yuM with a capital MMMMM..... :)

So here are my two new favorite recipes. Healthy, lots of protein. Try them out and tell me what you think. :) I'm thinking about putting a recipe book together of healthy food that you can make a part of your everyday life without feeling like you are eating "diet" food. If we do the book on Blurb.com people can actually make contributions to the book with their favorite recipes. How fun would that be???

*note-sorry the measurements aren't exact. These came from the food network, with a few minor tweaks. They don't always say how much of something they are doing. Next time I make them I am going to try to measure so I have an exact recipe. But every time I have made these so far they have turned out great!

Tuna Bread Salad. mmmmm......
(this is from 10 minute meals on food network)

1 shallot finely chopped
big handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half (u be the judge on how much you like)
1 can tuna-recommended that you get the higher grade can. Still less than $2
Cubed stale baguette
1 can white beans-rinsed and drained
handful of kalamata olives  (I used green too!)

Put all these ingredients into a bowl

In salad dressing shaker...

In salad dressing shaker put a couple TBSP dijon mustard, some balsamic vinegar, S &P .
Pour over salad and add more olive oil if needed.



Bistro Bacon Salad

Mixed greens
Couple pieces of cooked bacon crumbled for each person (center cut bacon only has 70 calories in 3 slices!)
1 egg per person....heat skillet on MED, crack egg into pan...mess yolk up a little. Flip when bottom side is cooked. S&P if you'd like. Add a little Parmesan or hard cheese if you'd like.
*put egg on cutting board and cut into pieces

In a salad shaker combine Dijon mustard with balsamic vinegar, S & P and pour over mixed greens, toss to coat salad and serve onto plates. Add bacon and egg to each plate.

Note: We added mushrooms to this salad and really liked the addition

30 Days Without Water

Ok so I didn't really go 30 days without water but that is basically what you're telling me when you ask me to go 30 whole days without candy! I probably used to consume more candy than water on any given day. Wow...that thought is embarrassing and I should erase that but maybe that's part of the recovery process. Admitting you have a problem. :)

Just after Christmas I got sick. Literally had sores inside my throat. Even had a sore dangling on my dangling thing. (So sayeth the ER doc) So 2 days of sickness pass and I realize that I never had candy. 2 whole days and I didn't even think of candy! It's a miracle! Then....the cravings started. I thought to myself, "You've gone 2 whole days without it....maybe now's the time to try for longer." Then I mention it to Justin who is totally on board with the idea and then I make the stupid mistake of then mentioning it to 240 "friends" on facebook.

I consider myself to be somewhat of a perfectionist. I can def. be fast and sloppy when I am trying to get things done. (take cooking for example....I ALWAYS SPILL and I don't always measure) but as far as saying I will do something or saying I am capable of something...now that has to be lived up to. So I told my facebook posse and that was that.

Later during one of my "I'm gonna die if I don't have candy" meltdowns I had to decide how long I was going to go without candy. This indefinite amount of time was all too discouraging. Justin mentions 30 days. What??!!!!! Are you crazy??!!! Is that even possible!!??? Ok 30 days. Why not. Highs and lows people.

So today is officially day 31. I'm not lying either. I didn't count weekends as double or skip ahead a few days. I didn't sneak candy into my bedroom at night or scarf it down in the car after a grocery trip. I, Rose Langham, did not have candy for 30 ENTIRE days.

I, Rose Langham, am a recovery candyaholic who is going to eat candy tonight. You heard me.

The greatest invention....

If anyone has not yet discovered the non-slip ultra skinny hanger you are missing out! I have a super small closet. In fact, all of my husband's clothes have to be hung up in another super small closet and my dresses in yet another one. One day at Marshall's while I was waiting in line I notice these hangers. But...they were a little too expensive and I passed them up. I never stopped thinking about them. I kept imagining extra space in my closet, the ability to look at a shirt on a hanger without having to use my body weight to push the other clothes away from it. Then I ran across these same hangers at Tuesday Morning. They were an even better deal than Marshalls so I couldn't pass them up. I am ashamed to say that when all was said and done I did spend a ridiculous amount on hangers but can I just say that I no longer scream at my closet. Oh the space it gave me!!! It's a miracle. They were so effective that despite the cost JUSTIN wants me to buy some for his closet. WHAT??? (*insert brake screeching noise*) Justin wants me to purchase something? To spend money on something because it is helpful and not because it is totally necessary? (although if you ask me they qualify for both.)

So if you aren't yet convinced don't forget that they are also non-slip. How many times have you pulled a shirt off a hanger in your over crowded closet and had the 2 shirts next to it come tumbling down. Stupid slippery hangers. Errrr. These hangers are non-slip, they have a dip in the sides for skinny straps but you won't even need them.

Go get them people!! Run! They are going fast! I went back for more and half of them were gone! You won't regret it. Not when you then have room to buy more clothes. :)

Christmas at the Langhams

Mom, Jordan and Chris all came down from Oregon for Christmas. Par-TAY! We had so much fun. Even more fun because my friend Laurel also joined us. We had our annual pajama opening on Christmas eve. We played this game we call "telepic" which was madly funny and I cried laughing several times. I'm pretty sure that's good for the soul. Chris brought his wii and we were pretty obsessed with his new game "raving rabbids." I was the master at the shooting games. Go figure. :) Jordan built me a new craft shelf and everyone helped with it. *special*

We went on a lot of walks. Percy went on the most. Whoever went took Percy with them. Mom took Percy on a walk without knowing that when we get back to the gate, he gets his dreaded leash off and then goes through. (*side note-he hates his leash because Justin has dropped it multiple times, it crashes to the ground and bounces behind him like its going to get him. So yeah..he's not a fan) So mom gets to the gate and Percy doesn't want to go in. Hello! You're supposed to take my leash off first! She coaxes him through and then here comes Percy into the house, tail between his legs hiding under the dining room table. Mom....still holding leash. Too funny. Poor Percy. Grandma didn't know! She does let you stop ALL the time and pee on stuff. That's makes it better right??

Mom and I ditched the guys one day and went antique shopping. FAVORITE! She made me go inside some stores I had previously passed by thinking they were the hoity toity kind but they were actually awesome (past the front window of china). I got a plate holder to hold my craft magazines. I love it when find something useful and decorative all in one. I love it even more when it only costs $5 bucks!

Let see...what else did we do. We went out to eat several times. Had pizza all but once. Ha! Don't ask. We went to a natural springs park in Ponce De Leon which was massively flooded and a total dud. Boo.

For New Years Eve we went to Mellow Mushroom---only the best pizza place in the world. I was totally psyched that everyone wanted my top 2 choices. Yes! Mom and Jordan brought cards to play that funny telepic game....which we did...at the table. Then before we left Jordan wanted to embarrass Chris so he asked the waitress to take a picture. Not of us. WITH us. Oh dear. Then my mom picked out some of the telepic cards and left them with the waitress' tip. I had to weed through them. "No, we aren't leaving a random drawing of a gun. She's not going to know it was about duck hunting, we are only going to freak her out." Lol. I wrote underneath one of the cards, "sorry my parents are so weird." I had to. I was embarrassed to the max. Then I was going to go use the restroom and they said they would meet me outside. I get into the bathroom and realize....the waitress is going to get her tip and all the dumb drawings and I will have to do the walk of shame out of there all by myself. Pee fast! I hurried out but my family was still there. Yay!!! Ok they were there minus Jordan. So we went out to the car leaving Jordan to do the walk of shame. muhahhahaha.

If you know anything about my family you know from time to time we have a phrase or quote that we just can't let die. One time it was "bling bling." So this time Mom and Jordan and Chris all came saying quotes from Anjela Johnson's stand up comedy. Look it up. Aaamazing. One was "mo betta fo u." (must be said with asian accent) The others were "rue" "security." *the UR sounds like ER (must be said with ghetto accent). The all time best use of these all week was when some teenage boy called mom, thinking it was Chris (so this boys little sister has a crush on Chris...I think that's where this was coming from) and proceeded to cuss my mom out. My mom's response? "rue" "security"

Oh one last thing...how could I forget?? Justin and I both cut the tips of our thumbs. Justin actually cut his off. Mine came off later. What a nightmare. Justin randomly got 2 paring knives for Christmas. One from me and one from Jordan. They just so happened to be the exact same knife. Same color even. So I'm cutting tomatoes and slice my thumb. I jump up and down, hooping and hollering. No one is reacting to me. What in the world??? Blood people!!! I think maybe they did react sooner and I was just in slow motion. Justin bandaged me up and continues his onion cutting. I'm sitting at the table with my back turned to him and hear. "I think I just cut part of my thumb off. Yep its right there on the cutting board." Slightly different reaction than mine. I should be embarrassed but I'm not. He throws his tip away only to later dig it out of the trash, clean it real good and put it back on his thumb. Nope...I did not just make that up. True story.

The family left Jan 1st, despite our pleas to stay longer. We prayed for delayed flight or options to stay behind for overbooking. Nada. See you in September. It can't come soon enough!

My how the time has flown by

Wow. I haven't written in my blog in months. I think the first downfall was a craft fair and the 2nd downfall was the 2nd craft fair. Don't get me wrong...huge success but what a nightmare. I am officially sick of crafting and crossing my fingers I get the warm fuzzies back soon because I have stuff to make.

At both fairs I choose random classrooms for my booth instead of the main gyms. It allowed me wall space which is a huge score. I think lots of people came and never made it past the gyms but whatever...I don't think I could have handled more business. The second craft fair would have been fun if it weren't for one of the 2 booths in the room with me. There were these ladies selling those dumb purse hooks. They were hard core. They had a spot right at the door and I was in the back. They would attack people as soon as they came in. They would ask, "have you ever seen a purse hook before?." Answer always *annoyed stare* "yes." Then they would say, "But you haven't seen ours before." AHHHHH. They were charging like 30 bucks plus shipping (apparently they are on back order---likely story) for a purse hook that is also...wait for it....purse jewelry. Barf. People would listen for 2 seconds, realize they were major sales people in the room and back on outta there. It was the place I did the craft fair at last year and I did have people coming in all frantic saying, "I found you! I was hoping you were here!" That made me feel good.

Can I just say a little side note about craft fairs?? If you ever go...don't ask questions about HOW someone makes their craft and then follow up with, "Oh, cause I have stuff like this at home and I've always wanted to do something like that." Funniest moment at the craft fairs was when his one family was at my booth and the Mom says "I could do that." Dad says, "No you can't" and slips a business card into his pocket. Priceless. My new answer when people ask questions is going to be (with a smile of course) "Its top secret."

One of the great but NOT SO GREAT happenings at the craft fair in Niceville was my discovery of THE SCONE. I had never met the scone before. For some reason I had always had it in my head that Biscotti was scones. Hard and tasteless. At the craft fair the church made fresh scones. I believe the flavors were cranberry and blueberry/white chocolate and they were delivered hot and to die for. What is not so great about THE SCONE is that I have since looked up how to make them and have made them more than once. They are amazing. They very much need to be on my "special occasion" list and not my everyday breakfast list. Darn you scones and your sweet power.

I currently only have one window left to make and emails of upcoming craft shows that I am dreading. Watch me decide last minute to do it. I'll let you know. :)