road trip down memory lane

Martin and I spent the day driving down county roads looking for the perfect place for pictures.  We ended up in our old stomping grounds of Greeley. It was a beautiful day until the wind picked up and the tornado warning came over the radio.  We made it to one of our old favorite restaurants and ran to the door just as the hail began to fall...

We found our old neighborhoods.  We drove down the street that Martin walked a million times between his place and mine. We saw the music building where we spent so much of our freshman year together. Martin had been a music major and I loved playing on the grand pianos in the practice rooms while he practiced his violin diligently...unless I distracted him too much :)

I saw the dining hall where I had worked and the dorms where we lived. I hadn't been to campus since Martin had graduated.  It was good to be back.  It's like seeing an old friend again.

So many important moments happened to me on that very campus...it's where Martin first told me he loved me.  

I love seeing how far we've come from that first day of college eight years ago.

We began driving away from the black tornado clouds and back home to the big city. The smell of cows became less and less the further south we drove and the sky became more blue. 

It's nice to have a day to escape for a while.  Tomorrow I'll go back to teaching my tiny group of Kindergarteners and Martin will start a very important day of cooking.

Watermelon Strawberry Goodness

I am in love with smoothies.

They are one of my favorite things to drink during the summer...well any time during the year really :)

We don't drink them very often because of all the sugar, but every once in a while I can't help myself. 
I came across this really simple smoothie recipe from Bon Appetite.

You are required to drink this smoothie while sitting by the pool sunbathing.   

City Carnival

On my drive to work this week I noticed that a carnival had mysteriously appeared over night. One day it was an empty, abandoned parking lot where the seagulls congregated early in the morning and the next day it was full of rides that have seen their fair share of children. The abundance of rainbow colors looked out of place on a rundown busy city street. 

Aren't carnivals filled with the most interesting people? People who have weathered the long hot summer days and who have traveled from city to city. It shows in their face...their posture. Seeing the country through their eyes would be so curious and amazing. I feel out of place though, and can't seem to understand why the kids running around are so excited to ride the rickety rides.  When I was little I was too shy to try anything like that. I was content watching the rides spin around and hearing the other kids scream...I was relieved that it wasn't me being flipped upside down and backwards.  

This evening as my sister and I walked around, the smell of funnel cakes and popcorn wafted through the air. Anytime I smell a funnel cake I always think of carnivals...and being hot. We always seem to go to carnivals when it's 100 degrees outside and there are a million people milling around.  But tonight it wasn't crowded, and the sky was dark with rain clouds. 

I'm sure when I drive to work next week the carnival will have moved on. Like it was never there. The seagulls will have their parking lot back and the bright flashing lights will be off to the next great city.

Hope everyone is having a great start to their Memorial Day weekend! 

{Maybe find a carnival and ride a ride for me?}

You Are The Best Thing...

Hello best friend,

I have this great feeling today that everything is going to work out the way it should. 

Maybe because the sun is finally out or maybe because I'm psychic...you didn't know?

You are amazing.  

An incredibly hard worker. 

Passionate. 

I'm so proud of you. 

You treat me like a princess every day...even when I have a meltdown the size of the sun.  

You are still so kind and loving.  I am one lucky lady.

Thank you for being mine and for being you.

Love,

me

Sweet With Lilac Air

 This evening we took a much needed walk. We found a bike trail not too far from our home and escaped from the busy city traffic...if only for a short time.  The air was so intoxicating with lilacs and I could hear the morning doves singing in the distance. Sometimes you just need an escape from it all...an escape from your day, from the little things that get to you. 

There's nothing I love more than taking a walk with Martin.  We talk about everything.  How someday when we have children we'll play them all the great musicians so they can become lovers of music too...I told Martin my mom had listened to Air Supply when she was pregnant with my sister and I, he looked at me like it all made sense now :) 

We walked and walked as the trail took us through the cemetery.  It was quiet and peaceful...as it should be. 

I love watching the sun slowly set as it illuminates the trees from behind.  I love holding my husband's hand as we walk together, sharing moments that only we'll know about. 

I was sad that since we had moved, we no longer had a place to take our summer evening walks.  I'm so glad we found a trail that can become our trail. We can spend endless summer evenings walking, talking, loving each other, loving the amazing beauty that surrounds us. 

Food Log {Cavewomen Style}

I promise to hush up about all this Paleo talk, but my mom was wondering what I eat during the day...so I thought I'd share incase others were interested too. If my family could see me now. They would truly not believe their eyes. It's true Daddy, I've been eating meat  t w i c e  a day! 

 Look out world, here comes Jessica, now only a slightly picky eater.  All I have to say is, "Take that!" to my five year old taste buds.

Here's a what a typical day looks like for me.  I'm not sure what it would look like if I didn't have a husband who was a chef...my meals would probably just be slopped onto a plate haphazardly. 

Martin's been so great trying to recreate the foods I love using creative ingredients.  We've had zucchini lasagna and pizza crust made from almond meal and coconut flour.  

I think we may have turned into that odd couple.  

You know the ones.  

The couple that keeps chickens in their living room and snacks on tree roots.  

Just be kind and tell me if I have dirt in my teeth.

A Special Engagement

My good friend Marlena is engaged!

It happened over Christmas...in sparkly Vegas.

As we left school for winter vacation I told her to call me the minute she won the jackpot. A few days later she did call me...and with even better news! She gets to spend the rest of her life with her best friend. 

I was so excited when she asked me to take her engagement pictures. We had such a great time...they were laughing the whole time and so much in love that they couldn't help but take amazingly beautiful pictures!

Can you say magical?

Cinnamon Honey Custard {Paleo Style}

 This is the first dessert I've eaten since converting to Paleo ways. Seeing we don't eat dairy, Martin substituted cow's milk with coconut milk and tah dah! Paleo Custard.

M m m m  m m m m!

You would be very proud of me.  I've only varied from true Paleo eating a few times in the past three weeks.  I'm actually pretty impressed with my self control if I say so myself.  Can you believe I've gone weeks without any bread or cheese?  I used to eat these two things like there was no tomorrow (you may have caught me red handed many a time eating handfuls of cheese out of the bag...)  For most of my older teenage years and adult life I've always felt just so so.  Ask Martin and he'll tell you there probably wasn't a day that went by where I didn't feel good. Usually my stomach was upset or I had a headache. Well these past few weeks I haven't felt nauseous once and I haven't had a single headache. I always wondered if everyone felt car sick everyday? 

No? 

Just me? 

Well then, I'm glad I'm getting these things under control...I've realized that's no way to live your life. 

This process has been really hard at times...sometimes I cry like a big baby. Changing the way you view food is a process that takes time. I'm learning to see food as what it is...a way to nourish my body. 

I'm just glad I have my sweet husband by my side to encourage me every single day and make me Paleo custard every once in a while :)

naps are my best friend

Today I got up at 9.

Then I took a three hour nap until 1...perfect way to start summer vacation if you ask me.

 This afternoon I grabbed my camera and headed over to my sister's to feed the cat. I explored her backyard while Mac howled at me through the screen door to let him out too...no such luck though.

When did all the leaves appear? It always seems to happen over night. With all this rain we've had, everything is so fresh, green and summery.  

{baby peaches...yum!}

The sun finally made a quick appearance today, but now the clouds have rolled in again.  Cloudy days make me sleepy...are two naps in a day allowed?