Monday, February 27, 2017

What's In a Name & Why I Blog

I've been wanting to write this post for awhile now, but to be quite honest, I just haven't had the time! Taking care of two littles is no joke...and they barely outnumber me, you mamas doing more than that simply astound me! 

But, back on topic (sheesh, we're only 2 sentences in and I'm already rambling *heavy sigh*), today I want to talk about my blog handle: Mrs Mormon Mommy. When I first started blogging it was simply because sometimes I felt like I had something I REALLY needed to get out of me. It's so selfish (like anyone cares what I have to say?!) but sometimes I just needed to be heard, y'know? So my blog started out as Musings of Misha, or something like that. But I kind of hated it. So I knew eventually I would change the name, and then one night I had a dream. Haha, so cheese-tastic! But I seriously had a dream that I changed the name to "Mrs Mormon Mommy". I woke up and immediately checked if that name was available on all my social platforms, and it was, so I switched. 

Looking back now, maybe I should have hesitated a little. Because after awhile I started to feel a little uncomfortable with it. I started to wonder how people would perceive this name. "Mrs Mormon Mommy" was intended to be the things that I feel represent me the best. Not the things that I necessarily represent, and definitely not the things that I'm the best at. 

But here's the thing, I love being a Mrs. I love my husband and I couldn't be more proud to call myself his wife. I love being a Mormon. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (did ya sing it with me??) or our more well-known nickname: mormons. I am a daughter of God and that simply amazes me every time I say it. And finally I love being a mother. I can't even define how much I love being a mom to my two babes: Everett & Adella. It wasn't an easy road to motherhood for me, as I'm sure most mother's and mothers-to-be out there can relate. 

So there it is, I won't be changing my blog name because that would mean trying to change who I am.

But here's what that name doesn't mean to me: 
1. I'm not an expert on being a wife.
2. I'm not an expert on being a mormon.
3. I'm definitely not an expert on being a mother.

You won't find me giving advice in any of these categories very often, if at all. But if you'd like to stumble along with me in my journey of trying to better myself in all of these areas, then by all means, hop on this crazy train! I'm sure glad to have some friends along for the ride!

With all that said, I'd also like to say a couple things on blogging in general. I think sometimes it can get a bad rap. And I think that, because sometimes I totally agree with all the people out there who hate blogs. I cannot tell you how many times I've thought, that's it, I'm shutting it down! (But my husband probably could, since he has the fun job of talking me out of it every time). Simply because I can feel myself getting wrapped up in the dark side of blogging. To me that means feeling like I need more to be able to keep up with all the things other amazing bloggers are doing. But I can't do that, because I won't. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion and make-up and home decor and shoes and shoes and shoes (wait, what?) as much as the next girl, but I can't let that define me. Because then I feel sad and empty. That's just me. But since this blog is mine, I intend to only be me here. Because it's not a whole heck of a lot of fun to pretend to be someone else anyway, now is it? Listen, you're going to see all of those things here (fashion, make-up, maybe some home decor among other things) because I really like 'em, and they're my creative outlet! But at the end of the day, they could all be gone and as long as I still have my family and faith, I'd be just fine with it. I'm not living for shoes and make-up and those things alone could never make me happy.

So why blog at all? Well, between you and me (anyone out there who decides to read this on the internet...) when I was pregnant with Della, I started to struggle with depression. I'm not sure if it was the hormones of my body making another set of lady parts inside of me, or the fact that I was very sick every day for 9 months, or something else I can't explain, but I was in a very dark place. I'm extremely blessed to have an amazing family and (extra especially) a husband who helped me through it all. But apart from that, Jesus and blogs pulled me out of it. And I don't mean for that to sound crass, it's just true. I would wake up and pray to make it through another day and then in between trips to and from the bathroom to puke (or sometimes on the bathroom floor), I would read blogs. I loved seeing moms with their children, finding joy in the every day journey. I loved being able to relate. I so needed that. I loved being able to tell myself that there was light ahead. That my little girl would soon be here and I would be able to find joy again in being a mother to the two beautiful spirits God entrusted me with. I loved looking at cute clothes and finding make-up ideas and being able to tell myself that someday soon I would have the energy for that again. That I would be able to create and find joy in that again. Sure it's simple, but it's something I've always loved doing that, at the time, I just couldn't. I needed to live vicariously through others. I needed to find the light and happiness out there that I simply couldn't create for myself at that time.

So now I want to be that for someone. I want to spread as much joy in this world that I can, in any way that I can. And while I can promise you that my life is not always joyful, it is still amazing to be living it. So live your life. Enjoy being you. And know that there is light ahead & that God loves you immensely! I'm excited for what's ahead for both of us & I hope to see you here again soon!

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Spring Fever with JORD

Spring is right around the corner! And I'm so glad because every year I get a pretty bad case of spring fever. This year has been no different, and especially since we've all been sick at our house this past week, I am SO ready to be done with winter and cold and germs. Yuck. That's why I'm so excited to have teamed up with JORD to show you guys their unique watches for all your spring style needs!

If you haven't heard of JORD, they sell amazingly beautiful wooden watches. I've been swooning over them for awhile now and absolutely love mine. To be completely honest, I've never been much of a watch person. My family makes fun of me because I really suck at telling time. I can do it, but I have to count the numbers (or, worse, notches) and like 30 seconds later I'm like nope, never doing that again... It's fine, you can make fun of me, I apparently skipped that rite of passage. Also, watches have always seemed a little uncomfortable to me because the metal was always SO cold and bulky on my wrist. So, not functional (for me anyway, hah) or comfortable, so I gave up for awhile. 

ENTER wood watches! Game-changer! I still can't tell time (well), so...yeah. BUT, the bulky, metal, gross feeling is completely gone with my JORD watch. It's so comfortable I completely forget I'm wearing it. I like that I can participate in a trend that involves a watch now. And I love finally being able to accessorize my wrist without feeling incredibly uncomfortable. So much win! 

If you're interested in all of the magic I mentioned above, JORD is definitely the way to go. AND they're having a contest where every person who enters will be in the running for a $100 gift code toward their own watch on the JORD site. There will be one lucky winner, but EVERYONE will receive a consolation code worth $25 bucks once the contest ends. Not too shabby, eh? Click here to enter. You have until 3/12/17 to enter the contest and until 4/30/17 to use the coupon code after that.

I love love love my watch! I'm trying to control the urge to buy one in every style. But, unless you've got a literal minute, just don't ask me what time it is...









Wooden Wristwatch

Monday, February 13, 2017

All You Need is Love (and some crab legs)

I love family traditions. They get me through the monotonous day-to-day and give my family (especially the kiddos) and I something to look forward to and get excited about. 

Each year we celebrate Valentine's Day with crab legs for dinner. We love crab legs at our house, but they're expensive so we can only justify it once a year (maybe two if we really get a hankering). When I was younger my mom and I would get crab legs if we were the only ones at home. My dad sometimes traveled for work and my sisters were in college, so from time to time it was just us. That made it feel special to me, I knew it wasn't an all the time thing, just a fun little treat to look forward to.

My mom also always put on quite the dinner for my dad every Valentine's Day. Us little girls would hide and "surprise" him (he knew it was coming after first few years I think, haha) with a beautifully set table and a yummy feast for us all to enjoy. 




Recipe for Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
4 tbsp cold butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese
Mixture to Brush on Top:
2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp dried (or fresh!) parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl with a pastry cutter or a large fork. Don't mix too much! Small chunks of butter about the size of peas should remain. Add cheddar cheese, buttermilk and garlic. Mix, using your hands, until just combined. Drop 1/4 cup portions of dough onto a sprayed cookie sheet. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Tops will be golden brown when done. Brush the butter mixture on top & try not to eat them all before dinner! 




So this is my tribute to both of those things. A special family feast and a yummy crab dinner. I think traditions with family are so so important! It's not a walk in the park with young kids, but I know they will be able to look back on these memories with a special fondness as I do on my Valentine's Days growing up. Happy V-Day all!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

How to Like Salads

When I was preggers I hated all vegetables. Every single one of em. I tried really hard to eat them anyway for the sake of the sweet babe inside of me, but when you just throw them up anyway, does it really do much good? I don't know. But luckily she's here and healthy and I don't (totally) hate veggies anymore!

In fact, lately I've been finding I really like them. Maybe it's the Juice Plus, or maybe it's the fact that for 9 long months my body rejected them. Not sure. But I'm kind of loving it. Especially since even before I was pregnant vegetables were not really my forte. I'd find myself thinking I was eating pretty healthy and then I would realize well, actually I haven't eaten a vegetable for like a week... But, whatever.

In the spirit of trying to be healthier, I've really wanted to incorporate more veggies into my EVERY DAY (not just weekly...or monthly) life. I found myself actually following through, which for me is huge. So I want to share any tidbits if this is something you're interested in also.

NOTICE: This post is titled "How to Like Salads", not "How to Lose Weight By Eating Salads" or "The Healthiest Salads Around". No, no. You will not find that here. Someone else has written many a post about those other things. But these are for my peeps who are looking to dip your big toe into the big pool of salad-y waters (yuck). If you're looking to dive in, this might not be the post for you. But read it anyway! Hah.

Also, this post contains some of the most beautiful images of food you will ever feast your eyes upon. *Snorts*. No it doesn't.

Gosh, guys, don't you really want to keep reading?!

Step 1: Buy Salad
Yeah, I know. But really, you can't make yourself a salad if you don't have any salad in your house. There's seriously too much salad to pick from these days. Romaine, Arugula, Spinach, BABY Spinach (if you're afraid of the normal size), not to mention salad mixes with the weird purple lettuce that tastes like death. Just stick to something simple the first time, you don't want to scare yourself. I really like romaine. Is it as nutritiously amazing as kale? Nope, but it's green and it's going in my body instead of a McChicken so I choose to feel good about it. Also, if you don't mind cutting it yourself, buy the whole head of salad. The stuff in the plastic bins always seems to go bad faster. Sometimes I'll buy both and mix them together.

Step 2: Add Veggies and Toppings
Do NOT buy vegetables you don't like! Sometimes when you're trying super hard to be healthy, you can go a little overboard. I've done this. I've been known to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't even like and let it rot in my fridge. Example: I'm not a big fan of cucumbers, and if I try to be adventurous and put them on my salad, I don't eat them anyway. They just get pushed to the side and suck up my precious salad dressing like the dirty little thieves they are. Cucumbers, man. Listen, you know what you like and what you don't. Stick to what you know the first few times, you want to enjoy your salad, not regret every bite. As for toppings, I always have to have some protein. if you're the same way I recommend grilling some chicken (or steak, or whatever) ahead of time. Usually we'll have some leftover meat of some kind in the fridge. In the salad I made today I used some leftover chicken nuggets my husband made (by hand! Even the bread crumbs!! He's a keeper...) the other night. Make some tacos, bag up the leftover meat and throw it in a taco salad the next day.


 I love that man...
I always have to have some cheese too. I usually keep some feta on hand just for salads, but if not, I get creative. Cheese wiz, anyone? Haha, just kidding...maybe.

Step 3: Dressing
Dressing can make or break your salad. Usually store bought ranch is really gross. If you're going to go the ranch route but don't want to make it completely from scratch I highly recommend the Hidden Valley Buttermilk (HAS to be buttermilk!) Ranch packet. It's so so good, maybe a little too good. I'll eat almost anything if it's dipped in that. If we're going to dinner at a friends and we're asked to bring a salad, I almost ALWAYS make this dressing. Because I want people to like me. But if you're looking for a healthier alternative my favorite dressing is 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 (or a 1/3 if you really like lemon like me) lemon juice (I buy it to keep things simple), 1 tsp ground mustard, salt & pepper to taste. It tastes like a caesar dressing without all the work. And I always have the stuff for it so that's what I tend to go with. Get on pinterest and search easy salad dressings or vinaigrette's, there's almost too many great ideas. Keep some olive oil on hand. I always buy a back up because there's nothing worse than having your salad ready to go and realizing YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OLIVE OIL FOR DRESSING. Also, get a container that pours your dressing easily like the one pictured below. Then you don't have to make it every time you need it, you can just whip it out of the fridge.

This thing is pretty big so my dressing never comes close to filling it up. Inside is a honey mustard dressing. Equal parts honey, mustard and mayo (or a little less mayo if you want to make the sad version) s&p, whisk it up and you're done! Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Step 4: Prepare Ahead
Nobody wants to make a salad every day. There just ain't time for that. Get yourself some mason jars and some dressing cups and pull them out when you're making your salad. It's hard to only cut enough veggies for one salad. So just keep cutting and throw some in each jar as you go. It takes the same amount of time. I always do plastic cups (pictured below) for the dressing, because even if you put the dressing at the bottom of the mason jar, it tends to make everything a little less crunchy. I put my veggies and toppings in the jar first and my salad in last. I've found this keeps the salad the crunchiest and then I can just dump it on a paper plate and the toppings are already on top! Because I'm not going to try and mix up my salad and eat it out of jar. I'm just not.



And here it is! I promise there are vegetables in there, I just refuse to toss salads because then all the good stuff goes straight to the bottom to die.




Well, if you really hated this post, just replace the word SALAD with TACOS and re-read it. That should help. Happy eating!