a day out

we took a much needed break from all of the move out drama and tasks and went out in search of a mini golf course and we found the coolest one ever.  i felt like indiana jones because we had to go through some caves, tombs, and dodge water spraying at us from crocodiles.

when we were finished dan gave coco some golf lessons

we also ate cupcakes

and we lunched at the cutest japanese restaurant ever, and they had a little sushi train go around the the tables and you just grab whatever you want, and their kids meal was a cute little bento box {that you get to keep!} i'm in love, too bad we are moving far away from it!

tonight is our last night in our home, it's weird.

two thoughts

-why is it so hard to find cute luggage?  and by cute luggage i mean cute affordable luggage.  i settled for a navy blue set that i could share with coco but i had big dreams of a fancy set.  one day.
-why is the fried rice at hibachi grills so amazing.  and what is that creamy sauce they put into it!?

1. kitty photobombed us
2. i'm so bored
3. my angel babe

happy birthday to me!

as of today, i'm 25 years old.  i'm so happy with the people in my life and where i'm at and i'm so excited to see what this year brings.  we went out of town again this weekend and i snapped this photo of my little family on the way home, cohen is singing and boosting everyone's morale while we are stuck in traffic; dan is looking way serious, being focused on keeping our family safe and getting us home, and i'm just breathing it all in.  i feel like it's kind of an accurate depiction of us.

right now, we are laying on our blow up mattress having a supernatural marathon {have you watched? its on netflix instant, you must!} and i'm drinking a vanilla coke while wearing a face mask, heaven.

ps.  thank you so much for the sweet comments and emails i got about my passport troubles.  it really made me feel better.  i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  this week is going to be insane, its the last week at this house and we have so much painting and stuff to do, i'm kind of dreading it!  x

(almost) goodbye, house

my house is empty.  the movers have finally finished packing up all of our things and sealing them away in their crates to be shipped across the ocean.  i'll see our things around halloween, hopefully sooner.  all thats left is our clothes, makeup, a blow up mattress, a few toys and electronics.  it's very quiet, but kind of nice.  we've been playing a lot of hide and seek {who would have thought it would still be fun in an empty house?} and cooking with the bare minimal, i kind of feel like i'm in college or something.

this week we have to paint coco's room and patch up a few holes in our walls where our family photos once hung so we can have our inspection and turn in our key.  it's been a really stressful week for me. i found out that because the army waited so long to hand us our orders, coco and i's passports will not be ready in time {it's a total trap, because you can't even apply for our special passports without the orders} so we are going to be displaced for about four weeks.  i hope it goes by fast, i want to be in my new place already, and i'm really nervous about flying across the world alone with a cat and child in tow.  only because i'm awful enough about navigating airports and being on time for things because i'm not the most experienced traveler and i don't want to get us stranded someplace unfamiliar.  it will definitely be an adventure.  in the meantime, i get to see my family and friends a little more and i get to eat some more of my favourite food from places i won't be seeing for awhile ;)

btw i had to run into the pentagon for something today, and i had to wear this little badge thing.  even though it was for visitors, i still felt official and kind of important haha.

 

a drawing

my friend des drew this quick sketch of me {and i mean quick, only 11 minutes} isn't she so talented? i've never had anyone draw me before, i kind of feel like kate winslet.

tofu scramble

i'm a huge fan of tofu scramble, i love savory breakfast foods.  i usually am in a rush and i'll eat the frozen kind that amy's organic makes but this morning i actually made it.  i used a recipe that my friend alyse gave me, she makes the best vegan food.  it's just your basic tofu scramble recipe.

first you have to get all of the moisture out of your tofu, i use extra firm and i wrapped it in a towel and put a heavy pan on top for about 10 minutes.  once that was done i chopped up my veggies {green onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, sweet onion, mixed greens and sweet pepper} and sautéd everything except for the green onion, tomatoes, and mixed greens in olive oil.

while everything's cooking, crumble the tofu into a bowl and add in the remaining greens and all of your spices {pinches or so of ground mustard, thyme, oregano, nutritional yeast, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper} and mix it all together.

then you add the contents of the bowl to the pan and cook until all the moisture is gone, i usually let it go for about 10 minutes.  take a bite or two to check the flavour and add more spices if it needs it.

then enjoy! coco likes his as is.  as for myself, i have to add siriracha, i put siriracha on everything!

i hope everyone has a lovely weekend, i'm off to get my passport photo taken.  don't forget to enter the giveaway.

when i'm feeling down

like most women i know, when i'm feeling down i like to shop.  even if its grocery shopping, i still get a little pick me up.

i also like to eat when i'm feeling down, today's pick me up meal of choice was the new cantina bowl at taco bell, veggie of course.  so good, i kind of a get a rio fix since their dressing is similar.

but the one thing that picks me up the most is spending time with this little guy, he's so sweet and never fails to crack me up.  i love just watching him be.

excuse the mess, he isn't the neatest traveler ;)

ps.  my bff is coming tomorrow.  i'm so excited!

happy weekend

this weekend cohen had two birthday dinners and got lots of love from his amazing aunt, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

uncle elier and coco after a long day at the amusement park

we also spent the day at busch gardens yesterday.  i was on kid duty most of the time because i don''t ride roller coasters and i didn't mind at all because really wanted to spend some quality time with the little ones.  coco was really adventurous, he rode adult rides with scary drops.  i don't think he would have it weren't for my brother.

second birthday dinner, grandma b in the background :)

any day where my babe is feeling super happy and special is an amazing day for me, and we got 3 of them back to back!

calm before the storm

i snapped the picture earlier today at a rest stop.  the calm before the storm, literally.  not only is it storming right now but every minute of this weekend is booked with celebratory lunches/dinners and amusement parks.  after this weekend its movers, sleeping in an empty house, and then flying across the ocean and adjusting to our new life.  bring it on storm.

chickpea patties: a mama and baby lunch

well, he's not a baby anymore but i still refer to him as my baby or the baby.   i made these because we are going out of town soon so i'm trying to use up some of our vegetables and stuff, plus i'm trying to start eating like i used to.  i've always loved chickpeas, we eat them all the time here, and even snack on them plain after they've been baked in the oven.  today i decided we would make chickpea patties, coco called them chickpea nuggets.

gather a can of chickpeas and your vegetables.  you can use anything really but i just used carrots and onions and garlic.  in a dream world i would have had some mushrooms on hand to add in.  shred your vegetables and mash your chickpeas.  combine the two and add in really generous amounts of spices.  i used basil, thyme, oregano, chili powder, pepper, and salt.  you can add like indian spices or anything at all.  once you've mixed them all together add your flour and breadcrumbs, i used about 3 tablespoons of each but do it until you get the consistency that you want.  then you're going to sauté them in a pan with some oil until they're brown and crispy on each side, then bake in the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes.  enjoy!  next time i'm going to use them as burgers. mmmm

good + happy day

i worked all day today and i didn't even mind because it was so beautiful out and we weren't too busy but not too slow to where i was dying either.  coco and dan stopped by and brought me some buttercups that coco picked for me.  after work we played by the water, it was so lovely.

a little fishing

the sleeping prince

coco is on this new schedule where he falls asleep at midnight and doesn't wake up until 1030 or 11.  even if i have him go to bed at 8 he still stays up in his room for hours, coming down for a drink refill or sneaking a late night snack.  it doesn't bother me too much since i'm awake anyway, but its a little unconventional for a 5 year old, don't you think?  things are going to get really crazy when its time to adjust to a whole new time zone.  he's so cute, i could stare at him sleep for hours <3 nbsp="nbsp">

mystery illness

i spent the afternoon in the er because i've developed this crazy blistery burning rash on my legs and and hands and wrists and palms that resembles hand foot and mouth disease.  so gross right? i blame the public pool.  anyway i waited it out last night and took some benadryl and soothed my self with some calamine lotion and when it was still there and worse this morning i decided to go in.

er attire + my failed attempt at bow tying 

the nurse told me that she thought they were flea bites, i said my cats are indoor and have never had fleas, plus i'd have to live in a dang dumpster to have flea bites this big and this amount in the same place seeing they appeared in a mattered of seconds.  they shrugged it off as contact derma whatever {except, i zero allergies and haven't touched anything weird at all} my palms are so itchy and burny {isn't there a superstition that says that means money is coming my way hehe} so they gave me a steroid shot.  i'm not a baby about needles, i have a giant tattoo and i've had plenty of shots.  i didn't feel the needle go in but when they put that steroid in my whole arm burned that i could barely move it.  like heart attack arm pain status.  i now know how bella felt when edward injected her with vamp venom.

they also gave me three different prescriptions and guess what, nothing has changed at all except the fact that i can feel my heart pounding so loud and so fast. i'm pretty sure it is virus related... i might have to go back in.  this is just terrible and i mostly blame stress.  pray for me ya'll.

for now i am biding my time with twilight, great snacks, and a comfy couch.  sigh.

update: i am apparently allergic to benadryl or i have some weird thing where it does the complete opposed of what it is supposed to do.  when i take it i sweat like crazy and my heart races loud and out of my chest and i am so hyper.  and its not in a fun way.  bye bye benadryl.

a day at the waterpark

yesterday was spent at the water park, and believe me when i say that after the night we had it was completely needed {more on that later}.  we splished and splashed and ate funnel cake and coco even when on the big water slide.  there are two water slides, one is like a tube and the other is open and since he didn't want to go on the tube one i had to put on a brave face and do it.  it wasn't my best idea since i'm extremely claustrophobic and i somehow managed to somehow swallow and inhale so much water haha but it was fun.  i can't wait to go back and play some mini golf!

ps. the movers come in 21 days.

pps. we are on a plane in 33 days.