Well, it's a good thing one of my New Year's Resolutions wasn't "blogging more," as I would have already failed on that one! Here are just some random bullets to update you of what we've been up to:

* We've been doing pretty good at eating less processed food. We're spending more on groceries, but I feel it's worth it. I've grown quite the vocabulary just in the last month or two regarding things like coconut oil and sucanat (never knew those existed!). If you are interested in reading more about cutting out processed foods, the blog that I have found to have the best information is 100 Days of Real Food. We didn't take the challenge and haven't completely given up all processed food (because I really feel the strictness of that would be incredibly stressful, especially since some things they recommend cooking with are hard to find in our town and are quite expensive for someone on a grad school budget.)

* I'm obsessed with these granola bars. I add mini chocolate chips and walnuts to them. (I know mini chocolate chips aren't "unprocessed food," but it's only 1 cup spread between 15 bars, so I don't feel guilty about having one a day for breakfast.)

* I've tried, really tried to cook some things without sugar (using only natural sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup) and it works for some things (like banana bread and those granola bars), but two things have been major failures: whole wheat blueberry muffins and whole wheat brownies. The whole wheat part of them is not the problem...they were horrible because they were just not sweet enough. I threw the muffins away after Juliette ate one and declared it "nasty" and I forced myself to eat one. However, because I didn't want to throw another thing away after cooking it, I decided to take one for the team and buy a small container of regular ice cream to eat with the brownies, which masks the taste of them. Haha! (I know I totally ruined the healthiness of those by doing that.)

* I wanted to share some links to some recipes I've tried recently (these aren't fancy organic recipes or anything like that...just regular recipes. Like I said, we haven't cut out ALL processed foods): French Dip Sammies (Matt's absolute favorite...I've NEVER had him rave over something I've cooked before like he did over these. A few things to note: I didn't use beer and it didn't affect the tenderness...I just added more beef stock and water. Also, we used provolone cheese instead of cheddar, and don't skip the au jus sauce...that's what makes it so good! We're actually having these again tonight. To make it even better, cut up potatoes, toss in olive oil and sea salt, and bake them to make homemade french fries. (And then dip them in the au jus sauce too!)
           The other week, I was craving some homemade vegetable soup, but being not the greatest cook, I wasn't comfortable just throwing things in the pot and crossing my fingers that it would be good. I found this recipe, though, and decided to give it a try. However, I ended up deciding at the end not to put the ground beef in it, and it was WONDERFUL with corn bread! (Man, I'm starting to get hungry writing this.) Anyway, the next time I make it I'm going to add other vegetables now that I know how it is going to turn out. And I really think the "secret ingredient" gave it a little richer flavor, but it wasn't spicy.

* Last year I had the flu on Valentine's Day and it was probably one of the worst ones I've ever had. I had asked for a box of chocolates and nothing else from Matt, and he ended up getting me a gift card to Sonic because "you can get chocolate from there" (I'm totally throwing him under the bus here!). Anyway, I didn't have the flu this year and I finally got my box of chocolates. (Thank you, Matt!) However, in the past, we've never gotten Juliette anything for Valentine's Day because she always got stuff from daycare and school, and up until this point, she never realized we weren't getting her anything. That all changed this year. She asked where her card was when Matt and I exchanged cards and I told her we didn't get her one because she was going to get a bunch at school. Yesterday, an entire week and a half after Valentine's Day, Juliette burst into tears because we didn't get her a card. So, I felt super guilty and hurriedly made her a homemade card and promised her she could get some clothes for her chipmunk from Build A Bear (I had a coupon!). Twenty-six dollars later, I've learned my lesson. Never again will we not get her a Valentine's Day card and chocolate! (I could have saved twenty bucks if I would have just realized that she was at the age to question us...and that she is clearly my child, because I would have done the same thing!)

* Our church is doing Rick Warren's 40 Days in the Word and it has been great so far. We're in a great small group for it and it is helping us to get into the habit of being in the Word more. When I made my New Year's Resolutions, I didn't realize we'd be doing this, so it worked out great. (I've also been reading Bible stories to Juliette every night, so we're doing good on that part too.)

* I tried to give up Diet Cokes one day. I made it to lunch time and had a pounding headache from the caffeine withdrawal, so I gave in to the Diet Coke. I've yet to try again, although there have been a few days where I have replaced my third Diet Coke of the day with water. I need to do that consistently and then work on replacing the second one before I give up the morning one.

* A week and a half before Mardi Gras we went to a parade where it was 30ish degrees outside and we were freezing. On Mardi Gras Day, we were burning up and I got a sunburn from being outside less than 2 hours. Only in Louisiana...although, I have to say, I've been REALLY enjoying this non-winter weather.

* After Christmas I redecorated Juliette's bedroom. It's still not finished. I just cannot get motivated to go outside and spray paint the few things I need to (possibly because the wind has been crazy, and it's been raining quite a bit). I also need to finish sewing something and haven't gotten around to that either, and it doesn't look like it's happening this weekend either.

* Juliette's been praying for God to "put a baby in my belly"...all on her own prompting. (We haven't really talked about it in front of her.) Last night, she also prayed for God to give her a "good heart." It was so sweet!

Well, that's about it from me. I need to go check on the meat in the crock pot and switch out the laundry. (I've felt like a little Susie Homemaker today...cooking, cleaning, doing laundry. Not that I don't ever do any of that, but usually I don't cram it all into one Saturday!)

Promise to blog again sooner rather than later!