Blogger Men Tell All - June

What is your favorite summer treat?

Hubs: I dunno. Probably smoothies.
Me: Why smoothies
Hubs: they are healthy and they are good. Lets you get your fruit servings in.
Me:You can also sneak in some veggies too.
Hubs: yep.

If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go and why?
Hubs: France.
Me: Why.
Hubs: I've always wanted to go to France, not sure why. I've heard good things about it and that they have good food.
Me: mm hmm
Hubs: Plus there's stuff like the Eiffel Tower.

Do you have a favorite song that says “summer” to you? What is it?
Hubs: What?..... no. Not that I recall.
We: So there's no song that you know that feels like a summer type song.
Hubs: Well you could throw the Hokey Pokey in there. Shake it all about. And whatever the rest of the words are.
Me: *after stiffling my laughter* Seriously, though. The Hokey Pokey?
Hubs: It's the only song I could think of right off.

What summer project are you hoping to accomplish before fall?
Hubs: Are you laughing cause you think I'm going to say the bathroom?
Me: hahahaha, yes!
Hubs: Well, yeah. That would be nice.
Me: We're about half-way there.


Me: Anything else you'd like add?
Hubs: Cleveland sucks!
Me: Huh
Hubs: The NBA finals. I think they're rigged.
Me: How so?
Hubs: It's just weird how all 6 games were blowouts. And game seven just happened to be close and they made about $13 million in revenue off that game. Just seems fishy to me.
Me: Oh.


He never disappoints with these. Ever.

Linking up with Becca Dorr for Blogger Men Tell All

Homemade (sorta Paleo) Chocolate Covered Fruit and Nut Clusters

When I tried (and failed) to follow the paleo diet, I came across the wonderful chocolate alternative that is almond bark. Nuts were a common snack that I liked, but I craved something sweet. Per the usual, I started experimenting in the kitchen. And BOOM, these tasty clusters were born!

What You Need:

Chocolate flavored Almond Bark
Nuts of choice
Dried fruits of choice
Sea Salt (or a salt grinder)

I'm not giving measurements for this, because it really just depends on how much you want to make. This recipe requires some eyeballing of portions and preferences of tastes.

Tools:

Large microwave safe bowl
Spoon
Aluminum foil

Prep:

On a flat surface lay out a length aluminum foil or you can cover a cookie sheet with foil. If you don't use a cookie sheet, you want to make sure that you won't need the space for anything else for at least an hour.

Steps:

Put several blocks of the almond bark in the bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute if needed. You want the bark to be all melted. Once it is, you can pour in your nuts and dried fruits, then mix until they are well covered. 

Spoon small clusters onto the prepared foil space or cookie sheet and sprinkle sea salt on top. Leave them to harden for at least an hour.

You do need to store them in sealed container, but they don't need to be refrigerated.

And there you have it! Chocolate Covered (sorta paleo) Fruit and Nut Clusters!

These are perfect when you just need a little something to pacify your sweet tooth, and not totally undo all the hard work you've done eating healthy. And because they don't need refrigeration, you can slip a baggie of them in your purse for a snack on the go!

Have you ever cooked with almond bark before? How'd it go?

A Blessing in Disguise

I never thought I would say this, but right this moment, my body's uncooperative attitude about baby making is a bit of a blessing in disguise. You read that right. A blessing in disguise. 

No, we're not giving up. We still want a baby of our own very much. However, summer is usually a slower period at the company where Hubs works, and normally it's not too bad for him, so he could still get in the hours he needed. This summer it's bad. For everyone. We won't be standing in line at the Food Pantry, but there won't be any excess for eating out, movies, or various other things. Just the essentials and stuff to complete the bathroom reno.  

God knew hard times were headed our way, so he pushed the pause button on our baby journey. While I was certainly not happy about it at the time, I understand now. He did lead us to our wonderful doctor a couple of months ago, and after a lot of thought and prayer, we have decided to begin medicated cycles to help my body remember what it was built for. Luckily the medications are super affordable for us, even during this slow period. So, here's hoping He pushes play, and we finally get our two pink lines.

If I had fallen pregnant earlier in the year, I'm almost certain we wouldn't be as comfortable as we are going into the summer season. After all, a lot goes into housing a tiny human in your body for 40 weeks and then getting a house ready for baby to join the outside world. We are prepared for doing all of that, when the time comes though. 

And it will come, in His time.

Have you ever experienced something like this?