A New Chapter

   
    Lord bless this mess that I do not want to clean. The one downside to cooking at home so often is that the dishes do not wash themselves. It is also Christmas vacation which doesn't help me to want to be a domestic goddess.

    I am happy to say that I have finally graduated with my M.S. in Criminal Justice Administration on December 13 and have been very happily sleeping in since. Several weeks before graduation I was offered an adjunct teaching position with UTPB with the Criminology department. This will be a great jumping off point until I can find my dream job within the Federal Law Enforcement sector.

   I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!!

Cops, Coping and CrossFit

Honey, It's Time to Talk About Artificial Sweeteners

   I want to be honest and admit that I am a recovering Monster Rojo Tea drinker. The journey has been long and hard but I am trying to stay strong. It occurred to me this morning that quitting Monster might be difficult due to it's ingredients. The Great and Powerful Google gave me the bad news about one of my favorite drinks. My drink received a rating of C- but gained a few points due to its low caloric count. Then I found out why I want this drink so much, Acesulfame Potassium which is an artificial sweetener that makes food taste 180 to 200 times sweeter than normal. That explains a metric fuck ton. After ingesting this drink I always crave sugar and carbs which is a lovely side effect of artificial sweeteners. On paper this energy drink appears safe but in reality it needs to stay on the shelf and away from my grubby little hands. 

   My hubby Steven loves the lemonade/tea version of Monster but was saddened to learn that his favorite is even worse than mine. His drink of choice is overly processed and full of crazy coloring's and preservatives. It is time that we both walk away from this bad relationship and move on to better things. 

Tomato Soup with Fennel and Garlic

   I have decided that drinking my soup from a coffee cup is way cooler than slurping from a bowl. Last night I made tomato soup with fennel, lemon, and roasted garlic and it actually tastes amazing. I haven't made many soups in the past and I was hesitant to try my hand at this one, but I am so glad I did.
   This week is the week from hell with a big test on Wednesday, my graduate project due Friday, and a 12 page paper. Needless to say I will not be seeing the inside of a gym this week so I am trying to eat mostly healthy. However, if a mini snickers bar finds its way into my hands I won't panic.

   I found the recipe for this soup in a French slow cooker cookbook my mama bought for me awhile back. A fun fact about fennel is that it smells like licorice when it is being chopped up.

A few of the ingredients: lemons, chicken stock, salt, and pepper.  

I chopped up about a cup and 1/2 of fennel.

   After chopping the fennel I threw it into a hot pan with olive oil and a little sea salt. I sauteed the fennel for twenty minutes stirring every five minutes. While the fennel cooked down I roasted two heads of garlic in the oven with olive oil. I then opened up two cans of organic tomato paste which then went into the pan with the fennel. The concoction simmered for six minutes which deepened the color of the tomato paste to a deep ruby red. The garlic roasted for about 28 minutes at 400 degrees. I then poured 4 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of water into the pot along with the garlic. . I brought the pan to roiling boil then let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. 

   I am a fan of smooth tomato soup as opposed to chunky. My blender smoothed out the chunks of fennel and garlic quite nicely. 

  

  After the soup had been pureed I added juice from one half of a lemon and a sprinkling of pepper. The acid from the lemon gave this soup so much depth and the spice of the black pepper put it over the top.  

Hope everyone has a fabulous day! I will be sitting at my computer for most of it sipping tomato soup like a boss. 

Wedding Bells and Dresses

   The wedding dress gods have spoken! My friend +Shawntee DesaRay Goff found her wedding  dress, Saturday October 18 and it couldn't be more perfect for her. Her family and I watched while a young woman was transformed into a princess with the help of the perfect dress and a sparkly veil. I couldn't help but think back to when I first met +Shawntee DesaRay Goff in an undergrad pysch class. At first I was insanely jealous of her gorgeous hair but with time I was able to look beyond the beautiful dark curls and see the equally beautiful woman within. This fabulous chick is a jeans and hoodie kind of gal who can rock a dress when asked. And yet when she stepped out in the first dress I was simply overcome by how utterly demure and elegant she looked. I cried like Kim Kardashian when she lost her $75,000 earring in the ocean.

   I am so thankful I was able to be a part of her special day. We saw +Shawntee DesaRay Goff in so many gorgeous gowns but the best was saved for last. I kept waiting for her to cry or have "the moment" but it took a very special dress with just enough sparkle and magic. I saw tears form in her eyes and I of course morphed back into Kim Kardashian. Right then it hit me that in a few short months she would be someone's wife and her last name would change. However, she will always be the sweet girl I met in psych class with the killer smile. Congratulations babe for finding The Dress and The Guy! Cheers!

Haters going to hate. 

XOXO 

Smoothie to the Rescue

    Mornings can be rough when you aren't exactly happy to greet the dawn. The past several mornings I have not wanted to cook anything because that required energy that I didn't have. However, I do have a blender and a spare two minutes to scramble several ingredients together to make a smoothie. This morning my addled brain actually came up with something delicious for breakfast. I set out Betty my blender and threw in chocolate protein powder, frozen strawberries, chia seeds, water, and vanilla espresso mocha almond butter. The end result made me so happy and satiated which is incredibly important in the mornings.

  

My super smoothie. 

   For this recipe use whatever protein powder you like, 1 TBS chia seeds, 1 Cup frozen fruit, 1 TBS almond butter, and 1 Cup water. Throw all ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix thoroughly. 

     This is the almond butter I used but any flavor will do. I found this brand at Sprouts which is located in Lubbock Texas as well as several other big cities. Happy smoothie making y'all. 

Quiet Desperation - Motivational Video

A Productive Day at Natural Grocers

   I seriously cannot be left alone in Natural Grocers. My husband wanted a burrito from Freebirds in Midland and Natural Grocers just happens to be next door. Driving all the way to Midland after a long day did not sound fun. However, an ice cold kombucha from Natural Grocers made the trip worth it. As I walked around the store several items jumped into my basket. For example, I was beyond excited to find Dang Coconut Chips for only $3.65. A few months back I saw a post about them on Instagram and wanted to try them for myself. Whole Foods in Santa Fe, NM was selling them for $10.99 so I put them back on the shelf. I just cannot pay for a small bag of coconut chips that stupidly expensive. Today I bought 2 for less than $10, winning! These coconut chips are worth the trip to Midland y'all.

   Being in grad school can be stressful but a hot bath can make a bad day better. In the bath and beauty aisle I found mineral bath salts scented with geranium, lavender and roses. Cannot wait to light a few candles and escape in a hot bath with these salts.

   I also found Tom's aluminum free deodorant scented in refreshing lemongrass. I started using Tom's after a hair analysis showed that my aluminum levels were off the charts. Natural odor protection that won't harm me is worth buying in bulk. Tom's has several scents that are not harsh and overwhelming.

  

   Last but not least I want to write about what I actually went to Natural Grocers for, kombucha. This wonderful fermented tea had me addicted while I was living in VA. After moving here I could not find this stuff until I started shopping at Natural Grocers. Of course I also bought several different flavors of tea and a bottle of espresso coconut coffee. 

Yerba Mate tea has a little caffeine and tons of flavor. 

 

Cranberry kombucha is my favorite flavor, Steaz green tea is a new product I found today. 

   I think today was a productive shopping day even though I bought more than I intended. However, I am very excited to try the new green tea I found flavored with lime and pomegranate. Good evening y'all, I have some de-stressing to do.

Yoga Love and My Cadaver ACL

   Good evening y'all! I just spent almost 8 hours playing catch up with one of my online classes. Yes, you read that correctly and no I am not a dumb blonde. There is so much reading and outside research that usually  my whole weekend is dedicated to homework. To get away from the homework I traipsed off to Target, my place of zen. While wandering around I came across the Halloween section, hooray! Halloween is my favorite holiday and I like to decorate my dwelling and dress up. I am trying to hold off on decorating until the end of September but damn it's hard. My strength wavered when I found the dish towels. My husband is smart enough that upon seeing them in the Target bag simply said, "Well, we do need dish towels". Good job dear.

   

   How could I pass these cute towels up? I love seeing them in my kitchen and cannot wait to buy a few Halloween themed candles from Bath & Body Works. 

   After I got caught up with my articles for class I decided to play catch up with the yoga challenge on Instagram called #beautifulbodiesyoga. I find the yogis I follow on Instagram so inspiring and graceful. They inspire me to try new poses and not give up when a certain pose challenges me. While scrolling through pictures of yogis I found a chick (M_MIJARES_LO) who posted a picture of herself in flamingo pose. Holy hell, she made this pose look so cool that I immediately tried it and realized that this pose will take some practice. I couldn't help but laugh at how awkward I felt in this pose, which makes me want to keep working on it. 

   The pictures that follow are the litany of some of the poses I posted to Instagram today. 

Wild Thing Pose

  

Crow Pose, assisted by the wall

Tree Pose variation, @busybodyyogi inspired me to try this pose. 

 

King Pigeon Pose

Downward Facing Dog Pose 

Warrior Three Pose 

    I love yoga for helping me deal with stress, making me feel beautiful and strong, and centered. This time last year I had a lot of trouble getting into these poses. Thanks to a cadaver ACL and Dr. Cochran I once again can enjoy the benefits of yoga. Thank You to All organ donors but I am especially grateful to the soul who gave me my new ACL. This new ligament gave me a second chance at life and countless moments of sheer joy when I loudly exclaim "look what I can do!". Yoga On Y'all!

I Need to Rave About Some Rad Makeup

   I am loving my new foundation from Maybelline New York. It leaves a light and dewy finish that holds up in the Texas heat. In the last two weeks I have tried two different foundations before I found the Fit Me foundation. My skin tone is so fair that I usually have to switch foundation colors when my tan fades. I am using foundation Fit Me #125 with SPF 18 and I finish the look with Cover Girl classic cheek color in Soft Mink #590. This is such an easy look to pull off before work and can be done in less than 5 minutes. I also found two new lip colors that I have to rave about. Cover Girl lip perfection in #213 is a soft neutral pink that is perfect for work. Revlon Color Burst in Flirtatious #125 is a great lip stain for date night or girls night.

Lush lips

I'm wearing foundation #125 with the soft mink cheek color and CG lip color #213.

Fit Me foundation. 

My friend is Getting Married Y'all!

   My friend +Shawntee DesaRay Goff  was proposed to last night by her boyfriend Ray!!!!! OMG, OMG, OMG, I am so excited for these two lovebirds! I met this fabulous chick during my undergrad at UTPB and I am so thankful that she is in my life.

   Last night I retired to bed at 8:00 pm because of a stomach virus that left me exhausted and grumpy. So I missed texts and phone calls from +Shawntee DesaRay Goff  and didn't hear the exciting news of her engagement till this morning. This wonderful woman will also be graduating in December with her M.A.!

   What left me speechless was when +Shawntee DesaRay Goff  asked me to her maid of honor. I honestly had no words because my heart was bursting with a profound sense of joy. She made me cry as she told me why she picked me to her MOH. I love this woman so much and it is an honor to stand by her side when she says "I Do".

   Congratulations to +Shawntee DesaRay Goff and Ray Sandoval!!

Yoga with Dad

   My husband and I live in a small 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment for which we pay too much money for. Yay oil boom! Since we plan on moving once I graduate with my M.A. we don't have much in the way of furniture. So I am able to do yoga as I please in the living room as well as Insanity workouts. My dad noticed my yoga routine and asked to join in. I seriously love hanging out with my dad. He is incredibly kind and so intelligent not to mention funny as hell. So we have a standing yoga date every Sunday after church. I make French Roast coffee from New Orleans in my french press and we stretch out while listening to Pandora. My dad is pretty new to yoga so we take our time and go through Sun Salutation a few times and work on breathing. Then we drink too much coffee and talk about books and music. Hooray for Sunday yoga with dad!

My adorable dad trying out a hip opener with a strap. 

   

Restaurant Review: The Settles Hotel

   It is a Johnson family tradition to never celebrate a birthday or holiday on time. My mom is a pediatric nurse, my brother Nathan is an ER nurse, my oldest brother Zach is a homicide detective, and my dad oversees the blood bank. Basically everyone can be called to an emergency at the drop of a hat. So we all celebrated my birthday last night at an historic hotel in Big Spring, Texas called the Settles hotel. It is a swanky place that was originally built in the 1930's. We started with an appetizer of roasted meatballs in a marinara sauce that wasn't very appetizing. I love meatballs in a smoky sauce but I found these to be lacking. I am pretty sure I could have made a better product in my own kitchen.

  Along with the meatballs I ordered a minted lemonade which was Divine! This drink was so splendidly good I ordered two.

   Thankfully, dinner more than made up for the appetizer. Steven and I both ordered the New York strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes and bourbon onions. I added mac & cheese onto my meal because I can be a glutton at my birthday dinner. The meat was cooked just right and the potatoes were a succulent mash of loveliness. The mac & cheese was very decadent and creamy.  I ate everything on my plate. No shame in my game!

   Happy Birthday dinner to me!!! The food, and company was just what I wanted after a long week of working two jobs and busting my ass in school. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Waiting for the family at the entrance to the hotel. 

Me and my daddy before our food coma. 

It's My Birthday!

   Today is my birthday and I have to say that this year I actually enjoyed myself. I worked my ass off in physical therapy this morning with extra weight and extra reps. I call the extra reps birthday reps. My mama and I spent a lazy afternoon talking and drinking tea. I lounged around with my dogs and read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn which is a great book. If you like thrillers that keep you guessing then you should read this book. My father in law took Steven and I out for dinner at an Italian place called Mia Piacci which I was not expecting. I seriously thought that I would be eating ice cream and watching Netflix. Instead I ate lasagna, good bread, and chocolate mouse cake and enjoyed every damn bite. Then I came home and fell into a lovely carb coma. Birthdays kick ass!

   My "person" +Lindsay Fedele sent me a very rad birthday card with a unicorn inside. I love unicorns and I love this chick. From our first wife date I felt so comfortable with her and found her truly beguiling. Thanks for the card and the sweet words inside the card!

   I appreciate all the birthday love y'all! Xoxoxoxoxo

  Excuse me while I eat more ice cream because it's my damn birthday!