Wordless Wednesday

 

Rachel Battles The Bulge

I've posted about my struggle with weight before on this blog.

I'm one of those people who NEEDS to express myself and often times writing is the "easiest" way for me to do that.

But I also don't want to force people to read about my weight when they really stop by my blog to read about "lighter" (pun intended) subjects in our lives. Yes, I know, weight is part of my life, but still...I never liked mixing that in with my other posts. It just didn't feel right to me.

SO...I decided to bite the bullet and create a separate blog strictly for that.

All the love and support I've gotten while on my current weight loss journey has been amazing...and if you want to keep supporting me, you can follow my journey here: http://rachel-battles-the-bulge.blogspot.com/

But, be warned, as always I will be keeping it real...and it might not always be sunshine and rainbows over there. ;) And it won't hurt my feelings if no one ever reads it. Its just a place where I can express and sort out my thoughts and feelings. And I have a lot of them...

United/Divided

Politics. That's a touchy subject for me. I stand firm and proud with my views, but I don't (generally) broadcast them openly, mostly because I don't want to FIGHT. Recently I've grown more and more disgusted with how split this country has become. We roll our eyes and scoff at others who don't see it the way we see it - I, myself, am guilty of this. We can't understand why "the other side" sees things they way they do, so instead of embracing and appreciating that our differences are okay, we argue and fight and finger point. But riddle me this...How is that productive? How is that helping to repair our damaged country? And what kind of example are we setting for our future generations?

Today, my brother posted a video that sums up so many of the things I've been feeling. It is not for one side or the other. It's for ALL OF US.

I know I can sometimes be a "let's all just love one another" idealist, and I know there will always be lines drawn in the sand and sides chosen, but can we just stop for a moment and remember that we are all Americans?

United, we stand.

Divided, we will fall.

Photo Dump

Kitty overload! Chloe snoozing on my lap, waking up with Cooper next to me, Chloe enjoying the nice weather, Cooper enjoying fresh-from-the-dryer laundry.

Chloe watching Animal Planet.

Put a box on the floor and Cooper will curl up in it.

Yes, I know, that was a lot of pictures of my cats. If you know me at all, this is not surprising. Here, I'll throw one in of us too...just to make it a little less "crazy cat lady". ;)

Enjoying a rare night out. :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

So lately, some of the blogs I stalk read have featured a list of their "favorites" in the entertainment categories of movies, music and/or TV. Three of my favorite things. ;) I decided that I wanted to jump on that bandwagon since I constantly talking about all three of those subjects in my day to day life. I especially love sharing music with people, so this allows me to share movies, TV shows and music that you may not have heard of!

I did a Top 7 for each major category. The general rule is “Top 5” for all but the last category, but 7 is my favorite number, and in all honesty, I couldn’t narrow several of these lower than that so…7 it is. And most of them are in no particular order. I also linked my favorite song by each of the music picks just for fun. :)

Favorite Movies:

-The Princess Bride

-The Wizard of Oz

-Newsies

-Across The Universe

-Cool Hand Luke

-Die Hard

-Boondock Saints

Favorite Music:  

ALL TIME Favorite Classics:

-The Beatles

-Van Morrison

-Jackson Browne

-Crosby, Still & Nash (& Young)

-Simon & Garfunkel

-Sam Cooke

-Bob Dylan

ALL TIME Favorite Current:

-Gavin DeGraw

-The Avett Brothers

-Patty Griffin

-Bon Iver

-Adele

-The Civil Wars

-Mumford & Sons or The Flaming Lips are tied for #7. It's not cheating, I swear. ;)

Favorite RIGHT NOW:  (What I can’t get enough of at the moment.)

-The Avett Brothers (They make both lists. And I linked two different songs.)

-Ben Howard

-The Lumineers

-Walk The Moon

-Imagine Dragons

-Fun.

-Maroon 5

Favorite TV Shows:

TV Shows No Longer On Air:

-Veronica Mars

-Firefly

-The Killing

-Battlestar Gallactica

-Friday Night Lights

-Weeds

-Sex in the City

10 Favorite TV Shows Currently On Air:

-Breaking Bad

-Shameless

-Game of Thrones

-Mad Men

-Falling Skies

-The Walking Dead

-Rookie Blue

-Sons of Anarchy

-Parenthood

-Grimm

So, there you have it - a little insight into my entertainment psyche! What are your favorites?

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

I used to blog recipes.

And then I didn't for a long time.

But now that I'm dedicated to Weight Watchers and finding new, exciting, tasty ways to feed my husband and myself and still be WW friendly, I'm trying a lot of new things.

Which means I'm going to blog recipes again.

Yesterday, I snapped a picture of the meal I'd prepped for my lunches this week and loaded it into Instagram. Several people asked for the recipe, so I decided this was a good one to start with!

I first found this recipe on Pinterest so I can't take credit...but in my usual fashion, I've tweaked it a bit to fit my taste.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

1 c dry quinoa
2 c water
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can (or 1 c frozen) corn
tomato (I used 2 roma tomatoes), cubed
1 avocado, cubed
juice of 1 lime (you may want more or less, depending on your preference for lime)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
cilantro to taste
salt
pepper
garlic powder
cumin
adobo

Start by rinsing then cooking the quinoa. Set it aside to cool to room temp.

Mix together evoo and lime juice. Add in black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, and cilantro. Mix well. Then season to taste.

This is where I changed it up. I didn't add any balsamic vinegar like the recipe called for. I just wasn't sure how I felt about it being mixed with these ingredients. Instead, I went with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and adobo. I seasoned a little, then tasted, then adjusted until I had it the way I like it. Once you have a balance you like, stir it into the cooled quinoa. Then just pop it in the fridge! Easy peasy!

I actually prefer this closer to room temp but it was good right out of the fridge, too. And next time I may try it exactly like she made it, just to see what the balsamic vinegar does with the rest of the flavors.

Enjoy!