20 Years

Had you been in my kitchen a few days ago,  you would have witnessed this conversation...

Me:  "Oh my gosh!  Jay!  I just realized that on the 21st, we will have been married for 20 years!"

Jay:  "I know!  Wait. We were married on the 21st?  What????  I thought we were married on the April 24th."

Me:  "No, I'm pretty sure it was the 21st."

Jay:   "Oh."  (Puzzled expression on his face.)

Me:  "Wait a minute...was it on the 24th????  I seriously do not know."

Jay:  "I have no idea."   (We both start laughing at our lameness.)

Kyra:  (Yelling from the living room.)  "My birthday is on October 21st.  Maybe you are thinking of my birthday."

Jay:   "Hey, I know how to figure it out.  I put it on my Google calendar!"

And so we figured it out.  Young and clueless, we married on April 24, 1993 in Kalispell, MT.  It is nothing short of a miracle that we are still together and still actually like each other.  Really.  We've persevered and I can say in all honesty that Jay is my best friend.  Rarely does a day go by that he doesn't crack me up.  Laughter and prayer...the 2 most important ingredients in the recipe for a successful marriage.

Happy 20 years, JP!  I just want to take a minute to apologize for throwing that Timberland hiking boot at your head that day about 19 years ago.  You have to admit, I may throw like a girl, but I only missed your head by about an inch.  Impressive!  :-)

Moving On

It's official.  The Pierson family is leaving Montana. I realize that we tried this a couple of years ago, to no avail. This time it's for real.  I promise. Jay got a new job near Katy, TX and we'll be heading down there at the end of this month.  It's happened so quickly that we are in a bit of a daze and a teeeeeny bit overwhelmed, but doing well nonetheless. We asked God to go before us and make a way if this was His will for our family and I can't even begin to tell you the amazing things He has done. I shall save that for a future post.

As I sit here typing this, we are in the throes of a nasty spring storm full of rain/sleet/snow.  It certainly makes the leaving a bit easier for me, I have to admit. I will not miss 9 months of winter.  Nope...not at all. I look forward to not having cold feet.  It will be a new and lovely thing to live in a place where one can actually have a winter garden!  I'm quite stoked to learn all about gardening in South Texas and have already contacted several CSA's, Farmer's Markets, and organic farms. Priorities, don't you know. ;)

Montana is a beautiful, rugged place to live.  We will miss our amazing views of the Spanish Peaks and the Bridger Mountains.  We'll miss the spring and summer hiking. Montana summers can be a most wonderful thing. Most of all, of course, we will miss the people we love.  In the past 19 years we've been blessed with amazing friends who have become our family and it hurts my heart to have to say goodbye.  For now, however, I'm not going to think about that. I choose to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and think about that tomorrow.

Now it's time to get back to cleaning out, sorting, and packing.

Love to you all!

Simplified a Bit

I'm a big believer in keeping things as simple as possible. As I was making myself a smoothie today, I was thinking about how I've simplified that whole process. I know myself...if it ain't simple, it ain't gonna happen. At least not for long. I am much more apt to stick it out and keep doing something if the process to make it happen isn't complicated. Can you relate?

Case in point--the smoothie. When I first started drinking green smoothies, I put different powders and things in them. I chopped. I sliced. Now I ascribe to the KISS method when I throw my smoothies together in the Vitamix...Keep It Simple, Stupid.  (Click here to see my earlier post on green smoothies.)  By uncomplicating the process, there is an even greater likelihood that I won't skip it. 

In case you are wondering, making a smoothie now goes something like this:

-In the Vitamix, dump in a couple of tablespoons or so of chia seeds, pour in some homemade coconut milk. Let it sit while I do something else. Ideally this something else would be a workout, but it could also be reading a book.

-After my workout (or book reading), I grab greens out of the fridge and fill up the mixer with them. This part is fast since I usually do try to prewash the greens as I'm not fond of this step and would rather do it all at once as opposed to every single day.  So I suppose a part of simplifying is planning ahead.

-This is it, usually. Easy, fast, simple. If I want to add more to the smoothie, I do. If not, that's good, too.

When I do add other things, it is usually fruit, like blueberries or a banana, or possibly kefir. Sprouts are also a great addition, as is avocado or beets. I'm not a fan of most protein powders, since most of them contain colors, sweeteners, GMOs, etc.  However, if you do use protein powder here's couple of brands that I personally think are great...Sun Warrior and Raw Power.  Both of these are vegan, organic and non GMO, which is nice. (Don't forget that the point here is that you can add other things, but you don't have to. It can be easy and simple when it needs to be, more complicated when you feel like it or have time.)

What do you think?  Do you have the same struggle?  Do you ever start strong, with every intention of continuing, then life gets hectic and you get tired and all you really want to do is pour a glass of wine or a mug of coffee and eat an entire bar of dark chocolate?  To be honest, there are days when I might do just that.  In fact, I must confess to you that my dinner this past Friday night was 4 Newman O's, a glass of red wine, and a documentary on Netflix.  Don't judge me--Shelby and Jay were out of town, Kyra was working, and Maddy was hanging out with a friend. I was NOT going to cook.  Okay...so maybe cookies and wine weren't the best choice, but I did enjoy them.  AND I did have a green smoothie earlier in the day. I'm pretty sure that cancels out the wine and cookies. Doesn't it?   I think this proves my point, actually!  Had I not simplified the smoothie making process, I likely wouldn't have made one and well, my lunch could very possibly have been similar to my dinner.  Saved by the prewashing of the greens!  Whew!

Remember to KISS and carry on!