wish every day could be like sunday.

we had another busy & awesome weekend.  i really need to come up with another word besides awesome to describe things.  how about rad?  we had a rad weekend.  we ran errands, went out to eat, i shot two family sessions, went to a three year old's birthday party & slept in til 9:30.  thank you sam.

but my favorite day?  is usually sunday.  especially the ones where sam gets the crazy idea to make something new for breakfast.  this sunday was buttermilk-chocolate-chip-pancakes.  from scratch.  yeah, that happened.  have i mentioned my husband's favorite food is all things breakfast food?  i like that about him.

sundays are usually spent in our pajamas ninety percent of the time... the other ten percent we dress up for church.  so then that means after church my hair is all done, i'm makeupped & i've done something with my day.  but i'm right back in my pj's.  i like that about sundays, too.  there's something about lounging around in baggy sweats & a t-shirt with cute hair... am i right?

what's your favorite day of the week?

there better be pizza in heaven.

because if not?  i might have to reconsider being as good as i've been being.  cause i've been being pretty good.

i could probably eat pizza everyday.  i may have to mix up the varieties, but i could probably eat a pizza in some form on any given day & be a happy camper.  but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that pizza is generally not the calorie-counter-health-nut-wannabe's best friend.  at least, not most pizzas.  but it CAN be.  and it could be.  and in my mind, it is.

we've made personal pizzas many times using pita bread & it's always delicious.  but i needed more.  i needed a real crust & real bread to bite my teeth into & maybe even just the feeling of accomplishment from saying i've made a pizza from scratch.  so i did.

behold, my first homemade pizza.  it started with a blob of dough.

ok, i cheated.  sue me.  i bought pre-made dough from trader joe's for $1.29.  really though?  why would i want to make my own when i can see that their's consists of like three ingredients that i recognize & it is {pretty much} all ready to go straight out of the package?  i'd be wasting everybody's time if i didn't.

now this is where i get mad.  i took all sorts of pizza-making-pictures that were gonna look really cool all side by side.  a picture with each layer of food that i layered.  but somehow, my computer decided to delete them.  we've been having computer issues & i don't wanna talk about it.

but you can probably imagine what happened between these two pictures right?  lots of food layering, some bite sneaking taste testing, & some baking,

this pizza's ingredients:  trader joe's whole wheat pizza dough, trader joe's pizza sauce, mushrooms, sweet italian chicken sausage, greenish/yellowish peppers {i have no idea what that pepper is... sidestory: sam brought home a HUGE box of peppers that a co-worker gave him.  and he got them from some farm stand in yakima.  i know, it's random}, & cheese.  pretty basic.  but i do love me a sausage & mushroom pizza... so, so much.

it was freaking delicious.  and the amount of flour that i got all over myself while rolling out the dough made me feel super domestic & i looked totally legit.  so i will probably never attempt to make my own dough as long as i live.  you had me at $1.29, trader joe's.

so this is now becoming a regular thing.  and i need suggestions for topping combos to keep the fellas on their toes.  i really wanna try a chicken sausage/ricotta cheese pizza.  and i might just lick the ricotta off the top of the pizza... that's allowed when you made it, right?

send me your pizza expertise people!

this pizza was parker approved.  you can tell because if you look really close, you can see the sauce he's saving for later above his lip.  and maybe all over his shirt too.

votes are also parker approved.  always.

more motivated than EVER.

i am so excited you guys.  i am like bouncing off the walls excited about the subject of today's post!

first off, i have to say i am more motivated than ever to change my eating habits & live a healthy life.  like, i don't think i will EVER be able to go back to the old way that i thought about food.  what changed me you ask?  ummm, a little movie called "Food, Inc."

holy crap.

we only caught a bit of it last night on PBS, but i am planning on watching it in its entirety asap.  if you want to know why you should buy some {most!} of your foods organic or locally, just watch that movie.  who's seen it & what did you think?  i was already pretty passionate about eating smartly & healthfully, but watching this movie has just added another gallon of fuel to the fire.

so here we go.  here are a few things that help me live a healthy & fit life.  and some things that i am always working on being better at!

last week i saw a quote that has really stuck with me.  it went something like:  "if you want to weigh what you've always weighed, then eat what you've always eaten."  so true.  but for me?  even more importantly than what the scale says, i hate the way i FEEL when i'm eating badly & i love the way i feel when i'm eating right.  so i've been telling myself:

"if you want to FEEL better than you've ever felt, then eat better than you've ever eaten."

ok, so it doesn't have the same snazzy ring to it, but you get the point.  how you feed your body makes such a huge impact on everything.  food is fuel & when we fill up on junk all we're gonna get out of it is junk.  after a few days of crappy eating, i feel uncomfortable in my clothes, things fit tighter, there's a noticeable change in how i feel overall.  but after i'm back on track for a while my clothes fit looser, i can hold my belly in tighter, & i have so much more energy.

so what am i doing?  eating whole, real foods, saying no to fast food, & using all kinds of portion control.  even if you eat healthy, when you eat too much of it it's still too much.

dude, you've got to plan.  keep your fridge, cupboard & purse stocked with healthy snacks so that in a pinch of hunger you won't be tempted to open a bag of cookies or buy a hot dog at the food court.  think almonds, apples, string cheese, & the such as.  also?  i plan to cheat.  i always eat something sweet after both lunch & dinner.  just one something.  a reese's miniature or a chunk of cookie dough.  when i am tempted to pop a second one i just tell myself, "nah, i'll have another one later."  and i do... after the next meal.

plan your meals & cook them yourself.  if you need ideas, check out sites like cookinglight.com or cleaneatingmag.com.  both are amazing resources for healthy meal ideas & if you're like me, you'll find way more tasty meals than you can fit in a year.

when serving up a meal, leave the serving dishes in the kitchen & don't put them on the dinner table.  you're way more likely to thoughtlessly shovel seconds & thirds onto your plate when it's staring you straight in the face next to your plate.  just serve up what you know is a good portion, eat it slowly, then sit on it for a while before getting up for more.  you may decide you don't need more after all.

and lastly, drink lots of water.  like, lots & lots.  then drink some more.  your body retains water when it's not hydrated so make sure you're filled up & it'll flush your body of the excess.  true story.

this is a must.  and probably my favorite part.  i really do love to work out.  i get super stir-crazy when i miss a work out & i seriously love the feeling of pushing through quivering, shaking muscles in order to knock out a few more reps.  love it.  but that has come as a result of years & years & years of regularly working out.  being physically active has always been really important to my mom, & i attribute my love of it to her.  so thanks mom!

not so in love with getting physical?  start slow.  go for walks or do calf raises while you brush your teeth.  take the stairs instead of the elevator & park far across the parking lot.  move quickly while you clean your house.  bored with your work outs?  mix it up!  muster some motivation by registering for a 5k or find a friend to walk with.  as long as you're doing something, it's gonna be better than nothing.

i'm also more motivated than ever to up my work out intensity.  why?  because i'm seeing results.  and that is motivating.  when you see your body changing, getting stronger, & doing things that it didn't used to be able to do?  you just want to push it that much harder & reinforce what you're doing.

give it a go!  you'll be amazed at what you're capable of.

try workin out your fingers & click twice to vote.  your strong fingers will thank you.  i will too.

burgers, fries, shakes & a side of p-ray.

it's like i always say, "everything in moderation... including moderation."  go ahead & quote me on that.

and that's kinda how i justify stuffing my face with the occasional bacon cheeseburger, order of handcut fries, & a strawberry shake made with fresh fruit & real ice cream.  that way when sam tells me he found another tasty dive burger place in the area, i don't have to say no... because i like to moderately screw moderation, ya know?

a life without some good old fashioned dive food in your belly every now & then just doesn't sound like much fun to me.  and clearly parker agrees.  or maybe he just liked sitting in the booth like a big kid & looking super cute.  because he totally did.

he also likes it when you click twice to vote.  and i do too.

steppin' out saturday - date night edition

we braved stormy seattle weather on saturday to go on date night.  wanna know how many baby-free dates we've been on since p-ray's been born?  this makes two.  but i'm not looking for sympathy, we do most our weekend things with parker in tow by choice... he's a cool kid to have around.  but now that he's a bit older & easier to babysit we're gonna try & do monthly date nights.  just me & my mister.  swoon.

{linking up to steppin' out saturday at harper's happenings.  you should do it too.  you totally should.}

this is really the only picture i have to show our outfits... i'm not joking when i say lightning struck right before this picture was taken & the thunder rolled for about two minutes after.  so we were hurrying.  and it was raining.  so that's why parker looks a bit frazzled.

and i promise our outfits are much cuter than they appear here... so forgive me in advance if i wear it all in a few weeks & try again.  ok?  sweet.

amy:  shirt - american eagle, sweater - old navy, belt - american eagle, jeans - gap

parker:  hat - mariner's team store, shirt - target, sweats - babygap, air jordan's - nordstrom rack

and now on to the details of our date.  it was dreamy.  we went to our favorite local thai place & bonded over two heaping plates of noodles & spiciness.  and maybe we polished off both plates.  plus a bowl of sticky rice.  and fortune cookies.  and it was delicious.

i'm super excited about making this a regular thing... despite the look of anti-excitement in that picture above, we had a ton of fun.  since dinner only took an hour, we headed to the mall where we made fun of all the high school kids ridiculously dressed up for prom.  and why the freak were there so many of them at the mall?  we had no idea.

but seriously it was a blast.  i don't know why we haven't been doing this every month for the last twelve months.  i loved hanging out with sam just the two of us & pretending like we were just a couple of kids dating again.  and picking up our sleepy baby who jabbered about his night the whole way home until he passed out was pretty fun too.

two clicks if you love date night!  or, even if you don't.

easy like sunday morning - {crepes edition}

lazy sunday mornings around here are the best.  especially when sam gets the crazy notion to make strawberry cream cheese crepes & parker decides to be super cute & snuggly in his dinosaur pajamas.

and that's why everyday should be like sunday.

like father, like son.

i can't stop laughing at this picture.

we hit up red robin last weekend for some burgers & bottomless steak fries.  {wow, i've really gotta start eating better}.  apparently our waitress didn't bring the food fast enough, because this pretty much reflects the vibe at our booth until the food showed up.  even p-ray shot a couple glares her way.

my guys don't do well on empty stomachs.

after burgers & a couple baskets of steak fries, it was all smiles & giggles from that side of the table.  problem solved.


i'm all smiles & giggles when you vote for our blog.  not joking.

cookies, cameras, & steppin' out saturday {on sunday}

it's been a great weekend.  it started off with a bang on friday night with a late night dq blizzard run in our jammies {go crazy!}, followed by a lazy saturday morning, then a two year old's birthday party {happy birthday kaylee!}, and then some good family time the rest of saturday {read: naps, grocery shopping, & dexter marathon}.  good times.

i also made a batch of my favorite this-time-of-year cookie, pumpkin chocolate chip.  seriously theeee best fall-ish treat.  maybe this is the third batch i've made in two weeks.  maybe.

i think everyone should make these cookies, because they are to. die. for.   they're actually yummier the day after you make them, because the chocolate chips get all hard & the cookie is still super soft & moisty.  yum. 

pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies

ingredients:
1/2 cup butter                                 2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup sugar                               1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg                                               1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp vanilla                                    1 tsp. salt
1 cup pureed pumpkin                    1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips                     1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

directions:
1.  combine butter, sugar, egg, vanilla & mix well {i use a mixer, but i'm sure it could be done by hand}
2.  in a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, & cinnamon.  sift.
3.  add half the dry ingredients to butters & sugar.  mix.  now add half the pumpkin. mix.  repeat with the remainders.
4.  mix in chocolate chips.
5.  eat globs of cookie dough.
6.  drop onto cookie sheets in 1" balls.
7.  bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. {mine never take a second over 10 minutes to bake, but i have a hot oven}

seriously, make these today.  you'll thank me tomorrow {because they're even better on the second day.  it's weird.}

camera update

so i've blogged once or twice {or three hundred times} about how we are saving for a new dslr & how i've been shopping around to see what one to buy.  i thought i had it pinned down to the new nikon d7000 with a kit lens & a 50 mm, but i don't know anymore.  and i'm starting to get overwhelmed by all the options. i think i've changed my mind to a canon, too.  but now i don't know what body/lens combo to go for.

so i need some advice!  what camera do you have?  what lenses do you have/want?  i want a moderate to serious camera with a starting budget of around $1,500.  puh-lease make your recommendations in the comments.  thanks, ya'll.

steppin' out saturday {on sunday}

we didn't do anything this weekend that required dressing up, so this week's steppin' out comes at ya post-church today.  isn't this picture lovely?  parker has taken to shoving my hair in his mouth every chance he gets.  it's gross.

parker

collared button-up shirt - kenneth cole {hand-me down}

navy dress pants - baby gap

shoes - old navy

amy

shirt, tank, skirt, & necklace - american eagle

sweater - target

boots - macy's

to see other what other mamas wore this weekend, hop on over to harper's happenings & check out some other blogs & their hawt mamas.  or better yet, link up your own!  it's fun.  

and with that, it's time for me to go join my little family out in the living room.  we've taken to watching the seasons of arrested development from beginning to end for the ten millionth time.  that show is like, milk-out-your-nose funny every single time.  i never get sick of it & it never fails.  suriously.

your votes never fail to make me happy! just forty more & we're in the top ten. woah.

parker's first solids

cautiously trying some sweet potatoes.

i think this might be ok.

one more little taste...

on second thought, maybe eating solids isn't all it's cracked up to be.

voting for us is definitely all it's cracked up to be.  and we love ya for it!