The Facts

My sweet little friend Erin did this little 'facts' survey she ran across on another blog and since I'm sitting here watching HGTV I thought it seemed like a great little way to pass some time.

FACT: In the picture below I'm wearing two 'under' layers, my husband's coverall's, a sweatshirt, jacket, infinity scarf and I was wearing two pair of gloves prior to beginning laying brick (they proved to inhibit my brick laying skills). You may be thinking, who cares? Well, apparently it's unacceptable in early October in Texas. According to my husband, this is nonsense for 55 to 60 degree weather. So, it is indeed a fact, I'm not a cold lover. Anything less than 78 degrees gives me chills.

FACT: I cry like a little baby every Tuesday night when Parenthood comes on. I LOVE IT! Two weeks ago my husband sat down and watched it with me, I should have loved the interest he'd taken in watching a show he isn't a fan of with me (sheer boredom I'm sure) but instead I found myself upset that I couldn't cry a big fat ugly cry like I do every Tuesday. ;)

FACT: I hate olives! Really, I love pretty much every other food, but olives have been known to ruin my entire day if my mouth comes in contact with one.

FACT: Tonight at my first official BodyPump class the instructor told me I had great form. I totally let this go to my head, never mind I probably should have increased the weight on the bar on most of the exercises. Whoops! ;)

FACT: Butter is my weakness. I pray that someday it will become socially acceptable to just eat butter out of the tub/by the stick.

FACT: This past weekend at my friend Erin's birthday weekend bash in College Station I realized I'm a grown up, and I liked it! Nothing says getting older like watching 18 to 21 year old's make a flat out fool of themselves and thinking, "What would their mother think?" Or not having more than a few drinks because you don't have time for a hangover. GROWN UP!

FACT: I think I'm seriously the funniest person in the world, but only if it's with my husband. Either I keep an awesome hidden talent or my husband is a very good sport.

Goulash!

The past few weeks have flown by it seems. 

Can you believe it's officially Fall already? Everyone knows about my love for Fall! If you don't, you can read about it here, here and here. :)

It is without a doubt my favorite part of the year.

Moving on to the recent happenings in The O'Neal home.

First up, renovations continue and most days we love it. I'd even say about 90% of the time we enjoy it. Of course, you have that 10% where it can be completely overwhelming remodeling, decorating and taking care of a 55 year old home. I'm not complaining though, the improvements are starting to show and it feels good to know that Daniel and I are the ones that made them happen. We've been putting our DIY-ness (is that a word? probably not?) to the test.

Last weekend my handsome husband and I went toilet shopping. Woo hoo! We know how to spice up a Saturday night! Two reasons why we decided we needed a new toilet: The one in the guest bathroom was not level and if you're gonna have to take it off, we're getting a new one. And.... using an old toilet in your own home is gross. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any before and after pictures. Meaning, I don't feel like getting up and taking an after picture. 

Here's Daniel though studying all of "the porcelain throne" specs.

 And here he is after a long day of heavy toilet lifting and installation. The good news, he did an amazing job and I'm so proud of my DIY husband! ;)

I on the other hand, have spent a lot of time working on floors. Parquet. No way! I hate parquet floors, especially when they've covered up hardwood. But taking the adhesive off of hardwood floors is something I've grown to hate even more. 

The below picture is what I found when removing the parquet flooring. Work.

After lots of floor stripper, a razor blade and woman-power I can proudly say the floors are getting there. I'm the queen of bad pictures, but if you look in the picture you can see that there isn't much black ugly adhesive left. Amen!

 

On Monday, Daniel and I were in for a real treat. As I was making dinner I noticed that people were parked across the street from our house in lawn chairs. We know our lives aren't that interesting so we figured there was some sort of parade coming down Buffalo Street. So we grabbed a few Blue Moon's and went to sit on the tailgate to watch.... the Canton Eagles homecoming parade. The beers then seemed a little inappropriate, but we were at our own home. As we watched the parade pass by our house (only photo I have below, I will start to do better I promise) I couldn't help but calculate how old today's class of 2013 high school seniors were when I graduated in 2004. Man, those 3rd graders sure have grown. I decided that little front yard outing just made me feel old. Lol

Husband watching the parade in the front yard.

What next you ask? Well, yesterday morning Daniel and I woke up excited to build this couch table below that we wanted to turn into a TV stand for  the living room.

I'm not quite sure what happened, but instead we decided to start the kitchen remodel. Wow. So far since yesterday we have successfully torn off the bar top, removed lots of drywall and the major reno this weekend was moving the oven outlet and electricity (easier said than done) to another wall in the kitchen.

Below is where the oven used to be. It also showcases the cabinets that are in the middle of getting redone which is why the top two cabinets to the right are white.

Here is Daniel demolishing the bar top, although he looks pretty calm in this picture. If you look closely you can see a little bit of the living room re-do behind him. I still need to post our final result but I think the wall below probably needs to come out first. 

We are completely changing things up in the kitchen so if we invite you over to dinner, don't expect it to be pretty yet. ;)

The kitchen had a completely blank wall. I mean there was nothing on it when we moved in. So I decided to add an old dresser there for now just to take up some space until we got things rearranged. So minus the lack of tidiness in this photo this is what it looked like. Nothing special still.

We decided it made more sense to move the oven on this wall, but because we can't leave well enough alone. We decided to take all the drywall off of this wall too to make it extra reno-y.

So for today this is our end result. A working oven on a new wall! Thank you Jesus for a husband that is all about learning how to do everything ourselves. 

Please understand that I know as a reader you're probably thinking, "Seriously, you guys really messed that room up." I promise this was a huge accomplishment in the kitchen re-do. It now allows us to knock down walls and cabinets that we don't want and add cabinets where we need them. 

So this picture below happens to have victory written all over it for me. :)

And because I found this recipe quite fitting for this post, not to mention it's what we had for dinner and what is cooking in that big pot on the stove.

 Paula Dean's Goulash Recipe

As always things were changed. We halved the meat. Used one onion. No soy sauce. And less salt in general. It was a great easy meal that makes a lot and fills you up! I did have to call it homemade hamburger helper though because Daniel thinks the word goulash is less than appetizing. :)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 cups water
• 1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 2 cups dried elbow macaroni

Directions

In a Dutch oven, saute the ground beef and ground turkey over medium-high heat, until no pink remains. Break up meat while sauteing; spoon off any grease. Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are tender about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House Seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.

Thanks for hangin' in on this 'all over the place post!

365 days

One year ago today I was anxious, nervous and excited to become your wife. I was sure that when those big barn doors opened up I was probably going to be sick. But as the doors opened and I saw you standing there my nerves disappeared, an extreme calm washed through me, and there was no one but you and me.

You and me. There's no one else in this world that I'd want to do life with. This past year has been the best year of my life. Each day I love you more. It's even become common for me to tell you, "I'm not sure why but I totally love you more today. It's like my love grew."

As life tends to be, this past year has put choices and challenges in our lives but I'd say that cliche phrase, "The first year's the hardest" didn't apply to us. And if it was hard, I didn't notice.

I realize how much I truly love you when I find myself over the top bragging about how wonderful you are to complete strangers. I know you totally hate when I brag on you but I'm so incredibly proud of the man that you are that I have a very hard time not letting the world know.

I STILL get butterflies calling you my husband. I hope that never becomes something I don't get excited about.

I'm truly enjoying every minute of this time in our lives. I wish I could slow it down sometimes. The nights and weekends go by too fast and work just gets in the way. There's no one else in this world I'd want to spend each day with. I feel like my life was nothing special until I met you and this 1st year of marriage is just the beginning.

Thank you for being loving. caring. strong. determined. grateful. and completely perfect for me.

It's been nothing short of happily ever after...

I love you Daniel Chase. 

A Quick Recap

What have we been up to? Giving our new home lots of love!

Our house has lots of things for us to put our own touch on.

So we spend at least one night a weekend at the good ole Home Depot.

It's now common to walk out with a full buggy or two and in this case below, a wheelbarrow full of home goodness.

It's also not uncommon to come home and find renovations started without me. Like the one below.

Daniel decided while I was at work to start ripping up the concrete porch. (In his defense, it needed to be done.) But it's always a nice surprise when I pull in the drive to see what he's been up to.

Then there are great finds like this one that make up for it. Daniel found this antique dresser at First Monday a few weeks back and we loved it! It's now the new home for our TV in the living room. For half off, we couldn't resist! (Excuse the paint mess, this will be a given for a while)

Just a little sneak peak at the living room colors. I'm using all the colors in this fabric. I'm in the process of making our roman shades out of this now. I have four out of five made for the living room and can't wait to do a big reveal post when we finish with the living room which I hope is in the next week. :)

So how do be stay energized with all these home renovations? Smoothies! I used to make them all the time but I fell off the wagon a while back. But I think I now have a fool proof system to having an awesome smoothie in the mornings.

On Sundays, I cut up all of our fruits lately that's been about 7 bananas, 2 cartons of strawberries (I think I'll be getting 3 this next week), 1 whole pineapple, and fresh spinach.

I wish I had a better recipe for our smoothies but I pretty much just wing it.

A handful of strawberries

one banana or handful of pineapple chunks

(Daniel doesn't eat bananas, but I prefer them)

a handful of spinach

a handful of oatmeal

I put all but the oatmeal in individual freezer bags.

I put the bags in the freezer.

This normally makes 14 smoothies, a weeks worth for both of us.

In the mornings I grab two bags out of the freezer.

I add in some milk. I'm not sure how much. I just eyeball it.

I'm sorry this recipe isn't very precise.

Anyway, I'm now a smoothie-aholic! I seriously get UPSET if I think I might not get a smoothie in the morning. The smoothies have now taken the place of coffee for me. This is probably a good thing since these pack a lot more nutrition.

So that's the short/jumbled version of what we've been up to. I hope to post about the redone living room within  the next week. It feels so nice to be close to having our first room almost done!

A Long Time Coming.

Canton, TX  Photo by Me

I feel like we've been on quite the roller coaster ride as we searched for a place to call home these past few months. Daniel and I often joked that our decision on where to live changed just as much as we changed our underpants.

We explored almost every possible place we could think of. Some nights we'd sit down to dinner and say, "Let's just forget it all. Give away all of our things, move to the beach and find work when we get there." Other times, we'd think we were crazy and we should just 'tough it out' in Dallas for the next few years. We wouldn't have to worry about all the stress that comes with 'new'.

The hearts a funny thing though. It knows where it will be happy. And both of ours have been screaming for the past year that it just wasn't in DFW. We do have a lot to be thankful for though. And if I'm being real, I'm even thankful for Dallas. It will always be the first place my new husband and I called home.

But.....there is just something about East Texas. It can't be explained really except that it's home.

About a month ago a few opportunities came our way and through a long process we have been blessed with the option to be close to home.

Canton, TX. It's just a little over 20 miles from Athens (our hometown) and it's where we now call home. A couple of months or so ago we made the announcement to our family and close friends that we'd be moving to Tyler, TX but there were some changes and we couldn't be happier to call Canton home.









When we found out we would be moving to a small town I instantly thought of my friend Erin's post about a year ago. Unlike Erin, Daniel and I are from a small town so we do know what to expect I guess, but I think initially it will be much different. We too will be living in a town without a Starbucks, Target or Jason's Deli within about a 25 mile radius of us. And you know what, I don't think I'll mind.

We've talked a lot of what we will be gaining instead of giving up. Small towns offer community. A place where people watch out for each other. A place where walking into a restaurant or store means you WILL see someone you know. A small town allows us to be close to home instead of across town for work. A small town gives support. For us, it is a place for us and our (distant) future family to enjoy the simple things and appreciate them.

Canton has a population of about 3,500 people and has just grown by two.

The few weeks before we left Dallas I had been having a hard time sleeping at night and was having a hard time pin-pointing what it was that was suddenly waking me up in the middle of the night. My heart was anxious and nervous. All those feelings were instantly taken away though as we pulled into Canton knowing it was going to be our home. I suddenly felt relief and my heart was overwhelmed with the feeling of home.

I'd be lying if I didn't say the whole moving thing hadn't made me a little emotional. I find myself driving or sitting outside on the front porch and becoming extremely appreciative for everything and shedding a few tears of pure joy. It's true. You can't appreciate home until you have left.

So as we start this new life journey there is one main thing we will be working on and looking for. And this is simplicity. We want to work to live, not live to work. Enjoy all the time we possibly can together and with our family and friends. We want to make a difference in the place we call home.

Stay tuned for my next posts...

Our new home. :)
Renovations.
Living in a small town again.

I'm sure you may have noticed a difference in the blog name and style change. I think Victoria-ville was quite outdated since I've been living in O'Neal-ville for almost a year now. ;) Daniel and I are going to do our best to document all of our DIY renovations on the home we bought and are looking forward to sharing this home journey!

Butter Business

It's been awhile since we went to the store and brought home margarine. I really never did a whole lot of research into butter or margarine. I just know that butter is more natural and tastes better. That was good enough for me. 

Recently I've been reading a few articles though about margarine and they made me sick to my stomach to think that I was ever regularly eating this 'plastic'.

I think this article does the best job of explaining in pretty basic terms.

Butter Versus Margarine

You can just Google 'butter vs. margarine' or 'truth about margarine' and find all kinds of enlightening articles.

"However, margarine often contains poor-quality, refined, artificially saturated vegetable oil.  It also contains harmful trans-fatty acids, and often residues of toxic metals such as nickel and cadmium.  It does not contain many nutrients at all.

                  Butter, by contrast, is a natural food and one of the best sources of important fat-soluble vitamins.  You will pay more for butter, but nutritionally and for its purity, it is well worth it."

 Most store bought butters are just fine (I always read the label just in case) but I decided to try my hand at making butter this weekend and it turned out surprisingly well. 

So well in fact, that I will be making our butter from here on out! This was seriously one of the easiest things I have ever made. I do have a kitchen-aid mixer that we got from my in-laws which may be a huge reason why this was so easy.But still, I felt like a pioneer woman!

This is the recipe I used. 

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream (I used organic whipping cream)

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions

 Pour cream into a food processor or blender. Process for 10 minutes, or until the butter separates. Strain off the liquid. Season to taste with salt if you like. Press butter into a small bowl with the back of a spoon to further remove liquid. 

It really was that simple. I do have a few tips if you do decide to make your own butter though. The mixture will start to get really thick right before it separates. That's when you should watch it closely because once is separates the liquid (buttermilk) will start to jump out of the mixing bowl as the butter curds form. And I didn't use a spoon to remove the liquid. I just used some cheesecloth and wrapped the butter curds in it and squeezed out all of the extra buttermilk in the sink. 

It's true. Everything is better homemade. The taste of this butter was amazing! You can also add any spice you'd like. You could make a cinnamon sugar butter or garlic butter, which I will probably do next time. :)

Larabars!

As I mentioned in a previous post I've come to love Larabar's. I also mentioned that I would be finding a recipe for them since I love them so much.

Well, it didn't take long after that post for me to find one and I made my first batch last Thursday (the first batch was not too hot since I didn't use dates). But by the second batch I got the hang of it and I have to say that Daniel and I love the ones that I've made a 100X more than the actual Larabar's! I'm not sure how that happened but I'm glad it did since it's much more cost efficient.

I found a website called Damy Health and it has tons of recipes for these. So far we've made two batches of the key lime pie, one peanut butter cookie, and one chocolate coconut macaroon. Don't worry, we haven't ate them all yet. :) I made three batches on Sunday night for Daniel and I this week to take for snacks.

I'm constantly looking for things for us (mainly Daniel) to take to work to have something healthy to eat. I'd have to say that the one thing that makes me feel like an awful wife is if he goes to work without a lunch and snacks. I know...I know. He's a grown man who can feed himself. And he's never once gripped or complained if he doesn't have something to eat from home. I just feel like it's my job for us to eat healthy even if we aren't at home. I have mixed feelings about eating out anyway since you never know what's in the food. I like to think of it as limiting our unknown food intake. ;)

Anyway....

Please know that these bars are healthy in moderation. They have good fat, sugar, calories in them. Your body needs all of those things just from the right foods. This is not a food that will aid in weightloss, it is a healthy all natural snack.

When I was visiting my mom on Friday I let her try one and she was curious to know what was in them and seemed to like them as well! When we were eating one I said, "These are pretty much like a candy bar!" My mom looked at me like I was delusional! So I'm not sure if the lack of sugar in my diet makes these things seem amazing, if I'm crazy, or if they are actually as good as I think they are. But my husband loves them too, so that must be a good sign.

Please give them a try for yourself! They are SO easy to make and such a great alternative to all those other fruit/snack bars that 'claim' to be all natural. 

Here are the three recipes I've made so far but the website above has many more.

Key Lime Pie

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup Seedless/Pitted whole Dates
• dash of sea salt
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/3 shredded coconut

Peanut Butter Cookie

• 1/2 cup Seedless/Pitted whole Dates
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup peanuts

 Chocolate Coconut Macaroon

• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup Seedless/Pitted whole Dates
• 3 tbsp dark chocolate
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut

Clarity.

Besides my husband being stuck in Dallas studying for an upcoming test, the weekend was close to perfect.

Friday night when I got into Athens my mom and I got to go eat dinner and catch up. We had a tough time deciding where to eat with all the options in town. Applebee's or Ochoa's? Since my mom had gone with friends to Ochoa's for lunch, Applebee's it was. We walked in and while waiting for a table I listened and watched everyone as they passed by. Everyone knows everyone in our town and that's pretty clear at the local Applebee's. ;)

On Saturday morning I got up early to head to Newton (where my Daddy lives). When I showed up he was outside welding/building fence. I've never known this man to sit still. I've also never known him to not do something on his own. That is one of the biggest things I admire about my Dad, he's a hard worker. That's something that I also admire in my husband. They may be different as night and day in some ways, but working hard isn't one of them.

My stepmom and I spent all day outside cheering my Dad on and occasionally helping when he'd let us. So we grabbed some lawn chairs under a shade tree, sipped on some sweet tea and ate watermelon. Perfect Saturday I think.

It's been such an amazing experience getting to see my Dad turn a piece of land into a home. When he bought this 100 acres about two years ago it was nothing but trees. Now it's cleared off, has a house, roads, he's building a lake, and as you can see above, the fence is coming along. That may not sound like a lot in two years but when you do the majority of it yourself with a little help from family and friends it really is a lot in a short period of time. I'm proud of him. And I can tell how happy it makes him to have this place to call home.

On Saturday evening I took a walk on the land and snapped a quick picture of the sunset. Not because it was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen but because I found myself really appreciating that moment.

As I looked around me surrounded by everything God made I felt overwhelmingly joyful. As Daniel and I like to say, I got a 'heart jump'. That moment when something makes you so happy your heart does a flip. And at the very same time I found myself wanting to cry because I don't feel like this more often where we live. If I needed anymore clarity that I was not made for the city life, this was it. 

We are still working on our next move and waiting on answers about jobs but everyday is a day closer to getting those answers and we are thankful for all the prayers that have been given.

Happy Friday!

I listen to a lot of music! In the car, at work, working out, cooking dinner. And my choice stations are about 99.9% country. It's not surprising when it's what you grew up on.

I enjoy listening to the older country I grew up on but occasionally a song or two comes out in new country that I find myself loving. 

So here are my two favorite songs below that I can't stop listening to right now! They make me happy!

Speaking of country I'm heading home to Athens after work today to spend tonight with the mom and then set out early in the morning to head to the farm to see my Daddy. I honestly feel giddy with excitement to get out of this town and see the ones I love. Daniel has to stay in Dallas to study for a test. I'd say I wouldn't rub it in that I get to enjoy a little farm & family time but that's just silly. ;)

 Happy Friday!

One Month Clean.

Today I have gone one month (sort of) without refined sugar. I say sort of because I'm always going to  have my Saturday cheat day where I want a big glass of sweet tea (or 2) and a bowl of ice cream or a cupcake. 

I know this seems like something small. Giving up sugar. I mean people have real problems that don't involve over indulging in something that is meant to be a treat. But I am proud to say that it is no longer my problem. 

I think my favorite find throughout my no sugar journey has been the LARABAR when I really feel like I want something sweet. They are so delicious and sweetened with dates instead of sugar. Not to mention, they have only a few ingredients in them. I can also pronounce and know all the ingredients that they contain. My next mission is to find a good recipe for them.

All in all, I rarely crave sugar anymore. Except on Saturdays, but I'm sure that's just because I know it's ok to have it then. 

So one month down.. a lifetime to go. ;)