A Student's Life

Most of you know by now, that I've returned to school after a 2 year hiatus. I admire those who can power through 4 or 5 years of college after high school, I really REALLY do.

But it wasn't for me.

Between personal struggles, getting a full time job and then getting married I needed a break. I was burned out from school and wasn't making the effort that I was capable of. Taking a break from school was the best thing I could do. It helped me mature, refocus and become motivated.

There was one thing I forgot about going to school. Diet. I suddenly was in and out of classes, studying for tests and doing homework nightly (sometimes weekend nights too!). TV? Collecting dust most of the week. Cooking was a luxury.

When it came to meal time, I just ate the first thing I saw without taking time to consider a balanced meal. After a few weeks, I was feeling the effects of my poor eating habits. I realized I'd barely touched a vegetable and I decided to make it a goal to make sure the majority of each meal was vegetables.

It really wasn't too hard to add these in. I always pick up some veggies when grocery shopping, but then they would get forgotten in the fridge. I decided, no more! Here's just a sampling of some of my re-discovered favorites:

Chicken sandwich with cucumber and spinach. Red pepper strips.

Green monster of course. Spinach, chocolate protein powder, skim milk, soy milk, flax seeds and ice.

Spinach omelet.

The star of the week: pizucchini and whipped sweet potatoes.

I've also enjoyed spaghetti squash sprinkled with parmesan and an artichoke but no pictures of those.

Sometimes, I've had to remind myself to take a break and use the other side of my brain for fun things like shopping and getting creative.

Oh so pretty pink sweater.

I went to the craft store with my friend and decided to make my own fall wreath instead of making one.

Isn't it pretty?

You can almost smell orange spice, nutmeg and cinnamon just looking at it.

I hung it over the fireplace as recommended by my friend Lorna.

Saturday, I had the lucky opportunity to go to the BSU football game. I had such a blast!

Here I am with my "adopted sister" Sheridan.

They have this dog (the orange speck in the middle of the picture) that runs out on the field to get the thing they kick the ball off of (uh, anyone know what that's called?). It was so cool to watch!

Our field is blue. We're just cool like that. ;)

We won. 57 to 14. I loved every minute of it.

What did you do this weekend?

What's your most and least favorite vegetable?

My most favorite is sweet potatoes. Least favorite is brussels sprouts!

Crock-pot Southwest steak and beans

Aw, you guys are just the best. Thanks to all who posted congratulations on my anniversary post. And thanks to all my readers who stopped by!

If I had to cook for the rest of my life with one appliance, it would definitely be my crock-pot. Even though most of the recipes aren't particularly aesthetically pleasing, they really hit the spot on a cool fall day.

And speaking of fall, I've finally witnessed some true fall weather. That rain you southern gals mentioned has been making it's way up to me! Truthfully, I don't mind rain. I love the smell and I love how much greener everything looks.

The view out my back door. The canal runs right by!

When I first got my crock-pot, I went recipe crazy. I googled, bookmarked and emailed myself hundreds of recipes. I'm sure most of you can relate to having more recipes than you know what to do with! Some recipes stuck, some were disasters and some were instant hits.

This was one of the hits. It's sort of a surprising combination of chunky salsa, a pound and a half of chuck steak (really, any kind works, you just cook it falls apart into tender morsels), beans (also, whatever kind you want), canned corn, some oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. It's not quite stew and not really chili either. You can literally make this with your eyes closed. Dump everything in and cook overnight. Just a little planning ahead is all. You really can't get much lazier.

Southwest Steak and Beans

1 1/2 lbs steak (look for good, even marbling in the steak-- that's what my hubby taught me!)

1/2 onion, chopped (I used red onion I had on hand)

3 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz jar chunky salsa

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 can black beans

1 can garbonzo beans

1 can corn

(optional: 2 bell peppers, chopped)

Lightly spray the inside of the pot with olive oil. Place chopped onion and minced garlic in the bottom of the pot. Place the steak (don't worry about cutting it up or anything) on top.

In a separate bowl, combine salsa, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Pour over steak. Add in both cans of beans and corn. (Optional: you can add 2 chopped bell peppers instead of corn.)

Cook for 9 hours on low, stirring occasionally. During the last hour, you should be able to easily break up the steak with a cooking spoon. When the meat is tender and falls apart, you know you're done!

p.s. Try not to get overeager and burn your tongue. Take it from me ;)

Told ya, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

What is the one kitchen appliance you couldn't live without (other than the oven and stove)?

Do you like rain/cooler weather?

Guest Post

Hey everyone! Check out my guest post about how Jeremy and I met over at Simple Moments!

Nicole, thank you for the honor and for your sweet words! :)

3 Years Ago Today

Was the day that I became Mrs. Bailey.

We got married in the Salt Lake City Temple.

(For more information about LDS temples, see this post on my friend Carrie's blog)

This is my favorite wedding picture.

Our best friends, Ryan and Audrey Blanchard! They just had their baby boy today!

It was a sunny autumn day and we were grinning from ear to ear.

At the end of the day our cheeks hurt. :)

The dress.

Yes, I am skipping!!

Though marriage is in no way a scene out of "Leave it to Beaver", I am so happy that I married Jeremy. He is so loving and caring and supportive. We are each other's best friend. We amuse ourselves for hours on end and we have so much fun no matter what we are doing. We love to laugh and be silly. We trust each other and feel comfortable being ourselves (even if it's not always our nice selves!)

Every day of every year we are together I love him more than the day before.

"And now you're my whole life,

now you're my whole world,

I just can't believe the way I feel about you girl,

Like a river meets the sea,

Stronger than it's ever been,

We've come so far from that day,

And I thought I loved you then"

-Brad Paisley

Jeremy, my love, my eternal companion. I love you more than I ever thought I had capacity to love. The joys you feel, the sorrows you feel, I feel them with you. Over the years, we've grown up and grown closer together. We've learned to apologize, to compromise and put each other first. I will always be by your side to defend you, support you and love you.

Your wife, Meg

Happy Birthday to my Pup!

Ok, crisis averted. Dealing with car accidents is a pain in the butt but thankfully, I knew of a good body shop that, with my insurance company, made things pretty easy.

I don't actually know exactly when Hunter's birthday is, but we figure it's about this time of year. Now he is 3ish. (Have I ever mentioned I love the number 3? And 23!)

I'd never had a dog before but I had always wanted a golden retriever. My neighbors had two when I was growing up and they'd pay us to take care of their dogs when they were out of town. My brother and I thought it was the greatest ever. When my husband said he wanted a golden retriever too, he immediately started scouring the newspaper for ads.

We bought him at a farm out in the middle of eastern Idaho. I mean literally, you drive to the middle of nowhere and keep going. The lady knew I was coming and when I showed up, I saw the mamma retriever coming toward the drive with a bunch of bouncing furballs behind her. This is how I picked out Hunter:

He was a little more curious than the rest of the litter and came over to inspect the situation. He was scooped up and the lady said, "How about this one?".

I said "yep, looks good to me."

I tucked him in a cardboard box with a towel and brought him to his new home. He cried the whole way. And every night that week. I wondered how long it would go on for? After that first week though, he slept through the night, or at least didn't cry.

Deciding what to name him took a little bit of time. I wanted to give him a human name. I can't really remember most of the suggestions I made that Jeremy wasn't crazy about, I remember one was Sebastian. Ironically, I thought of the name Hunter since we considered teaching him to be a hunting dog. That never happened, but the name stuck.

The puppy stage was fun but tough. I carried him everywhere. We'd walk around the block and he'd bite his leash. He LOVES the snow. But boy, was he a naughty puppy. Chewing up everything, crying when we left him at home alone, typically puppy stuff really. We almost gave him away twice.

But I'm so glad we didn't. We treat him like our child. He is pretty high energy and spoiled and probably thinks he's human but he is very patient. He's gentle with kids (well unless his tail whips them) and loves everyone and anyone.

But he definitely is protective of his family.

When we are sad, he looks up at us with the most mournful eyes. Come to think of that, he does it when he's hungry or when he see's you eating anything.

He is our best friend.

He is the best company and doesn't talk back.

Most of the time,

he's just content to lay at my feet,

or taking a walk or jog.

Hunter is the best dog. Ever.

So this year, I thought I'd give him something special.

You can tell he loves it. ;) I found a halloween costume large enough for a 90 lb. dog!

Only $8 at Wal-Mart. How could I resist! In honor of currently learning about the skeleton. Isn't he so cute? Clearly he isn't amused. Don't worry, I fed him dinner after and all was forgiven.

What's your favorite number?

What do you love about your pet?

The Best and The Worst

I bought some HUGE zucchini (does anyone else have trouble spelling that word?) that were on sale the other day and needed to use them up before I forgot about them in my produce drawer in the fridge. (I hate when that happens!)

I'd bookmarked Lisa's zucchini chips, and decided that was just what I was in the mood for.

Before. Told ya that zucchini was big.

After.

They reminded me of giant fried okra. YUM.

I also tried some POM tea.

Verdict: tasted like cough syrup. I choked it down mixed half and half with Red Bull.

Yesterday was quite the day, my friends.

I had a HUGE A&P lab exam over like 9 chapters. The majority of it was on slides of tissue types and it's not like you can take the slides home and memorize them. I had studied and studied and studied some more. I couldn't function normally, but I could tell you every epithelial, muscle, bone and nerve tissue type's characteristics and location. I actually made flashcards and drilled myself on the elliptical and stair climber for 45 minutes the morning before.

Sitting at a red light, on my way to my huge test... I feel/hear the worst thing ever. Getting rear ended. The girl behind me saw the light turn green and hit the gas. While I was still parked. Ugh. I have an abnormal fear of car accidents and to make things worse, I'd had a feeling for months I was going to get in one. This is what went through my mind:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? $@*$ !!! NOT NOW!!! MY BRAND NEW CAR!! MY LAB EXAM!! @$%# !!!

Near nervous breakdown. In the middle of lunchtime traffic. Numb and shaking hands, numb face (both signs of hyperventilation) can't tell if my car is still on, can't remember how to drive. It was the worst.

So I pull over and I'm a wreck. I can't function. On the verge of tears. Did I mention near nervous breakdown? All I can think about it my test. That is happening in 20 minutes. Crap. The girl who hit me was fortunately apologetic and gave me all her info. We called the police. Waited 30 minutes for them to show up. Texted a girl in my lab to tell her I got in a wreck, hoping my instructor would be understanding. Got a note from the police officer as some documentation for my instructor so she'd know that I wasn't just messing around.

Luckily, the damage was minor and it was very low impact. No one got hurt. I was upset that I'd literally paid my first car payment that day, but I tried to count my blessings.

I can handle spiders, people puking, speaking in public, clowns, flying in airplanes, you know common fears. But car accidents? They break me. You know what's worse than being in a wreck? Having to drive afterward. I felt vulnerable, shaken, unsafe and like I have a huge target on my car. Someone passes and I was sure they're going to hit me. I'm certian everyone on the road has nothing else on their mind but hitting me. Maybe it's just me. Did I mention I have a fear of car wrecks?

It's not like I could just go home and decompress. I have a lab test that I am extremely late for. Which was compounding my anxiety. I knew one of two things would happen: either all that studying would pay off or I'd blank out of shock and forget everything. Thankfully, it was the former. My lab instructor was really understanding. She told me to take a moment and take a deep breath. She even offered to let me come back for the next lab and take it then. What I really needed was to take my mind off the accident and my test did just that. I calmed down, focused on the task at hand. Thankfully, I remembered everything I'd studied. I left feeling slightly better that at least I had done well on my test.

Afterward, I called my insurance, dragged through math class and went home. I talked to my mom. I am never too big to need my mommy. My dad gave me invaluable advice and helped me feel confident that I'd done all the right things in the aftermath and the best way to deal with insurance and go about getting it fixed.

I still feel like I'm in a bit of a fog. Like a little raincloud is over me. I guess that's to be expected after experiencing something traumatic.