Unanswered Prayers

Yesterday morning I had an awesome run. I definitely got a ‘runner’s high’ about halfway through. I haven’t been feeling well lately, I came down with a head cold last Thursday. I told myself that I would do at least six miles, and if I wasn’t up for anymore then I would head home. Six miles is my ‘minimal number’ of miles that I typically run each day. So I knew I could do it, I just planned to take it easy & just enjoy being outside. (Does being outside make anyone else feel SO much better when they are sick???)

Well, around five miles something just came over me. I just really wanted to run today. Run until my heart’s content. A long run just sounded SO good, and I felt like it’s what I NEEDED. Not only to clear my head of sickness, but just to think. Have some ‘me time.’

Being a Mom having any ‘me time’ is a rare thing, and that’s ok, but our morning runs is my ‘me time.’ Gabriella plays with her toys in the stroller, usually falls asleep, and I just run.

Sounds silly, but honestly I love this part of the day. I feel like it’s time I get to spend with Gabriella, even though she is snoozing. Once she wakes up we usually go to the park so she can swing.

Something that I don’t discuss on here often is religion. I know that religion & politics are topics that really should not be discussed in a social situation, but there is a topic I really want to bring up. Feel free to skip this part if you don’t want to hear about my personal beliefs regarding God & religion.

I wanted to mention how much I LOVE my Thursday Bible study. The women that I meet with are such STRONG, inspirational people. Not only do I feel like I’m growing spiritually, but it’s also so nice to meet with other Moms who are going through similar situations or have been through the situation & can offer suggestions & advice.

While discussing our devotionals this week, the topic of unanswered prayers came up. It’s often a thought that we don’t think about. I mean who remembers to say ‘thank you’ to God for NOT answering a prayer request?

I know for me personally, I had really never thought about it. Remember that high school or college boyfriend that you prayed to God about? The one that you would do ANYTHING for to make the relationship work? I know I do, and I think most women can relate to that in one way or the other.

It really put things into perspective. If God had answered my prayers, I would not have the wonderful family that I have today.

I wouldn’t have my little G baby, and I probably would have never met my best friend, my husband.

(they melt my heart)

It’s EASY to say ‘thank you’ for answered prayers. Getting the new job, positive changes in your health, making it through a day you thought was impossible, & many other things. But what about all of those prayers that God said ‘No’ to. At the time you may have been mad or upset. I know I have, I even pushed away from God for a while.

Now I have to just remind myself that when I do get a ‘no,’ that He may have a better future for me. As I was doing my devotional Monday night, I happened to stumble upon this verse:

“In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 16:9

I think He may have directed my eyes to that verse for a reason. God knows our future. He has everything outlined for us. Even in times of despair & heartache, He knows what He is doing and you have to trust in Him.

And I just want to end with a verse for a song I still love, ‘Unanswered Prayers’ by Garth Brooks.

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

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Perfect Ending

Despite this past week being as crazy as it was, this weekend was by far one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time.

Yes, I am still having issues with my Crohn’s, but I think I can finally say that the new medicine may be kicking in. I don’t want to jump ahead too much, I am thinking positive though. It really is amazing how much positive thinking helps.

Also I cannot say THANK YOU enough for each and every one of your kind words, emails, and comments. Every time I checked my email & saw that I had a new comment, I would read it & it would just make me smile. Most of you I have not even met in person, and yet you still have the nicest, most uplifting things to say. For that I truly cannot thank you enough!

This weekend was time spent as a family. Our little family of three.

Saturday I actually did quite a bit of cleaning and clearing out my closet. I took a bunch of clothes to Plato’s closet and made some money, always nice to sell more than you were expecting!

After that Craig & I played with her and she is REALLY into hearing her little voice. She will just sit and screech for HOURS. It is hilarious!! Then I will do it back to her & she laughs and does it some more.

^that would be her mid screech 😉

Absolutely LOVING this age!! She’s becoming more & more aware of her surroundings and really soaking it all in. She is already trying to pull herself up on EVERYTHING. The more & more I look around our house the more ‘hazards’ I see when she starts walking. I think we may have a couple of more months before that, but never to early to baby proof, right? 🙂

Saturday afternoon I actually felt up to going for a run, I wasn’t able to run on Friday (due to the Crohn’s flare up) and REALLY missed it. So the minute I felt like going, I knew I should. I put Gabriella in the BOB stroller and we were off!

It felt SO good to get out and run and NOT have to have any bathroom stops along the way. (Sorry if that was a bit too much information.) Gabriella enjoyed her time too, girl LOVES to be outside. She got her Momma’s love of nature and outdoors! Once we got back, we spent even more time outside- I set her her baby pool and she played for a good hour in there.

I thought Saturday was great, but then there was yesterday…which was darn near perfect! G woke up at her normal 6:30am wake up call, so after getting dressed and getting her ready, we were out the door for our normal Sunday morning Starbucks run. The baristas love seeing her each week, she made some friends. 🙂

Once Craig woke up and Gabriella had her morning nap I suggested we go to the farmer’s market on Lake Eola, in downtown Orlando. I really wanted / needed to get out of the house. I couldn’t really go anywhere last week, because of the stomach issues, and I was just feeling a little stir crazy.

My parents were actually going to come down & visit us, but I asked that we postpone the trip, only because I really was not sure if I would be able to enjoy the company. (only because I wasn’t sure if I would be in the bathroom the whole time) Thankfully they understood, and I’m looking forward to seeing them soon.

I figured we would give the farmer’s market a try, and it was right near my office, so I knew exactly where EVERY bathroom was, just in case I needed to make a run for it.

Side note: One of the perks of having Crohn’s disease is that you know where each & every bathroom is at all of the places that you go to – restaurants, grocery stores, departments stores, etc. 😉

I’m so glad we went because we ALL really enjoyed ourselves. Gabriella loved looking at all of the people there, and she had her first encounter with a duck!

She also got to play with a new toy at the park.

And we had to get a few Daddy & Mommy pictures in front of the lake too, of course! 🙂

Girlfriend was MUCH more interested in the swans & ducks than taking pictures, can’t say that I blame her, she pretty much always has the camera in her face. 😉

I also was able to pick up some homemade Kombucha at the farmer’s market, which made me think of Lindsay :), in hopes that it may also help my stomach. Fingers crossed!

Once we left, we headed home & took Gabriella out to the big pool for a while before nap time. We finished up watching the Orioles win the series against the Tigers! WOOHOO!

Couldn’t think of a better Sunday! (well, unless the Ravens were playing too 😉 )

I’m so thankful that after such a stressful, rough week that our weekend ended up PERFECT. I’m so thankful for my husband & daughter. They really do know how to cheer this Momma right up!

Do you ever go to your local Farmer’s market?
Favorite part of your weekend? Anyone out there run any races? I know two very special ladies that ran AWESOME races & WON!

Weekend Wrap Up

Good Morning!! I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. (& if you didn’t get a long weekend, I am sorry, but hopefully your day was still nice)

Craig & I celebrated our two year anniversary yesterday! It was VERY low key- we didn’t do anything for it. We just enjoyed our time off from work and played with Gabriella. She was enjoying some extra Daddy time this weekend. 🙂

Does it get any cuter?! I mean really.

We actually ‘celebrated’ earlier. I gave Craig his gift on Wednesday only because he was having a really rough week and I knew he could use some cheering up.

This is what he came home to:

I got him the ‘new’ Ray Ban Wayfarer…

and a HUGE cookie, recipe courtesy of Sally, of course. 😉

As big as a PLATE! All I did was use a 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips total, instead of the 1/4 cup of Reese’s pieces. Look at how THICK this thing was:

Insane, right?!? He LOVED it though. I had a ‘hunk’ of it too & it was DELICIOUS! That Sally, she sure does know how to make amazing recipes, can’t wait to order her cookbook!!

My hubby got me pretty good too. Friday afternoon I got a text around 5:30pm telling me that he would be late, he was super busy at work because he was catching up on stuff for the long weekend. So I went ahead & fed Gabriella dinner (we feed her solids at night before bath time and then I nurse her before bed) and gave her a bath- both of which Craig normally does when he gets home from work so that I can make dinner. We planned on having leftovers, so it actually worked out perfectly, since I didn’t need to try to entertain Gabriella as I got dinner together.

Craig got home right as I finished giving Gabriella a bath, so he got to say goodnight to her, which she LOVED. Then I fed her & rocked to to sleep. As soon as I walked out of her room, I looked down & saw a post it that said ‘I Love you H Dub.’ <—what Craig calls me because my maiden name is Williams. As I continued down the stairs there was a little path of them leading to the dining room table, with the final one saying, ‘I made dinner.’ I looked up & saw a big plate of sushi from my favorite sushi restaurant, Shari.

And three of our favorite rolls. From the left, my VERY favorite Chiquita (topped with bananas, I PROMISE it’s so good- Craig doesn’t even like bananas & he likes this roll), Drama Queen (tuna tartare) & Ceviche. (just like the appetizer, and topped with cilantro & lime juice- perfect combination of flavors) Just looking at this picture makes me want to go to Shari right this minute!

He also had some wine for us and a candle in the middle of the table- a ‘Sugar cookie’ candle- haha! I thought he was baking cookies when I walked down, totally threw me off- sneaky guy. 😉

It was such a perfect night! Since we couldn’t go out, he got it for us at home!

Saturday we spent looks of time with Gabriella, since the little lady is against sleep (she still gets up 3-4 times a night- I typically only sleep in 2 hour chunks, if that) she was up bright & early at 5am to hang out.

Shirt says it all. 😉 Craig and I also watched Django Unchained- SO GOOD!!!!

Sunday was spent at Craig’s co-worker’s house- he was having a birthday & memorial day pool party. It was a fun time, and Gabriella enjoyed the pool (she is SUCH a water baby!)- sadly we couldn’t stay for the actual cook out because the little lady was ready for bed time. But it was still nice to see everyone & socialize for a bit.

As you know, yesterday was our two year anniversary & Memorial Day!! Thanks again to all of those who serve & have served in our military- you guys ROCK! We didn’t have any plans and just hung out with our favorite girl. Best part of the day?

Watching her spend about 20 minutes trying to crawl FORWARD, not just backwards.

And we got to see her move one of her knees forward! I know, I know, you are probably like ‘really Holly, you two were excited over ONE KNEE moving forward?!’ Well, yes, yes we were. 😉 It’s a big step in Gabriella’s world. 😀

For dinner I made Shrimp Scampi, some sea scallops sprinkled with Old Bay & summer squash and zucchini.

The shrimp scampi recipe I followed is found HERE, I just halved everything- actually only cooked 3 servings of pasta, instead of four- and we probably only ate HALF of that. The recipe was really good, I think I would just add a bit more lemon to it, but overall a nice light scampi sauce, instead of some of the recipes I saw that were LOADED with butter & oil, which would kill my stomach.

A little bit of a ‘fancier’ meal for our anniversary.

We also topped off the night with some frozen yogurt and a milk shake for Craig. Can’t think of a better way to end our special day!

Anyone do anything special this past weekend??

This week I PROMISE a new workout coming your way, and I am also going to write about the status of my Crohn’s disease 6+ months after having Gabriella.

Enjoy your TUESDAY! Yay for not being Monday!!

Two Amazing Years & Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! Best two years EVER. And the best part of it all is seeing him with Gabriella. ❤

& Happy Memorial Day!!

Hope you enjoy your day & THANK YOU to all the men & women that have served and are currently serving our country!!

 

A Little Reminder of What’s Important

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Oh I CANNOT tell you HOW MUCH I have been looking forward to this day ALL week.

This week has been TERRIBLE. Like one for the books kind of terrible.

This post is going to start out TOTALLY like a Debbie downer kind of post, but then I promise it makes a turn for the better at the end. It’s a LOT of words, not many pictures, but I just need to vent.

As you know this weekend was kind of rough on the Mom front. Gabriella just wasn’t her normal self (extra fussy & wouldn’t sleep), and I just felt burned out completely.

Monday was similar- just a rough day for the little one. She is teething pretty bad now, so it’s definitely NOT her fault, I just feel bad that I can’t help her out more. Although I did just purchase some Hyland’s teething tablets for her. So far so good! They seem to help her, and of course anytime she can chew on my fingers she is happy. (or her toes :D)

Tuesday nothing really happened too out of the ordinary. We actually had a pretty good day. & it was MUCH needed.

Wednesday. oh Wednesday, how I wish I could travel back in time. Wednesday was one of the worst days of my life. And it all started at 6:50am. I had just left the gym (I still go every now & then…can’t stay away 😉 ), and figured that I would get gas since I had a free minute. I go to a 7-11 by my house, and as I am pulling into the parking lot I get backed into.

UGH! The good part, or so I thought, was that there was a cop actually in the parking lot as well, just stopping to get his morning coffee. He ended up seeing the whole thing and came over & asked the guy what he was thinking- like did he not see me, or was he distracted. The guy fully admitted that he just didn’t look. He saw the car in front of me, but didn’t see me. Lovely, right?!

So I’m thinking that it actually may be my lucky day…a cop IN the parking lot when I got hit. Yes, the accident sucks, at hey, at least a COP witnessed the whole thing & can now help. Boy was I completely wrong. The cop said that because the accident happened on ‘private property’ (the parking lot) that he could not help us- that they do not respond to accidents in parking lots unless someone is injured- and that all he could do was provide us with some paper to exchange insurance & license information.

Not so lucky day.

After the cop leaves and we are in the middle of filling out the paperwork the guy then proceeds to tell me that he is going to have his girlfriend come up and fill out the paperwork, since it was her car & he was going to have her ‘act’ as the driver. SAY WHAT?! At this point I really don’t know what to do. The cop is gone, and I’m all by myself in a 7-11 parking lot at 7am. (it’s still dark out) I mean what am I supposed to do…tackle the guy and demand he give me his information? Uh no thanks. Who know what could of happened.

The girl ends up coming up, fills out the paperwork, and we exchange all of the information. While she was doing this I DID contact FHP (Florida Highway Patrol) just to find out their recommendation- again, nothing they could do, but the guy told me he would document it & gave me a case number. Umm, thanks? (I also called my insurance company as well, just to cover all of my bases.)

Once she was finished we exchanged information and we continued on our way.

As soon as I got home I told Craig about it- I had tried calling him several times after it happened, but he didn’t have his phone on yet- and then I IMMEDIATELY called their insurance company to start the claim process.

Well, I’m sure this will probably come as no surprise to you after you have read all of this, but they gave me FALSE INSURANCE INFORMATION. No policy could be found on them, and come to find out the vehicle they were driving is COMPLETELY uninsured. (I had the VIN so they could run it.)

I seriously just saw everything crumble around me. I thought Craig was going to lose it…and I don’t blame him. I mean HOW does this STILL happen?! People can drive around with NO insurance. SERIOUSLY?!

After a lot of investigation by my insurance, there was really nothing we could do. I would have to file a claim with them (as not responsible for the accident…but still have to file a claim) & then we could start on the repair process. – which is pretty significant considering that we were both going pretty slow- passenger door can’t close all the way & the back passenger door is also messed up.

AWFUL. So because we have to file a claim, even though it’s not my fault & I have evidence to prove it (surveillance at 7-11) , our premiums will likely go up the next time we renew.

I’m still in shock. But honestly, you know what??? The only thing I kept thinking was thank God Gabriella was not in the car with me because that is where he hit me. Seriously THANK GOD. I don’t know what I would of done, but I can assure you a whole new side of Holly would of come out & it wouldn’t of been pretty.

That was only the BEGINNING of the day. From there it only got worse.

The whole day was kind of ruined by the whole accident situation, but that night I was SO SICK. Around 10pm I woke up and started throwing up like crazy. (sorry, hope you aren’t eating breakfast) I cannot even remember the last time I threw up. I NEVER throw up. EVER. So I knew something was seriously wrong. I woke Craig up & told him what was going on. He was AMAZING after that. He said he was going to stay up with me all night, no matter what. He went & got me some Pepto Bismal to take. When G woke up around midnight, he changed her diaper and brought her to me so I could feed her. And I didn’t sleep at all. He stayed up with me the whole time. SO SWEET. Husband of the year right here!

How did I get so lucky?! He wanted to make sure that I didn’t have appendix issues, and it wasn’t…thankfully. I’m pretty sure it’s Crohn’s related- could possibly be a flair starting up. Let’s hope not. But it sure does appear to be that.

And yesterday, well, we won’t talk about that. I think I’ve expressed enough downer stuff for the day. 😉 Time to MOVE on!

Throughout this WHOLE week there was one thing that ALWAYS lit up my day.

(she tried sweet potatoes & LOVED them. pretty much yanked the spoon away from me.)

That little lady. Even though I may have some rough Mommy days, the minute she smiles at me or does goofy stuff like the face above I can’t help but remember HOW lucky I am. HOW LUCKY I am to have this precious baby girl and HOW LUCKY I am to have a wonderful husband who I love more & more every single day, especially when I see how he is with G.

Those two are my WHOLE world.

So no matter how rough life I can be sometimes, I literally just have to go home & I am reminded HOW blessed I am. NOTHING can bring me down when I see those two. NOTHING.

ENJOY your weekend, and remember to do something for YOU! You deserve it. And tell someone you love how much they mean to you. They may wonder why all of the sudden you are doing this, but I guarantee you it will bring a smile to their face. 🙂

Italian Style Chicken & Waffles

Most of you probably already know, but I married a Maryland boy.

He loves crabs, Old Bay, Natty Boh, the Orioles…and OF COURSE the Ravens.

Hence our INSANITY over the Ravens…and just wait, the craziness over the Orioles will soon begin.

<—our wedding cake topper

But what you may not know is that Craig went to NC State for college.

(^ he would be the ‘A’ )

While at college in North Carolina he was introduced to a bunch of Southern foods. From grits, biscuits & gravy, collard greens, Bojangles (AKA heaven on earth) to cornbread and chicken fried steak.

But one of his favorite meals while in college, between his nightly cookie dough feasts, was Chicken and Waffles…or should I say Chicken ‘n’ waffles.

(source)

I had heard of them before I met Craig, but really never thought much about it until he ordered it one time while we were out. At first I thought he was insane. But then I tried a bite….and boy it is TASTY! Can’t say that I would order it on my own, but I loved having a few bites of his.

So when I came across a recipe yesterday for a spin on traditional chicken & waffles, I HAD to make it. I’m pretty good about meal planning and try to stick to it, but yesterday it went out the window.

At first I was skeptical, but then I kept reading and knew it had to be a winner: Chicken & Waffles- Italian Style!

Not only did it stand out to me because I know Craig’s love for the dish, but the fact that it was ITALIAN (& we all know his Italian tendencies 😉 ) chicken & waffles….I would have been crazy NOT to make it.

I changed a few things about the recipe in order to make it just for two. But, you can find the original recipe HERE.

There are a few parts to the recipe- I prepped the chicken tenders first, then while they baked I made the waffles.

Gabriella also assisted in making dinner, she didn’t want to be left out.

Recipe for Chicken Tenders
–3/4 lb. chicken tenders
-3/4 cup Bisquick mix, I used Heart Healthy Bisquick
-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
-2 heaping tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
-1 egg beaten
-2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In one shallow dish (I used a pie plate), combine Bisquick, Italian seasoning and cheese.  In a second shallow dish, beat your one egg.  Take each chicken breast and dip it first in the Bisquick mix, coating well, then dip it in the egg mix coating both sides, then dip it one more time back in the Bisquick mix.

Place chicken on cookie sheet sprayed with Pam.  Brush half of your melted butter over the tops of the chicken and bake 8 minutes.  Flip chicken over and brush remaining half of your melted butter on opposite side and finish cooking another 5 minutes.  Your chicken should be brown and kind of crispy with the juices running clear.

Recipe for Waffles
-2 cups Bisquick
-1 & 1/3 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
-1 egg
-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
-1 tbsp dried chives
-1 tsp black pepper, if desired

Preheat waffle iron. Mix together Bisquick, milk, & egg. Once combined add in cheese, chives & pepper. Pour batter into greased waffle iron & bake until cooked through.

Once the waffles & chicken are done, start making the dish! Take 2 waffles, top with 2-3 chicken tenders & then pour on spaghetti sauce.

(I made Craig’s a bit bigger- this is his- 2 waffles & 3 tenders. He went back for another waffle)

I would say dinner was a success by the looks of his plate above. 😉

I loved the concept and the twist on the traditional recipe! What a great idea!!

Sunday Dinner + Whipped Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Pie

Boy do I have a treat for you guys today. I promise it will banish those Monday blues.

But before I get to that…let me tell you about our dinner last night.

On occasion Craig’s Italian roots really show. For example, he loves pasta. But not just any pasta, Craig LOVES just plain pasta. I think it’s odd, but I make it for him when I’m not hungry for dinner, or when he’s having a rough day. He likes it that much. I other on the other hand need some kind of sauce with it.

Another thing is that he is obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with Italian movies- Goodfellas & The Godfather. I know most guys are, but he is EXTREME. He will quote both movies (well, all of The Godfather movies) LINE BY LINE. He says he can relate things growing up to the movie…not quite sure what that means, considering all of the blood & guts…but hey, whatever floats his boat. 😉

Recently he decided that he wanted to create a new tradition for our little family of three. Big Sunday dinners. But not just any type of dinner, an Italian dinner. Full of pasta, bread, cheeses, you get the picture.

It works out because we usually eat a big breakfast, skip lunch & then have a large dinner. So then we have plenty of room for a feast!

We started it last Sunday, with the Rigatoni Pasta Pie.

This Sunday was another type of pasta- Crunchy Oven Fried Cheese Ravioli.

I will not be surprised if I immediately get a phone call, email or comment on this post as to WHY on earth I have not made these for her yet. It is one of her FAVORITE foods to order out, and since she was just down her for a girls weekend with me & G, I know she is saying right now WHY didn’t Holly make these for me then?!! Well, Mom it’s because I just found the recipe & I do apologize, I promise to make these for you soon! 🙂

Now the best part of these is that they are NOT at all fried, as the recipe may imply. They are 100% baked! Gotta love a pasta recipe that is somewhat ‘healthified.’

I followed Jessica’s recipe exactly- no changes were made. No need to mess with a good thing!

I served them, as suggested with a side of marinara for dipping.

And because it’s necessary to get our greens with every meal, I made a side Caesar salad (with light dressing). Oh, and don’t laugh at my Valentine’s placemats, they are being replaced with St. Patrick’s Day ones tomorrow. 🙂

Now onto dessert. I mean that’s the part you were really waiting for, right?! Isn’t that WHY we eat dinner, so that we can have dessert?! 😀 I know that’s what I did as a child, my parents said ‘Three more bits & then you can have dessert.’ Oh boy! It was like dangling a carrot in front of a horse. 🙂

This recipe was one that I just came up with on the fly. I saw a big container of Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani in my fridge & decided to run with it.

And then I got to thinking…which lead to pulling random ingredients out of the pantry and refrigerator. I swear I was just grabbing whatever sounded good.

Favorite part about this pie? How EASY it is to make. It’s literally dump everything in, mix it up & freeze.

Whipped Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust:
-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-2 tbsp. vanilla chocolate chunk Chobani (or just plain vanilla Chobani)
-2 tbsp. brown sugar
-1 tbsp. smooth peanut butter, melted
-1 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

For the pie:
-16oz. (one large container) 2% Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani
-8oz. Cool Whip
-3/4 cup chunky peanut butter (can also use smooth)
-1/4 cup light chocolate Silk Soymilk
-1/4 cup powdered sugar
-1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
-Reese’s peanut butter cup, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Make the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” pie pan. Take all of the ingredients for the pie & mix together well. I used a potato masher to really mix it up well. It will NOT be smooth, be course, but that’s how it is supposed to be. Bake for 5 minutes.

2. While the crust is baking, take all of the ingredients for the pie EXCEPT the Reese’s peanut butter cup & mini chocolate chips. mix well in a stand mixer. I mixed everything for about 3-4 minutes on medium low. It was a nice smooth texture. I then poured in the mini chocolate chips & mixed it by hand, until combined.

3. Pour the pie mixture into the baked pie crust. Top with chopped Reese’s’ if desired. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

I drizzled melted peanut butter & chocolate syrup over the top….makes for a prettier picture 🙂

**Notes about the pie: ”
-The is PLENTY of filling, it will almost look like too much, but it should JUST fit in the 9” pie pan. It may look like it is about to overflow, but it end up all fitting in the crust.
-I recommend that you like Greek yogurt if you decide to make this pie. Since it is a main ingredient, it definitely does taste like Greek yogurt. Just a heads up!

Now I do NOT normally make dessert for dinner when it is just Craig & I. But yesterday I just felt like baking, and I thought Craig deserved a treat. I mean he does have to live in a household with two crazy girls. 😉

Poor little Gabriella is teething & she has been pretty fussy for the past couple of days. She is too little to use Oragel, so we are just giving her lots of things to chew on. Her favorite is my finger though, and she LOVES when I rub her little gums. She just smiles at me. Craig has been awesome with her, and I really appreciate it. I had to run a few errands yesterday, and although I normally do them with her, it’s MUCH quicker if I can run them without her. Nothing like a little chocolate &peanut butter to show him my appreciation. …the way to a man’s heart…;)

I hope that you have a great Monday, if you are working! For those that have off for President’s Day, ENJOY every moment!!

40 Days of No Frozen Yogurt

Good Morning!

First things first…Gabriella wanted to say something.

Happy Valentine’s Day from us to you 🙂 We hope your day is filled with lots of chocolate & candy!

Now this morning’s post may be a topic some of you are sensitive to, so I’ll just go ahead & throw it out there that I will be discussing religion. Now this isn’t going to be a post pushing religion on you, or bashing any religion, I am just going to discuss religion in general.

I have decided that I am going to give something up for Lent this year. I thought about it Tuesday night and I just feel in my heart it’s what I want to do.

Now let me back track a little bit. I was born & raised Christian. I went to a private Christian school for elementary & middle school. I ended up going to a public high school, which was VERY eye opening. Going from a TINY Christian private school to a HUGE public school was a shock to my system. I really think it’s a big part of the reason that I had such bad body issues.

Once I got to high school I kind of separated myself from church. I was pre occupied with running track & cross country (we had practice Monday- Saturday & an optional long run on Sunday…which I ALWAYS did- that’s when I first ran a full marathon!) that I put church on hold.

Once I moved to go to college, church was the farthest thing from my mind. I was too busy attending classes, but of course, like most college students, partying it up. 🙂

Oh yes, that would be me & my husband….way before we were husband & wife 😀

Once I graduated, & Craig and I got married, things started to change. We both knew we wanted to start a family right away. Which we did 🙂

The one thing we also wanted to do was raise our daughter in the church. We didn’t necessarily have a preference on the church, but we just wanted her to be raised in the church.

Craig was born & raised Catholic. Once he went to college he was pretty much in the same boat as me. He still went to church on holidays, but it was not a weekly occurrence.

So when we decided to start attending church again, which was when I just found out I was pregnant, we weren’t sure which church we wanted to attend. We tried a few churches near our house, and eventually decided on a Catholic church.

The Catholic religion is very different than the church I was raised in. There are a lot of rituals and a lot of kneeling, standing back up, etc. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with it, I just wasn’t used to it.

So now that I understand Catholicism a bit more, and after speaking with the priest, I have come to appreciate it. We have also decided that we are going to get Gabriella baptized at this church, so she will be raised Catholic. Now there are a few aspects that I differ on in my beliefs, and we will let her decide what she wants to do regarding those topics. Just to give you an example, in the Christian religion, there is no such thing as confession. We believe that you can speak directly to God regarding your sins, and that you do not have to ‘go through’ the priest. Just a personal opinion, and something that she can decide when she gets older.

With ALL of that being said (props to you if you have stuck with me for this entire post 😉 ) I am incorporating different aspects of Catholicism into my life. One of those being Lent. Also we did not eat meat at all yesterday, since it was Ash Wednesday & we will not eat meat every Friday until Easter.

So for lent this year I’ve decided to give up frozen yogurt. Will it be hard? ABSOLUTELY. I eat it nearly every night. But with the whole reason of lent is “giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence.” Frozen yogurt is definitely a luxury that I very much enjoy. Since I do enjoy it so much, that was one of the very first things that came to mind.

I know I can do it! It may be hard for the first week, but I’m sure it will get easier. Oh, and if you’re wondering, Craig is giving up beer for lent. We have each other to hold accountable…and we both are up for the challenge.

Are you giving anything up for lent?

Oh, and just one more picture because I thought it was cute.

BEST YEAR EVER.

Our daughter is born….absolute BEST day of my life. EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the Ravens are going to the SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think G had something to do with it 😀

Funny thing, Craig just said ‘Our daughter is going to think this is normal. The Ravens go to the SuperBowl & the Orioles make the playoffs.’ Haha! 😀

Two weeks BABY! Harbaugh Bowl!!!!!!!