extra time Dior and I get to spend with Dev is always so much fun. Dior has been sick with a cold this past week and of course I started getting sick on Friday. I was a little stressed about it because Devon and I had to both give talks on Sunday at church and I wanted to make sure I was healthy enough to do so. Both of our talks went well and I feel privileged anytime i'm asked to speak in church, but am glad it's not very often since I'm a nervous public speaker.

It was the NBA all star weekend which meant lots of basketball! We also started a new tradition of Saturday night pizza night.

I make a coconut flour pizza crust and all three of us love it! I'll share the recipe next week,  I'm just going to make some adjustments to it.

We also planted our seeds for our garden!! We are so blessed with a gorgeous backyard here in California and i've always dreamed of growing lots of vegetables. This will be my first attempt at a garden so wish me luck!

We are growing:

snap peas

peas

green beans

zucchini

cauliflower

yellow squash

spaghetti squash

spinach

cherry tomatoes

heirloom tomatoes

cucumber

sweet peppers

Here is the first picture of our little seedlings!

I'm back!!

Not a big deal I just decided to take over a year break from blogging! I guess that's what happens when you move back to Canada, have a baby then move to California. Lots of exciting things have happened in our lives, Dev started Chiropractic school in September and our baby Dior just turned 1 on February 2! Here's some pictures of us lately!

Walking at Lake Chabot

Dior's 1st birthday party!

 Playing at the park

On the road AGAIN.......

I woke up this morning to Dev humming the song "On the road again" which exactly explains our life completely. I am sad to announce that we will be leaving Florida and moving back to Canada in December. I have grown to love Florida, the weather, lifestyle, people and experiences we have had. I will miss waking up every morning to beautiful weather, riding my bicycle with Dev, going to the beach, the pond in our backyard, the ducks, couponing, the lizards, our little home and so much more. Dev and I have grown to love the independent life we have, especially the amount of time we have together.

This decision was made because upon moving to Calgary Dev will be able to finish his pre requisites (for a lot less money) while being able to make money working part time. This also means Dev will start Chiropractic school September 2012 instead of March 2013 if we were to stay in Florida. We will be moving to California in September 2012 where he will either attend Palmer Chiropractic in San Jose or Life Chiropractic in San Francisco.

As much as this decision will make things go by quicker it's hard for me not to feel like we are taking a step backwards. I feel everytime I am starting to feel settled in a new city or way of life we move. I am comforted with the knowledge that when Dev starts Chiropractic School we won't be going anywhere for three years! I guess this is what marriage is compromise and flexibility. I told Dev when he first approached me with the idea of moving away for school that I would always support him as he pursues his dream and will continue to. Calgary is a bitter sweet place for me, I love that our families are there but I've been so much happier and healthier since we left. I hope I can create better memories in Calgary and truly enjoy my time there.

Chels

Falling into place...

Falls has turned out to be quite beautiful in Florida with the added bonus of it cooling down a bit! Dev and I have been busy with cleaning houses, working out, school (him) and being pregnant (me). We had another ultrasound last week and little Lyons looks great, the ultrasound tech said she has my nose! I finally picked out her crib, dresser, change table and mattress and waiting for it to be delivered, it's going to be AMAZING!! My parents graciously paid for it, they've been an amazing help...WE LOVE YOU GUYS!! I will post pics when it's all set up! We also completed our registry at Babies R Us that was so much fun, the only thing Dev scanned was a pair of basketball shoes.... that's why I love him! Maui had her operation a week ago she got spayed and 13 teeth removed... she's a champion and recovering perfectly! Tinky hissed at her for like five days after she came back, she was confused and they fought a couple times :(

Here's some pics for your enjoyment!!
                                         Dev as a firefighter

                  We had a .99 cent budget for each so not too bad!!

                                          Myself as a police officer


                                          At the Trunk or Treat

Summer and Fall pictures!!

I thought I would share some long overdue pictures from our summer in Canada and us now in Florida.

                                     Fishing in Prince Edward Island

                                       


             Sharing a bunk with Bethany, Strater on the ferry to Newfoundland

                                          Hiking in Newfoundland

                                              17 weeks pregnant

       

                                      painting our living room

                                               21 weeks pregnant

                               Our bike trip to the beach

Lately

We are finally settled into our new home in Florida and really like it! Who wouldn't love the sun shinning everyday and being minutes from the beach so ya it's pretty much paradise. Dev and I have been swimming together almost everyday and we love it! I'm very proud that i'm 5 months pregnant and can beat my athlete of a husband when we race. More importantly swimming gets me out of the house, energizes me and releases stress. Since moving to Florida our already tight budget was cut in half again so now it's impossible to survive on it so Dev and I are trying to find part time jobs to supplement some income. Some of the jobs we have posted on cragslist are "couple house cleaners" but our major competition is "two firefighter house cleaners". Life coaching which was interpreted as language tutor so now i'll be teacher a 14 year old boy English... maybe I need to teach his father too.. Dev posted a "handyman"add and got a response for this Friday so we'll see how his experience is. I also applied to be a foot model since I think I have cute feet! Anyways, yesterday I was sharing my craigslist experiences with my parents and they decided they are going to to help us out a little so when i'm too pregnant to move i'm not cleaning all the houses on the block...just a few! Pray for us that the craigslist blessings will come our way!

Chels

Ground turkey lettuce wraps

These lettuce wraps are so delicious! I was craving the lettuce wraps I used to get at Joey Tomatoes but wanted a healthier version. These are very versatile, feel free to experiment with whatever veggies you like.

Ground turkey lettuce wraps

 

1 head of lettuce (iceberg)
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 pound of ground turkey
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 zucchini
1 cup mushrooms
1 can of water chestnuts
pinch of salt

Sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp palm sugar
4 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1.5 tsp chili sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 lime juice

Toppings
2 scallions
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup peanuts chopped
1/2 cup rice noodles fried in coconut oil until puffed up

Directions
In a medium pan saute salted onions for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add chopped peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic for five minutes. Set vegetables aside. Cook ground turkey until done and add to vegetable mixture along with water chestnuts. Mix ingredients for sauce and add to the mixture. Cook until heated.

Put it lettuce cups and top with garnishes. Deliciousness! 

Gluten Free Banana Bread

I thought I would post this scrumptious GF banana bread recipe since it's truly delicious. It's so good that Dev and I almost ate a whole loaf tonight. I made one side with chocolate chips and the other without and both were equally as good.




GF banana bread recipe

6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup palm sugar or cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas (3 large bananas)
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease loaf pan. Melt butter on low heat and set aside.

Sift the four GF flours into a large bowl. Stir in the xanthan gum, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir all together.

In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla.Stir until just combined.

Slowly sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the greased pan. Smooth the pan.

Bake about 45-50 minutes or until loaf is golden brown and knife slides out of the bread clean.

Home sweet home!

We arrived in Florida on Saturday evening exhausted but excited to get settled and ready for the year to come. The original hotel we had lined up didn't fan out so we looked at a few "sketchy" but cheap motel and chose the nicest out of the group. We grabbed some groceries and had a quick dinner and went to bed. We woke up late Sunday and started our quest to find a place. We didn't have a lot of luck on Sunday, we did see one house Devon really liked it because it had a grapefruit tree in the back but the inside wasn't very nice. Monday we focused our attention more on condo complexes since the idea of a gym and pool is very appealing to Dev! We found a great condo and went back to fill out the paperwork but then the agent informed us he made a mistake and it was already rented out... I was so sad but I know it was probably meant to be. We looked a a few others that weren't as nice and a house that looked like the color brown threw up all over it ( Florida people love brown carpets). We came home made some spaghetti sauce in the Vitamix and meatballs and searched for more places to look at on Tuesday. We also are planning on putting together a 72 hour kit since a hurricane might be coming our way...

Chels

Expectations!!

The first night Dev and I arrived in Florida we also discovered that i'm PREGNANT! We are both so excited for this blessing in our life! I'm currently 14 weeks 3 days or 3.5 months. My pregnancy has been good thus far, I haven't had any morning sickness just tiredness from all the overtime it's putting in making our little baby!

Baby Lyons is due February 10, 2012.