The last few weekends, the hubby and I have stayed in Denver and relaxed. While I do love being lazy, I hate not going up to the mountains to ski. But our lack of cash has forced us to expand our cooking skills, while not expanding our wallet. So far this month, we've cooked all kinds of new recipes that we've never tried before. We made homemade pizza dough, but bought all the rest of the ingredients. (baby steps...) We used diced tomatoes and green chiles in lieu of sauce with hot sauce coated chicken and mozzarella cheese. It was spicy and delicious. The second time we mixed the tomato/green chile mixture in with some Muir Glen Italian Herb sauce, making it both sweet and spicy, and topped it with mozzarella cheese and oregano. Yum! The pizza dough turned out both crispy and fluffy. If you have all the ingredients to make your favorite pizza, it is definitely cheaper to make it vs. ordering in. Unless of course you're springing for the $5 BlackJack or Little Caesar's Hot N Ready pizza. Your stomach will definitely thank you for using quality ingredients and making it yourself- trust me!
We've also found ways to spice up what would be dull meals. For example, last week we were both starving, but not for the planned meal of the night (tilapia). So... we pulled out a box of mac n cheese from the cupboard and added some chicken and salsa. Voila... a delicious meal, perhaps not the healthiest, but definitely yummy! And the following night when we decided to eat the tilapia we had planned for the previous evening, I chopped it up and threw in some cayenne pepper, mixed up some guacamole and we had fish tacos.
Mmmm... and last night we tackled spinach and bacon risotto. While risotto can often be a daunting meal due to the stirring dedication, it turned out beautifully.
While I am thoroughly enjoying all of the new recipes and time we are spending together in the kitchen, I'm really looking forward to that first meal in a restaurant. Preferably a restaurant with some kick ass margaritas to accompany my long awaited meal cooked by someone ELSE! :o)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mmmmm. Bikram.
Last week, I started going to a Bikram yoga studio in Boulder. (I told you I wouldn't stop doing yoga.) My co-worker, Kate, and I go after work... it's a GREAT way to end my day. If you've never experienced a Bikram class, I highly recommend it. It's 90 minutes of pure bliss... Granted you sweat like crazy and your heart is racing a million miles an hour, but it is so cleansing and purifying and... just plain AWESOME!
But, be prepared. It's very addicting. I love how I feel during class, immediately after and even the next day. However, I have to be prepped for the class so I've been drinking liters upon liters of water so I don't pass out from the sheer heat!
I've been reading articles about whether it would help me get in shape and I think it definitely will. I've already been trying to cut back on my two weaknesses: booze and sugar. Between the cut backs and doing Bikram a few times a week, I think I'll be more prepared for my upcoming trip to Tahoe... and my 2011 goal to run a 5k! Wish me luck!!!
Another update: I've been walking the dogs almost every day! Although, this week we are puppy sitting. Walking three labs is significantly harder than two! So we'll see how this week goes! :o)
But, be prepared. It's very addicting. I love how I feel during class, immediately after and even the next day. However, I have to be prepped for the class so I've been drinking liters upon liters of water so I don't pass out from the sheer heat!
I've been reading articles about whether it would help me get in shape and I think it definitely will. I've already been trying to cut back on my two weaknesses: booze and sugar. Between the cut backs and doing Bikram a few times a week, I think I'll be more prepared for my upcoming trip to Tahoe... and my 2011 goal to run a 5k! Wish me luck!!!
Another update: I've been walking the dogs almost every day! Although, this week we are puppy sitting. Walking three labs is significantly harder than two! So we'll see how this week goes! :o)
Monday, January 10, 2011
My 2011 Resolutions.
Every year I jump on the New Years Resolutions band wagon. I make completely unrealistic goals like, "This year I will lose a million pounds" or "This year I will not smoke a cigarette drunk". And then, life kicks in and my resolutions, like so many people's, go out the window fairly early in the year. This year, I've made several resolutions, but I feel that each one is completely attainable.
1. Run a 5K.
I always try to start each year getting fit. I try something completely different and I either like it or I drop it. Last year I got really into yoga- and while I still love doing yoga, I cannot afford a regular membership to a yoga studio. Sad...
So, this year, I will begin training to run a 5k with the help of the C25K program. I enlisted the help of my loving husband, Jonathan, to keep me on track. If all goes according to plan, I am looking at the Cherry Creek Sneak the first week of May to be my race! (Don't worry- I won't be stopping yoga all together... and now that we are finally settled we can get the trainers set up in the basement for some bike rides!)
2. Walk my dogs.
This seems simple enough. However, walking my two Labrador Retrievers -Sadie May and Ryleigh - by myself is quite a daunting task. Fortunately, we have open space behind our newly purchased house for me to walk them off leash every day after work until dark. Our new neighborhood also has great street lighting which allows for Jonathan and I to walk the dogs on leash on the sidewalk even after dark. We did not have this luxury at our old house. Park Hill should really get with the times on street lights to make their residents feel safer at night.
3. Start fresh.
Last year was filled with ups and downs for us. I lost my job, we got married, we lost touch with some friends, we made some great new friends, Sadie ate some weed on a hike and ended up at the puppy ER, we bought a house, Ryleigh ate toxic mold and was hospitalized for two days, Jonathan got a new job... At the start of 2011, everyone in the Murer household is happy and healthy. I want to forgive all of the negatives in 2010 and move on. I also want to apologize for anything negative I did to anyone else in 2010- I'm sure you didn't deserve the depressed wrath of Sarah Beth.
4. Be more positive.
Each day I struggle with trying to be an optimist, even though an optimist is so desperately what I aspire to be. I like to think that I am a good person, but I know the pessimist inside often gets the best of me. In 2011, I want to be more positive and see the best in others. I think having eliminated a lot of negative from my life last year and surrounding myself with only positive people will help me achieve this.
5. Enjoy life more.
This is kind of an all-encompassing resolution... and one that I've made for both myself and my husband. I also think that this is an ever-changing resolution. It's very generic, but very specific at the same time. We need to be more social and be less lazy. Even though we didn't rent a place in the mountains, we need to not let our laziness get the best of us and go skiing/snowboarding on weekends more. We need to get together with friends more. I need to read more books... and Jonathan, well, he should just read... :o) We need to make more of an effort to spend more time with our friends- whether that is having dinner and drinks, rock climbing or going to more parties, we just need to do it. But we also need to not overlook our need to spend time together as a couple... or as a family with our dogs (who- by the way- are my children and two of my favorite things in life). We need to do and try new things: mountain biking, hiking 14ers, baking...
My life is a work in progress... and I enjoy it like that. Perfection is a boring thing. But I also want to love my life everyday, or at least most days, and I think that these resolutions will help me get to that point in 2011. Wish me luck!
1. Run a 5K.
I always try to start each year getting fit. I try something completely different and I either like it or I drop it. Last year I got really into yoga- and while I still love doing yoga, I cannot afford a regular membership to a yoga studio. Sad...
So, this year, I will begin training to run a 5k with the help of the C25K program. I enlisted the help of my loving husband, Jonathan, to keep me on track. If all goes according to plan, I am looking at the Cherry Creek Sneak the first week of May to be my race! (Don't worry- I won't be stopping yoga all together... and now that we are finally settled we can get the trainers set up in the basement for some bike rides!)
2. Walk my dogs.
This seems simple enough. However, walking my two Labrador Retrievers -Sadie May and Ryleigh - by myself is quite a daunting task. Fortunately, we have open space behind our newly purchased house for me to walk them off leash every day after work until dark. Our new neighborhood also has great street lighting which allows for Jonathan and I to walk the dogs on leash on the sidewalk even after dark. We did not have this luxury at our old house. Park Hill should really get with the times on street lights to make their residents feel safer at night.
3. Start fresh.
Last year was filled with ups and downs for us. I lost my job, we got married, we lost touch with some friends, we made some great new friends, Sadie ate some weed on a hike and ended up at the puppy ER, we bought a house, Ryleigh ate toxic mold and was hospitalized for two days, Jonathan got a new job... At the start of 2011, everyone in the Murer household is happy and healthy. I want to forgive all of the negatives in 2010 and move on. I also want to apologize for anything negative I did to anyone else in 2010- I'm sure you didn't deserve the depressed wrath of Sarah Beth.
4. Be more positive.
Each day I struggle with trying to be an optimist, even though an optimist is so desperately what I aspire to be. I like to think that I am a good person, but I know the pessimist inside often gets the best of me. In 2011, I want to be more positive and see the best in others. I think having eliminated a lot of negative from my life last year and surrounding myself with only positive people will help me achieve this.
5. Enjoy life more.
This is kind of an all-encompassing resolution... and one that I've made for both myself and my husband. I also think that this is an ever-changing resolution. It's very generic, but very specific at the same time. We need to be more social and be less lazy. Even though we didn't rent a place in the mountains, we need to not let our laziness get the best of us and go skiing/snowboarding on weekends more. We need to get together with friends more. I need to read more books... and Jonathan, well, he should just read... :o) We need to make more of an effort to spend more time with our friends- whether that is having dinner and drinks, rock climbing or going to more parties, we just need to do it. But we also need to not overlook our need to spend time together as a couple... or as a family with our dogs (who- by the way- are my children and two of my favorite things in life). We need to do and try new things: mountain biking, hiking 14ers, baking...
My life is a work in progress... and I enjoy it like that. Perfection is a boring thing. But I also want to love my life everyday, or at least most days, and I think that these resolutions will help me get to that point in 2011. Wish me luck!
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