A Preview of How My Weekend is Going

It's my birthday weekend. It's been fun. I plan to update you all with a really fun birthday post and a more "serious" post on Childhood Obesity very soon.

Here's a sneak peak at my awesome weekend so far.

Tootles for now!

There is No A-hole in My Background

I was on facebook today, and I saw that seven of my friends had joined the group:

Behind Every Strong Woman is an A$$hole that Made Her that Way

And I realized... I have only dated/married nice, sweet, caring men. I'm almost sad that I can't join this boy-haters club. I've just been lucky, I guess. What about you?

Anywho...

We entertained last night (yes, again!).

I love having a dining room. :)

We made pita pizzas. We also had homemade sourdough bread (thanks nate!), fresh salad (provided by Xtina), and persian cucumbers (always).

Oh, and wine provided by One Hope via JGago. One Hope is a really good organization that combines wine and good causes. JGago is interning for them because she's our resident wine expert.

Today, Ryan and I went on a run, and I lamented on how I'm going to get back in shape. I think I know. Stay tuned.

Tootles,

Coconut Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Good Mooooooooooooooorning World!

Have you noticed how awesome the morning starts when you begin with a bowl of oats?!? Holy effingham, it's amazing.

It also helped alot that the first email I read on my blackberry was my editor for my newest (and awesomest) writing gig telling me how fantastic my first article was. Yay! Then, my husband went on and on this morning about what a "cute little wifey" he has. :) Oatmeal and compliments start a day off right, yes?

My oats had the following:

-1/2 cup water

-1/2 cup 1%

-1/2 cup whole oats

-1/2 tbsp creamy peanut butta

-1 tbsp sweetened coconut

-a whole lotta yum

I'm about to go do something exercise-y. After that, I'm going to have a productive, nag-free writing day. Wish me luck! :D

**Silly Survey**

How do you take your oats?

Do you eat instant oats or whole oats?

What's your favorite brand of oatmeal?

Do you put fruit in your oats? What kind?

Tootles,

P.S. If you missed my nephew, click here and tell me how amazing and perfect he is! Go now! He's amazing!!! :p

Did you notice that everything is "amazing" today? lol.

Pot Roast & A Baby Shower

Meet Baby Lily...

Actually, that's my friend Amanda, but Lily is in her tummy.

I've been meaning to update you guys with pictures from the baby shower I went to this weekend. I took so many pictures, it was a daunting task to go through them.

I arrived a couple hours early to help Autumn in the kitchen and with decorating. She was very frazzled, but it turned out completely awesome.

Autumn

I helped her make cupcakes, iced cookies and cupcakes, and helped set up the table. We also served carrots, crackers, dip, mimosas, and plain OJ.

I brought good old fashioned pigs in a blanket to round out the fare. I used little beef sausages, because I don't eat beef. Otherwise, these would have been a downfall for me.

We also made dirt pudding. The flowers weren't edible, but everything else was. :)

For some reason, we had Mandy serving the dirt pudding. lol...

We played a game where we had to draw a baby's face on a paper plate on top of our heads. I won the contest for Worst Baby Drawing. I'm already a really bad artist.  I think I could have won it even without it being on my head.

It looks like a butt. Butt face baby.

My fabulous friend Kirsten and her plate.

Then, came lots and lots of presents. We gave her mostly clothes, because Amanda actually lives in Fairfax, VA. She moved last summer to join her hubby there for a job. Boo. :( I miss her!

"Love for Life"

I found pink Carebears stuff!!

The whole gang:

It was so much fun! Now, I can't wait to meet little Lily. She's due May 28!

Oh ya, this is a food blog..................................

Tonight, I brought out the crockpot because I found boneless pork ribs on the clearance rack at Vons. Yum-O!

My crockpot roast included:

- boneless pork ribs (clearance!)

- yukon gold potatoes

- red potatoes

- can of cream of mushroom soup

- water

- chopped fresh mushrooms (thrown in for the last 45 minutes)

Tonight, I have bookclub. We'll be discussing Isabelle Allende's Daughter of Fortune. LOVED this book. Going to go chill with hubby before I have to leave. xoxo

Do you enjoy baby showers? Do most of your friends have kids?

Purpose and Meaning in My Oatmeal

Wait! That's not purpose and meaning! Those are blueberries!!!!

Good morning, bloggy friends!

I started off this morning with (a bowl of oatmeal and...) a text from an upset friend and opened my email to find a message from another friend whose searching for purpose and meaning. I thought this would be a good topic for a blog. So, let me get right to the meat of the matter.

I do not believe there is purpose or meaning to be found.

I believe that we make the purpose and meaning in our lives. So many people waste so much time searching for this or that.

What am I supposed to do with my life? Who am I supposed to be? Somebody tell me!

These are fillers, time wasters. Life is not a multiple choice test you can fail. It's not. The problem is that we're so used to everything being pre-figured out for us, pre-digested, made easy. Television producers dumb everything down for us. Movies reveal themselves in increments until the grand finale opens the door completely. So, we can all go "Ahhhhh, that was nice. I understand everything now." We cannot stand loose ends. Yet, that is what life is. One loose end after another, one puzzle to figure out before you move on to the next one.

And, you know what else?

Life is hard. Doing what you love is HARD. But, figuring out what you love seems to be even harder. It's made even harder when people walk around looking for signs in everything. Your father, mother, brother, boyfriend, or wife aren't going to give you the answers. There are no messages in your oatmeal. If you are religious, you can certainly turn to your faith. But, it isn't likely that God is going to slip you the answer to your burning questions in the form of a message in a fortune cookie. Instead, He (or whomever/whatever you believe in) is probably going to plant the seed inside of YOU. That's where all the answers are anyway. It's up to you to grow that seed into something. No one else can do it for you.

What would you dare to do if you had no limitations? You have the answer. It might take some soul searching to figure it out, but once you do, that's your answer. Stop questioning it. That's it. If you want it to happen, make it. If you're afraid to do it, don't. Do something else, but, either way, don't complain. Because, whatever you make in your life is exactly that: what you made. The only difference between you and greatness is your choices. We are all given the key to happiness. Some of us use it, and others stand there holding it, complaining that we have to turn the lock ourselves.

There's a really awesome song, called Details in the Fabric that says: "If it's a broken part, replace it. If it's a broken arm, then brace it. If it's a broken heart, then face it. Hold your own, know your name, and go your own way." It's such good advice.

Life is so insanely perfect because it isn't perfect. It's not figured out for us. It's not pre-arranged so that everything falls into place so easily. It's beautiful in its design. Stop searching for purpose and meaning. Life has made it so that YOU have the opportunity to make something out of it. Make it beautiful. You only get one shot.

When you feel the need to search for meaning, go have coffee with a friend. Cook a delicious meal for your family. Write a list of the fabulous things you already have in your life. Laugh with a friend. It does wonders. Trust me. I was in a bit of a funk last week, so my friend helped me smile...

These things do wonders. They make life better. Smiling makes you younger, too! :) Possibly, this was all a jumble, but hey. It's what was on my mind. I'll leave this post with one of my favorite quotes, by Mary Radmacher:

Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Listen hard.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

Laugh.

Choose with no regret.

Appreciate your friends.

Continue to learn.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is.

One Year of Wedded Bliss

March 7, 2009

Today, Ryan and I celebrate one year of marriage.

It's been truly beautiful. He has taught me so many things about life. He met me at a time in my life when I felt truly broken. I was divorced and terribly young. I'd recently lost 200 pounds only to realize that being slim wouldn't solve all my problems. He helped me realize that loving myself meant taking care of me in EVERY way. That the physical is just that. Physical. It will change, it will age, and beauty will fade. Being healthy means being healthy in ALL ways.

He showed me how to love myself, and then, somehow, he helped me love again.

Thank you, baby! I love you more than words can say!!!

I'm going to go spend time with him for the rest of the evening. Here's some pics. I'll update you with other stuff later. xoxo

On My Way!...

Ready to get married!...

Ryan and  his Guys

Le'Joy (Ryan's Sister) and I

My Moma and I

Bachelorette Party

Honeymoon in San Francisco

Here's wishing you all laughter and love always. Life is beautiful.

Love is a many splendored thing...

My facebook status is currently Jasmine Myers loves love!

And I do! But... I love it everyday, not just on a Hallmark holiday.

This is going to be a quick post, as I want to spend this evening cuddling up to hubby and reading my book, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I just finished Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller. I'll review the book at the end of this post.

We did our taxes this weekend (insert curse words here), went to the new apartment office to pay our holding deposit, had dinner with a friend, went out to dinner and a movie, and went grocery shopping. It was busy! Because of all that, my food pictures were sporadic.

I had a yummy tofu and tomato lunch this weekend.

After going grocery shopping, I came home to a surprise lunch made by hubby. It was sliced Yukan potatoes, green pepper, and chicken with a little chunky red sauce. He even took pictures. Is that cute or what?!

And, my gift to hubby was a giant heart-shaped brownie.

Review of Lost in the Forest (Sue Miller)

A true artist at her craft, Sue Miller is a master of inuendo, sexual and otherwise. Her writing focuses on complicated and oft-unexpected family dynamics. Lost in the Forest is a beautiful, yet tragic portrait of a family affected by so many contemporary issues: divorce, death, single parenthood, rape, and the problems of coming of age in a broken home and in a complicated world. 

Miller has the unique talent to interweave her characters' issues with your own world. This is the second book I've read by her, and with both books, I've had to put the book aside and pace or just breath because it hit so close to home. By placing her characters in situations that are, at the time, completely realistic and so full of moral dilemma, she demands her readers to answer one of the most difficult questions of all: What would you do in this situation?

Just as there's no easy answers in life, there's no easy resolutions in the world of Sue Miller's characters. I implore you: read Sue Miller!

lol... I just gave you guys my real "writer voice," didn't I?

I hope you all had an amazing Valentine's Day weekend and that you use this day to energize your relationships all year long. Love is the fuel. Keep the fire burning. :)

xoxo

-Jasmine

Question for the women...

What (if anything) did you buy your man for Valentine's Day?