This one's for the boys... and girls.

When reading on Pinterest, you never actually know if some of the linked articles are going to be for a general audience, men, or women. I found this today and thought that after the day I've had, a little information about stress reducing food could do us all a little good. So what if it's from Men's Fitness?

This is 10 Foods to Beat Stress... of course, I'm going to tell you what to do with those foods to make them a little more tasty and family or even party friendly. I picked my favorite five from the list, you can consult the article for more. 

1. Asparagus-- apparently, asparagus is a super food. Now, good luck getting your family and friends to eat this without gagging, especially if it's coming straight from the can.. but if you buy it fresh and grill it in some tin foil and wrapped in bacon, seasoned with a little Tony's seasoning... you've got stress reducing gold at your next cookout. 

2. Avocado-- I LOVE avocado. Love it! But not everyone can just peel and eat it straight like I can. Of course you can always mash it up with some onion for an awesome guacomole, but what you should do is mash it until its spreadable and serve it as a spread for a turkey and tomato sandwich on toasted wheat bread. A healhty sandwich with feel good after effects. 

3. Almonds--these are a good stress buster.. but also a good, healthy, filling snack between meals and post-workout. Almonds are incredibly versatile, but for a healthy yet snazzy set up, grill some shrimp, slice some red onion, cherry tomatoes, pull some broccoli, and get some almond slivers over baby spinach with low-fat raspberry vinegarette dressing. BOOM! (sorry, BOOM! is my spin on BAM! by Emeril.)

4. Spinach-- as I mentioned with the almonds, this makes a great salad. Try baby spinach with shredded mozzarella cheese, bacon bits, fried onion, red onion, and oil and red wine vinegar as the dressing. Hubbers is extremely picky and hates salad, but thanks to a friend, this is the only salad he will eat!

5. Oranges-- my final pick from the list. The citrus smell is enough to send you to Florida via mental image, but the best for oranges goes beyond the carton. Mix up some honey and orange juice and a little orange zest, and rub that on a chicken breast just before grilling. Use what's left of your orange for a snack while you wait for the chicken! Also, orange juice can be added to any smoothie for a quick me up. 

Browse through the list and tell me what you would do to the ingredients! Leave a comment below. 

Keep calm and snack, 

Courtney 

Stay Calm and Go Find A Hobby On Pinterest

My dearest friends...

I'm flippin' exhausted! I had a test tonight that I studied for, I got sick yesterday from that burger I told you about, and to make it all better, the Hubs and I ended up on a road trip for his job last night and we didn't get in until almost midnight.

Did I mention that Mardi massacred Winry's toys, ate the statement from my insurance and possibly peed in my shoe? For shame, Mardi!

I cannot punish her as she will be spayed tomorrow. Of course she has no idea what's about to happen to her, but I don't like the thought of my baby's insides not being, well... inside. 

Figured I'd add this too. Winry, as always, does not want to be left out of the limelight, so she casts her loving little shadow. This was the first picture we attempted to shame Mardi with. 

 On days like this, you need a hobby. Hobbies are therapy, they are a friend, they are a way for you to get alone, blow off steam, de-stress and just unwind. For me, I have two hobbies. Blogging and cooking. Tonight, you will see the best of both of those, because I'm going to hit you hard with some blogs as I need to unwind. 

But first, back to hobbies. Pinterest has a ton of hobby ideas, and I have found one particular board that I often use to see how other people make use of their hobbies. Go to that board for a little information and inspiration regarding hobbies. Do yourself a favor. Prevent gray hair and get a hobby! 

 A super student, a super spouse, a super homemaker will not be productive without some quality personal time. When you find a hobby, do it for you. This is the time for you to be blissfully selfish! And now, back to my hobby...

Love always, 

Courtney 

I Don't Do It Alone

Last night I had a moment of frustration. The laundry was done but we'd never actually gotten to the point of putting it away, the dog made a "mistake" in the carpet and the cat was having a great time terrorizing the dog. I had homework piled on top of my desk and halfway up the wall, and Jeremy and I were both just mentally and physically exhausted.

The homework thing had really gotten to me. At times I feel as if all the chaos in my house would not be there if I had not gone to graduate school. I needed to vent so before collapsing from exhaustion in my bed as Jeremy set up the weather radio, this is the conversation that happened with a friend that's out of town:

Me: I can't wait to see something other than this pavement jungle. I gotta get outta here. 

BFF: Yea no doubt lol

Me: I just need a break

BFF: I know it, you've been kicking all kinds of butt lately. 

Me: Well it comes with a price, a hard one. I'm tired. I feel like I having been showing much attention to my loved ones lately, the housework is lacking, my thoughts are scattered and Jeremy's bored. 

BFF: It's all going to be worth it, you know that, right? 

Me: I know... but nothing is really more important to me than a happy home and a happy husband. 

BFF: I know.. and what I also know is you being as successful as  you are and can be and will be makes him happy. He's proud of you.. we both are. 

Me: I know.. but I have equal pride in you guys and I fail to show it. 

BFF: Fail? Who said you do that? 

Me: I just don't feel like I show you guys how much I appreciate you. It's the little things, ya know? It means the world to me that Jeremy reminds me to eat breakfast (mornings are hectic, I often forget causing my hypoglycemia to kick into overdrive) and buys me Cadbury Cream eggs to surprise me. It warmed my heart when I fell asleep today and you reminded me to take my glasses off so they wouldn't break.  I love it when I cook and you and Hubbers fight over what's left. This is my own little family, you see? And I'd do anything I can for it. 

BFF: I know you would.. and we would do the same. You may not think you show appreciation but he sees it, I see it. You cook dinner after work, help him clean house after 10+ hours at school. It adds up. You're a great student, amazing wife, and the best friend/sister I could ask for. 

Me: Thank you ;) but I couldn't do it without help. 

BFF: Sure you could, you just don't have to :)

Do you see why I bust my butt so hard? My husband, my family, my friends.. they all support me like this. They. Are. Amazing. But I feel like I need to clear up a little detail.

I'm not a maid, nor am I treated like one. I clean house and cook for my husband because I want to. If I didn't, he'd do it, and he has when I failed. But I feel like my purpose as HIS wife, not just a wife, but HIS wife, is to do what I can everyday to show him how much I appreciate his hard work and how insanely in love I am with him. I'm not held with chains to the stove everyday. Jeremy and I actually split the chores.

Gallup did an interesting article on how spouses share the workload. You should check it out! You may find that it's not as black and white as most would think. It would make you see that the old fashioned wife and husband scenario is still the same.... and completely different at the same time.

If I cook, he washes dishes. If I sweep, he vacuums. If I walk the dog, he cleans the litter box. I clean the tubs, he does the counters. WE. SPLIT. EVERYTHING.

I couldn't be a super spouse without my super spouse! We meet in the middle and it makes us a team of Super Spouses.

Now I've given you a very deep look into my home life. What do you think? How do you share the chores? Do you ever get asked about how you feel regarding being the homemaker? Leave a comment below and we'll discuss it.

Be powerful, be precious, be patient.

Love as always,
Courtney

A Lot Has Happened... Catching up Part 1

For the most part, I'll make this short.

After my fourth post, I suffered from a ruptured ovarian cyst. It was painful, it was sucky, and I was off my feet for a little while.

One week to the day later, I went to the doctor thinking I had the flu. It wasn't the flu--it was sinusitis, bronchitis, and an ear infection in each ear. While still hurting from the cyst. Again, that knocked me off my feet.

**Author note. If you take Sudafed at 9pm, don't think you're going to sleep. I didn't. Instead, I watched two seasons of Community within 24 hours and then went comatose for about 12 hours.

After dealing with all that, catching up on school and work and financially recovering from not having my insurance yet (the cyst ruptured the day my insurance was supposed to activate), I fell away from the social media sphere for a while.

But I'm back...BOO-YAH!

I've learned in all this that blogging takes work, it takes time, it takes dedication--but it can't take you! Honestly, in order to remain at my Super-Student, Super-Spouse status, I've had to back away from the computer and focus on myself. Granted, this wasn't a very convenient thing, but when is everything convenient. Don't worry, I'll wait.

When I decided it was time to get back to the blogging sphere, I used {never}homemaker blog for inspiration. The post that's dedicated to bloggers keeps me going, and I look at it frequently, as should you.

I'm going to spend the next couple of blogs catching up on all that's been missing. I have a couple of new recipes I tried, I've danced (sorta), I've cried (you'll see why) and we adopted a puppy. So much has happened in our lives that I can't get it all in here. So stick around for the other parts of Catching Up.

As always,
Courtney

When All the Hats Get Heavy...You Have to Rest Your Neck!

So yesterday I spent 12 straight hours at work. I conducted meetings, prepared for more meetings, recorded my radio show, ordered new print cartridges... I even had time to squeeze in a class! With days like that, Super Spouses, the hats get pretty heavy. You start to give out, you're cranky, and before you know it you've had the "WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!" moment. Though these moments come in high stress, they are highly avoidable. Here's how I avoid the ugly stress out snapping:

1. Delegate. I'm an Executive Producer of a radio show. If I had to prep the host, interview the guests, do the booking, record the liners, meet with the newsreaders, reporters, GM, and record my show all on my own, I'd go nuts. I have a great team that I have to choose to delegate tasks to. I also delegate at home. After a long day and a hot supper, Jeremy does the dishes. I'm not ashamed to ask him because I can't handle everything. Neither can you, Super Spouse.

2. Investigate. Work smarter, not harder. If you investigate the different ways through a situation, you may find a way to prioritize and order so that you see your "to-do" list as a "let's get it done" list.

3. Rationalize. There are 24 hours in a day. You spend 6-8 at work, 2-3 cooking, 2-3 studying, 1-2 on housework. That's a potential 16 hours gone. You can't do it all today, so figure out what can be shortened, compressed, and delayed.

4. Rest. Do it. Take that shower, read that book, tell the hubby to take the calls, put down the textbooks. If you don't, you risk burn out or worse. Treat yourself so that you can treat the people around you :)

Check out the {Never}homemaker. She has even more tips about how to stay healthy and some nutrition tips to help out. I'm following that particular link pretty closely myself. Stay strong, stay healthy, stay Super!

As always,
Courtney