The day started out optimistically enough. I had the morning off, the sun had returned, and the temperature had risen from yesterday's cold, rainy misery.

Like most Wednesday mornings, I was headed out for yoga class. Water bottle and hoodie in hand, I walked outside and grinned at the nice day.

"Bekah!"

I turned around. It was Bill. Bill lives in the apartment above mine, and in ways only God works out, he is a member of our church. It's definitely been a blessing to have him for a neighbor.

"Hi, Bill!"

"You know you have a flat tire?"

I feel frustrated but not surprised. Tires and I have never had a good track record. I thank him and go over to check things out. I don't see any punctures and I actually needed to replace my spare, so I call my roadside assistance (seriously, cell phone roadside assistance plans are the best!) for a tow and start calling around to get tire options and prices in the area.

My tow guy makes it ahead of schedule and is friendly enough. We get to my chosen tire shop and he goes his way. At this point I'm expecting to shell out $400 ish, which isn't my favorite thing to do, but I'm thanking God I have a savings account, albeit a minimal one, and will still have enough to pay the taxes that I'm not so thrilled about owing.

"Mrs. Walsh? Can you come with me for a moment?"

Uh oh...

Long story short, I needed to replace all four tires. And get an alignment.  And again, since tires and I have never gotten along, I ALWAYS get road hazard. Now that number has more than doubled, leaving crumbs left in said savings account. Great.

I wait in the lobby, hoping for a miracle as I start going through finances in my head. The tv is tuned into the History Channel, playing the history of my childhood - Atari, boomboxes, CDs, and Tamagochis. At least it's  good for a laugh. The front desk man and I have a good chat over it and I get to hear pieces of his life story, including his life change, one that can only be done by the Lord. I feel some encouragement and it keeps my mind off of the painful check I am about to write.

I pay without bursting into tears and go my way. I remember I have a free car wash coupon and head over to get that done for a little pick-me-up (seriously, it makes me feel better!).

I head home, thinking about the blog I had planned for today. Optimistic things that I suddenly no longer had the desire to write about. The day began well enough but had progressed to me feeling less than optimistic.

Then I think about why I blog. Sure, it's mostly vegetarian recipes, but I post those because I made a choice to change. My diet was just one change I chose to make. Shouldn't I then choose to be optimistic? My finances aren't where I would like them to be, but I can thank God I had any savings in the first place to pay for the tires. I can thank him for Bill and his help, as well as the good example he has been to Sean and I - throughout his own personal trials, he has never seemed miserable or unkind.

I pull into my parking lot, ready to blog. Seconds before I park, I see flashing lights behind me.

Seriously?

Now I'm holding back tears, wondering how worse the day could get. I'm praying for the grace that I'm certainly not feeling.  My savings are shot and now I'm going to have to pay a ticket on top of everything? It's only 2 o'clock. Can the day just end now?

"Ma'am, since you weren't too too speeding, and your record is clean, I'm going to issue you a written warning this time."

A sigh of relief comes out as I recollect myself and thank him.

I come inside and blog. Life isn't always (or ever, it sometimes seems) ideal, but God is good. And He's got this.

What do you get when you mix a sick hubby, some cold, deary weather, and some serious aches from time with a personal trainer? Some lazy, hungry people.

I don't want to cook, nor do I want to eat crap. Gotta make do with whatever's in the house. I'd been craving veggie soup earlier in the week and spotted a cookbook I'd gotten at a Christmas gift exchange. I flipped through until a picture caught my eye, and well, I changed it so much there's not even sense in crediting the original recipe.

None the less, I had yummy soup and biscuits ready in under 30 min.

Lazy Day Vegetable Soup

You Will Need:

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bag frozen peas and carrots
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp each of the following: sea salt, black pepper, italian seasoning, and onion powder
• That leftover bowl of rice in the fridge (yep, seriously...that's the beauty of lazy day recipes - leftovers make it easy! Feel free to use whatever you have lying around).
• 1 bay leaf

Today is why Sean and I have never celebrated Valentine's Day. Eight years ago today, we made our relationship official. It's crazy to think we've been together so long; I was only 19 and he 20, but we've enjoyed all of our time together.

"I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am." - Dr. Seuss

I don't know about green eggs and ham, but I do not like avocados. I don't know why. Somewhere between the taste and texture, I've always wanted to like them, but it just never worked out. I can tolerate a bite of guacamole and if you hide a slice well enough in a dish, I will deal (maybe- I worked at Red Robin in high school and would often order the BLTA croissant. I defiantly ordered it with the avocado but often ended up booting it onto the plate). But, sadly, they have never made it into my veggie rotation because I just don't like them.

Recently during a scroll down my facebook feed, this post from Vegetarian Mamma for black-bean avocado dillas caught my eye. My mouth watered a little and I clicked for the recipe. It was literally black beans, avocado, and a tortilla. Nope. No, thank you. That's a little too much avocado and a little too little cover-up for me.


Somehow, on my next grocery run, two avocados made their way into my shopping cart and all the way into my home. Whoops. Subliminal much? I forgot about them until an evening at home post-work. Sean and I were both hungry and wanted to eat something right that minute.

I remembered those sneaky avocados. I also remembered that Sean hates guacamole. And that the man has a serious affinity for hot sauce (seriously, we had a long talk about it because I decided that meant he hated my cooking). I decided to make them anyway - with a couple tweaks to make it tolerable for the both of us.

He said there was too much avocado. But it was yummy. But there was too much avocado (even under all that hot sauce).

I liked them - turns out a little lemon is all I need to make avocado work for me.

I figured it was a fail for future dinners, but a keeper for lunches for me. Then, Sean did the unthinkable - he requested them for dinner. I guess too much avocado isn't a bad thing. And, since the hubby approved, I guess I will share:

Black Bean Avocado Dillas

• 1 avocado
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. taco seasoning (preferably homemade - I use this recipe from Carolina Charm)
• 2-4 tortillas
• 1 can black beans, drained well

Directions:

• Blend avocado, seasoning, and lemon juice in food processor or blender until well mixed

• Warm black beans in microwave, about 30 seconds
• Spread avocado mixture on tortilla, leaving room on the edges
• Sprinkle black beans on top of avocado mixture

• Fold over and cook on greased skillet on medium heat until lightly browned on each side

• Cut and enjoy - serve with salsa if desired (or a boat load of hot sauce!)

Thanks to Coastal Charm for featuring this post!

Despite not celebrating Valentine's Day, I still wanted to make a yummy treat for Sean (the day before, actually, since we are both non-stop on Thursdays).

At the very last minute, I remembered my mom had bought me a book for Christmas that I had ogled some time ago at the Cracker Barrel: Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebration by Nancie McDermott.

During a quick flip-through, I came across an oatmeal cake. Jackpot - Sean loves oatmeal desserts! Wanting to take things a step further, I baked the cake in a 9x13 pan then cut (once cooled) into mini-cakes with a biscuit cutter. He's been snacking on them ever since!


I didn't tweak this much at all otherwise, and it was quite tasty. It was also very easy aside from the gazillion bowls I felt like I was using.

Anyhow, oatmeal lovers and all of you with sweet tooths, enjoy!

Oatmeal Cake

Cake:



1 cup oats (not instant)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

     In a medium bowl, combine the oatmeal, butter, and boiling water, and stir. Set aside 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease/flour 2 9-in. round cake pans or 1 13x9 in. pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In a large bowl, combine both sugars with eggs and vanilla, beating with a mixer at medium speed appx. 2 min., until thick and light-colored. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 2 batches. Mix in the oatmeal, stirring and folding to combine everything into a well-mixed batter. Scrape batter into pan(s) and bake 25-30 min. until golden brown and beginning to pull away from side of pan. Let cake(s) cool in pan or on wire rack.

Icing:


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, evaporated milk, and sugar, and place over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Beat well until you have a thickened, cooled frosting. Spread over cake (in between layers if round) and enjoy!

Side note- this is the same coconut pecan icing used for German chocolate cakes. Had no idea it was so easy!
 

Thanks to the Real Housewives of Riverton & Kitchen Meets Girl for featuring this post!

Last week, I was shocked to find that I had somehow managed to accumulate an embarrassing amount of frozen green beans! I certainly enjoy eating them, but I knew I was going to have to get creative with the amount I had.

Happy hearts and flowers day! Sean and I don't celebrate (more on that later), so this won't be your typical fluffy, mushy Valentine's post, but bear with me. I hope you will understand where we are coming from and the bigger picture.

I love magazines! The people who say print is a dead medium have never met me. It is so exciting for me to see a new issue in the mail and retreat to my bed or the tub to dig in - the same is true for a good book; I'll take paper any day!

The flip side is, every so often, I outgrow a publication or two. As I was finishing high school, it was cool to graduate from ym (are they even still published?) and Seventeen to Cosmopolitan and Glamour. Shortly after that, I moved on to Redbook (it felt kind of silly as someone in a long term relationship to read articles on flirting, finding the one, and how to tell if he's into you!).

I'm only 27, but recently I've been having some growing pains with Redbook as well; I feel like I'm again stuck in a loop of redundant articles each month. While pondering whether or not I should renew my subscription when the time comes, a great daily deal came out for dirt cheap magazine subscriptions. I got Sean two of his auto faves, and as I'm not into high fashion, I went the Pinterest-inspired route and chose Good Housekeeping for myself (I feel old admitting this. My mom never subscribed but I remember her reading it and thus think of it as her magazine).


My usual Redbook and first Good Housekeeping March issues both arrived on the same day this week, giving me lots to look at over the weekend. I've noticed that I read less and less of the content in my Redbook, but I was happy to find that wasn't the case this issue. There were multiple pieces I was thrilled to read all the way through. I didn't read through all the Good Housekeeping pieces but still found some that gave me a fresh perspective on the mundane.

As I thought about whether or not anyone would care whether or not I shared a few magazine articles, I realized that all of the articles come down to the same theme of the many forms of love and the things we do for our loved ones, romantic or otherwise. So, in the spirit of this week's Valentine's Day, I hope you all enjoy these as much as I did!

Photo Credit: Good Housekeeping via dailymail

Good Housekeeping: my weekend with Heloise (p.137): This was my first issue aside from the occasional copy I flip through while waiting at a doctor's office. I get the impression that Heloise contributes to GH on a  regular basis. In this piece, a staff writer visits Heloise's home for tips, armed with her own messes to clean - personal and physical. I love cleaning as holistically as possible, so the article caught my eye immediately with photos of lemon, vinegar, baking soda, and the like. The piece kept my attention with more specific uses for the products as well as the personal perspective of the writer who clearly does not enjoy cleaning and admits that there are small conflicts that arise because of this between her and her husband.
Favorite Quote: "Housecleaning is not my life's passion," she says gently. "It's not even really a hobby. I'd rather skydive or ride my motorcycle. I just clean and organize in order to take care of the things and the people I love..."

Photo Credit: redbook.com

Redbook: Glamour is about confidence, not hair (p.70): I'm not huge into country, but American Idol Alum Kellie Pickler has always stood out to me. I recently read that she shaved her head in support of a friend who had cancer. This made me respect her even more. In this beauty essay, Pickler tells the story of her unlikely friendship with pageant winner Summer who helped her through her own personal trials and continues to discuss how she came to do the same when it was Summer who was in need. It's a sweet restore your faith in humanity kind of read, especially considering how self-centered celebrity culture is known to be.
Favorite Quote: "For a woman to lose her breasts and then every inch of hair from the top of her head to her lashes- that cuts to the core of what we consider feminine. I didn't want Summer to go through that alone. So I said, "Summer, quit saying 'I'm going to lose all my hair.' We're going to lose all our hair. And we're going to rock it!""

Redbook: The two sides of Pink (p.128): I rarely skip ahead to feature articles; I generally prefer to meander through an issue from start to finish. I made an exception this issue when I saw P!nk on the cover and the teaser "Find out what she did to get her husband back (crazy story)." Though we see many celebrity  splits coming a mile away, some break my heart. P!nk's separation from Carey Hart was one of those, knowing they had a long history and how long it took for her to trust him enough to accept his proposal of marriage in the first place (really, she told him no first!). As we all know, they reconciled and are now parents. In this piece, she very candidly discusses both their split and reconciliation (she was a brave girl!) along with their new life as parents. I really appreciated her honesty regarding the most vulnerable areas of her life, and the fact that in a society of calling it quits, she took a huge risk to salvage her marriage. We would be in much better shape if people even tried to follow her example.
Favorite Quote: "There was such a backlash about that song! "She's a monster! Poor Carey!" But I think anyone who's been in a long term relationship will understand. I have a sense of humor about us and I use it!"

Added Bonus: P.98 of Redbook has NCAA-style brackets featuring what matters most in relationships to both women and men. It is a cute read and fun for conversation with your significant other. When I asked Sean his preference between the final two options, he chose the winner, but when I started from the beginning, the results were very different and insightful!

I have to be honest: I don't ever remember eating brussels sprouts while growing up. I do, however, remember that they were the brunt of many jokes and the object of hatred for many. I guess I just never bothered to give them a try.

A couple of weeks ago, Sean and I went out to eat with some friends including one who hails from a family of foodies. As usual, the topic of my recent decision to go vegetarian came up. He mentioned brussels sprouts had become a new fun vegetable for him and suggested a way for me to give them a try.

I picked some up at Trader Joe's and decided to make them as an appetizer for the Super Bowl get-together with my in-laws. Certainly not a conventional choice, but since two other people in attendance were vegetarian, I figured it was worth a shot.

Not only were these super easy (think homemade potato wedges), they were enjoyable to eat. My mother-in-law who does not prefer them at all even said she enjoyed these! Since this is my first go-round, I'm guessing the enjoyability of brussels sprouts probably relies very heavily on the method of preparation.

Whether you normally like them or not, give this a try before you ban brussels sprouts from your diet forever. They make a tasty, healthy side, and I can't stress how easy they were. I'll definitely be incorporating them into my meal rotations in the future.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Up until recently, if you were to mention cucumber sandwiches to me, I would snicker and think back to the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (remember Andie crashing Ben's boys' night!??). Cucumbers have always been a dear friend of mine, but cucumber sandwiches just seemed silly.

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! Here in Maryland, most of us are quite happy due to a certain special event on Sunday evening. :)

image via Kevin Moore Photography