Ten Things Thursday

Ok. Lots to talk about.

1. So remember 2 years ago, when I had eye surgery? Because I was basically blind and paying $3700 to 'fix' my eyes was completely worth it.

Yaaaaaaaaaa.

Well. About 2.4 seconds after I got pregnant, my eyes changed and required me to wear glasses.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Well, after a year of wearing glasses, I'm getting a little stabby. I mean, they were cute for about 2 minutes, but trying to exercise in them, and wearing my 'badass' side shields at work pushed me to the edge of Crankypantsville.

So I went to the eye surgery dude and 'At this time, another surgery isn't possible.'
Of course it's not.
Spank you very much.

Then, I went to a different eye dude and got contacts.

Hi, big forehead.

So, 2 years, 3700 holla for my dolla(s) later, I'm pretty much in the same boat as I was before.
Awesomesauce.

Oh well. It's not guaranteed and I knew that going in. And at least I an still sorta see without contacts or glasses. So, whatevs.

3.  It's CUCUMBER SALSA TIME!!!!

I posted this recipe on FB:
Crisp Cucumber Salsa
Note: 1/4 cup is only 16 calories! YES!!!
2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream ( I would Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream)
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

 Now, my friendy Tamra made some and added Dill and Coriander (I think). Anyways, it was the bomb.com!!!!

Isn't she so sweet to pack me a little snack for lunch!!!

Well, that little snack just made me crave it. So, I had to make a HUGE batch for myself. (Which will probably last 28.I-can't-stop-eating-it minutes.)

I made it a little different though.
Here's my recipe:

Spicy Cucumber Salsa
6 Cucumbers, seeded and chopped (or shredded in a food processor)
6 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Pkts Ranch Dressing Mix
1/2 Red Onion, chopped or shredded
1-2 Jalapenos, chopped
1/2-1 Bunch of Cilantro, Chopped 
2-3 T Vinegar
1-2 T Lime Juice

I shred the cucs and onions because I like the way it comes out better than chopping. But if you don't have a food processor, it kinda sucks balls to shred it by hand. So I'd just chop it.

BTW, even tho the tortilla chips are not that healthy for you, you could make your own with corn or flour tortilla's. You could also use this as a salad dressing! It's amazing over a crisp leaf lettuce salad with a little shredded cheese, spicy grilled chicken, corn and black beans!!! That's if you don't mow down the entire bowl the night you make it. Not that has ever happened to me.

It'D also be good for fish tacos!!!!

If I could figure out a way to can this to eat all year I would.
BTW, this is also the sole reason I plant about 10 cuc plants every summer......just for cuc salsa!

3.  I have exercised zilch in the last week and a half. ZILCH! WTF is wrong with me!?!?!

I was a rock star for about 5 days, then I started getting sick. Then Ryan was sick. Then I just didn't feel like working out. Or eating right, for that matter.

And then I gained back the 3 lbs that I lost while being a rock star.

This fucking revolving door of wanting to change my lifestyle and then going back to the same old crappy ways is getting old. Real old.

I'M GETTING TIRED OF YOUR SHIT, MISS LACK OF MOTIVATION!!!! That's right! I'm talking to you, ho-bag lazy ass!!!!

Sorry, just a little screaming match at my inner demons there. Nothing to be concerned about. Moving on.

I seriously need to get my shit together. I need to find out why I think it's ok to skip the gym. And why I think it's ok to eat that sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit from McShitalds every morning. My lack of motivation and unwillingness to finish ANYTHING I start is an issue. I mean, how many times on here have I 'Started Over', and then a few months later, fall off the wagon again.

By far, I think the 5 days I lasted this last time is the quickest I've jumped ship ever. It is also the most pathetic.

Now, I know it's good that I keep trying. And I know it's probably not great that I beat myself up for not sticking with it so hard. But damn it, I need SOMETHING to keep me accountable!

My wise husband, who I kind of want to kick in the ass sometimes (but in the most loving way), pointed out that I'm making promises to you all, and trying to be accountable to you, but I'm not following through. And what does that show you guys?!?! Huh??!! It shows that I'm an effing loser. UGH!

In my effort to start over, AGAIN, I'm going to take baby steps. Tonight: I WILL EXERCISE!
That's all I can do right? Take it one day at a time for now.

4. After that self-bashing bullet, we need a little happy.

Here's Miss Dillyn enjoying her carrots:

That little firecracker is amazing. She gets in these moods where everything is hilarious. And that day it was carrots. What a weirdo. Just like her mama. lol

5. My birthday is on Monday. I will be a whopping 33. I mean, 29.

6. Wanna know what I asked The Husband for my birthday? Of course you do. I asked him to make it the most romantic day ever. Ya. I'm that good people. I've been sending him emails with ideas. We'll see what happens.

And it doesn't even have to be over the top fly-me-to-Paris-for-a-candlelight-dinner-crap or anything. The other day he told me he loved me. That was enough for me! I'm so excited though I could just pee sunshine!!!

7.  I really want to eat my weight in Cadbury Creme Eggs right now. Thank you sweet baby Jesus I don't have access to those puppies 24/7 because I'd be a helluva lot more jiggly than I am now.

8. I've got the first two layers on my garden!!! I'm so freaking excited to plant veggies this year it's ridiculous.

OK. If you're slightly confused about what I mean by 'layers', here's the deets:

I do a layered garden every year. It's actually called 'Lasagna Gardening' because you layer the garden like you do lasagna. Let me be clear, it's not planting tomatoes and noodles to make lasagna. Nope, that's not it. Basically, you layer your garden with different materials, such as manure, compost, peat moss, hay, grass clippings, saw dust, fire ash, leaves, and/or soil. If you layer in the fall, it all settles over winter and you have the fluffiest and most wonderful soil to plant in evah. If you layer in the spring, your plants will do a little happy dance with all the nutrients they get from each layer, and by the end of summer, it's settled and your roots love it long time.

I've gardened this way for about 6 or so years now, and I'm telling you, it's the ONLY way to go. I don't have to rototill.......AT ALL. And after the layers settle, the next year I'll just add another layer of compost and soil and I'm ready to go! And the most important, my veggies are TO DIE FOR! I always have lots of growth, they're always huge, and they taste amazing!

The first year you do it, it can get kind of expensive, because you want about 4-8 layers, 2 inches thick each layer. And to buy all those materials is cha-CHING badabing! This year I've been lucky enough to find a lot of my materials free.
~First layer, that I put right over the grass/soil in your yard, is newspaper. Wet newspaper actually. This helps keep the weeds to a minimum and it gives the bugs something to chew thru to get to the nutrients (which, the bugs end up doing the tilling for you by chewing and digging through all the layers).
~2nd layer is a horse manure/hay mixture. We actually have a horse ranch two miles down from our home and they happen to be parents of some friends of ours (Thanks Brandy for all your shit!!!!). They have buttloads (literally) of manure just sitting waiting to find a new home. We've been given permission to come over and load up with as much as we want.  I'm betting that if you have a horse ranch near you, if you spoke to the owners, they'd be willing to give you their shit for free. Who would have thought I'd get so excited about free shit. FREE SHIT FOR EVERYONE!
~3rd layer: Leaves. Just rake your yard. Easy Peezy. And the dried, crusty leaves are the best.
~4th layer: Compost. I usually have my own compost pile that I stock full of kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaves, dirt, coffee grounds, etc. that I use for this layer. It takes about a year to get the compost broken down enough to put in your garden, and since I didn't start my compost pile until last August, I'm shit outta luck.  BUT, I happen to have a cattle rancher friend that has been putting his cow manure/hay/feed in a compost and turning it every few months for the last few years. So he has a HEAPING pile of compost that I can get for free!!!! I've hit the shit and compost lottery!!!!
~5th layer: Peat Moss. This stuff I buy at Home Depot. It's not that expensive. And I pretty much can't find it free, so I've got to purchase it.
~6th layer: Manure. Or grass clippings. Or compost. Or top soil. Since I have unlimited Manure, I'm using it.
~7th layer: Compost. Or any of the above. I'm going to use compost as my last layer since it's nice and crumbly, it'll be perfect for seed planting.

And that's it!!!! It's a lot of work at first, but by this time next year, the soil will be like butta. I'll add two layers, compost and manure next year before planting. And maybe soil too. And keep that up every year and your veggies will love you!

9. BTW, Baby Girl was hanging outside while I was doing yard work. She was just getting in a little yoga:

As my friend Lindsey said, 'Happy Baby Pose!'

Then 20 minutes later:

Too much yoga.

10. I text my mom the above picture and wrote, 'Only my child would fall asleep outside'. And she wrote back, "You mean only OUR children. Remember Michael.". I had completely forgot, but when my brother was little, he was notorious for falling asleep ANYWHERE. There was numerous times that he fell asleep on the sidewalk! Our daycare lady would call mom and be like, 'ummmm, Michael fell asleep on the the front sidewalk again, and I didn't want to move him, so I just put a blanket over him and went inside.' LOL! Wouldn't that be hilarious, if you were driving by and just saw this 3 year old passed out on the sidewalk?!?! Mind you, this was a VERY small town in BFE Iowa, and it was in the summer. It wasn't like on the corner of Shaddyville and Hookertown in the dead of winter. So, it was hilarious. At least it is to me. I'm sure now a days child services would be called. lol.

Anyways, that little random sleeper is graduating from some Military class for the Air Force. He's been gone for 6 weeks studying his butt off and he's coming home this weekend! I'm sure his wife is counting the minutes (more because he left her with a 11 year old, 3 year old, and a 6mo old, and not because she misses him. Oh, JK, she probably misses him. A little.)

CONGRATS MIKE! WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!

Cheers y'all!!!