Monday, March 26, 2012

Nom, Nom!!!


Isn't this the most ridiculous...and awesome bib ever?! It's true. It is ridulously awesome! Not only does it velcro around his neck, but also around his legs. There ain't no food gettin' on the Ky man. hehe. Thanks, Jen, for this contraption. It's a new fave. 

Ky loves to eat, man! He  gets upset if he sees someone else eating something and he has nothing to shovel into his mouth! There's a reason why he's seriously close to Keshlyn's weight! He had mashed potatoes for the first time today. I thought he was never going to stop grunting for more. His chubby little cheeks and grin just make me want to bite his face they look so edible! :)

So Ky and I have a couple of things in common. 1. Kyden- He wears a bib. Me- I should wear a bib. I'm messy.
2. Kyden- He loves food so much that he grunts. When he gets it, he pounds it. Me- I love food so much that I also make weird noises. Grunts of desire aren't so cute once you're not a chubby little baby anymore. Hmmm.... When I get my food, something in my brain tells me I will never eat again and so I scarf. Really too fast. I just think the whole "mom" thing is the reason I eat so fast now. Or. Maybe I'm just a pig.
So what am I cooking up in this kitchen while being healthy? A couple of ideas:

1. Cabbage Casserole. Ok, so don't turn up your noses yet. Shannon would have never eaten cabbage before and I coaxed him into trying this the first time I made it. It is on our menu board and we both request it often. It's from the chefs of The Biggest Loser. There is some serious magic in this recipe because if you look at the ingredient list there's nothing to it! Somehow the flavor is incredible. There is a little prep work involved. What we do to speed up the process is to only skillet fry up a couple pieces of bacon to yield the grease. The rest of the bacon we'll do in the oven ahead of time.



Ingredients


6 cups Cabbage Shredded


8 slices center cut bacon


1 cup quick brown rice


1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken Chicken


2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce


1/2 cup water


1 onion


salt & pepper to taste


hot sauce to taste (optional)


Directions


cook bacon in skillet, set aside. Use 1 tbs of bacon greese to cook up rice and onion. Place 3 cups of cabbage in 8x8 baking dish. Place rice mixture on top. Cook Chicken in skillet, add salt and pepper. Place in dish. Add rest of cabbage.


In the skillet add tomato sauce and water, bring to a boil. Use a ladel to pour tomato sauce evenly over dish. Place tinfoil on top and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Take foil off and cook for another 10 minutes.


Add hot sauce if desired.


2. Tomato Pesto "Pasta": This stuff is seriously the bomb. New favorite meal that I'm raving about. Again, not much to it but the flavor is so delicious. If you've never used zuchinni, squash, or even carrots before as "noodles" in dishes, you should try it. I love doing that. Gets more veggies in and it still has a thinness to eat like noodles.
For the Pesto


◦3 oz sundried tomatoes


◦1 cup walnuts


◦1-1.5 cup olive oil


◦1/2 cup basil leaves


◦juice of 1 lemon


◦2 garlic cloves


◦1/2 teaspoon salt


For the pasta


◦3 zucchini, julienne cut or sliced into fettuccine noodles


◦1 bundle of asparagus


◦1lb chicken, diced (I omit this for a vegetarian meal!)


◦1/3 cup chicken broth or water


◦2-4 tablespoons olive oil


◦1 teaspoon dried basil


◦1 teaspoon dried tarragon


◦1 teaspoon dried thyme


◦salt and pepper, to taste


Instructions


1.Place your sundried tomatoes in a bowl with 1-2 cups of water or until the sundried tomatoes are covered to soften.


2.Now heat up a medium sized skillet under medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and throw in your diced chicken to begin to cook down, tossing the chicken randomly to help cook on all sides.


3.Add your basil, tarragon, and thyme to the chicken.


4.Once your sundried tomatoes are soft, pull out your food processor, place sundried tomatoes along with your walnuts and puree. Then add the rest of the pesto ingredients and slowly pour in the olive oil in while it’s turned on so you can see how much olive oil you will really need. Add until you find your preferred consistency.


5.Now heat up a large skillet under medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and toss in your zucchini noodles and asparagus.


6.Add your chicken broth or water to the noodles and asparagus to help cook the noodles down.


7.After about 3-5 minutes, add your sundried tomato pesto to the zucchini noodles along with the chicken.


8.Cover and let cook for 3-5 minutes.


9.Serve with some leftover sundried tomatoes on top! (I also topped mine off with avocado.)


The latest blogs I'm following and addicted to about food that you should definitely check out are

1. paleomg.com (origin of the Pesto Pasta recipe above and such a fun read!)
2.100daysofrealfood.com (This one is AWESOME!)

Feel free to share recipes with me! I feel like I talk to myself on these types of posts. Oh well; what else is new? Keshlyn often asks me, "Why you talk to yourself, mommy?" haha. Why stop now, right?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Nearly Dead...

I've had it. I screamed today. Like, for real screamed. Every day Kyden pulls my hair out by the handful. I don't want to wear my hair in a pony-tail everyday. I already feel a little frumpy as it is lately.\ I love, love ,love my long hair. I don't want to cut it off this time. My goal was to wear it up in cute ways more often (of course ideas from pinterest are involved). And I certainly have done that some, but most of the updo's look cutest when curled first, and these days a straightner is the quickest easiest thing for my super long hair. I feel like Rachel off of Friends with her super duper long sleek hair. I love it. But I think I've had it. I'm afraid I'm going to have to chop. But I soooooo don't wanna. *tear.

Shannon: "We're the healthiest eaters I know. Why are we doing this?"

You know. His quote is really getting to me today. I think he's right. We don't do processed foods. We heavily eat fruits and vegetables and take 'er easy on meat. I really do have a healthy lifestyle. I just thought it would be nice to detox. But, today I feel not fat, not sick, but nearly dead! haha. It started yesterday but I thought it was might be because I wasn't drinking enough water (which may be part of it) but I am tired of feeling weak and I often feel like blacking out. Not good. When we first started replacing breakfast and lunch with green smoothies a month ago, I could really tell the difference in my energy boost. It felt great. Today, I didn't even feel capable of exercise. I felt dizzy all day and the constant need to sit down. 2 of the detox smoothies were absolutely DISGUSTING! I actually was gagging and wanted to throw up in my mouth. It tasted like I was eating grass. Shannon was dry heaving up stairs after forcing himself to drink the last one of the day. So, as sad as it is to say that today I'm a quitter, after 4 days of nothing but largely vegetables and some fruit juicing, we are done. The funny thing is, it's not even that I feel unsatisfied or hungry. I just feel weak and my mind feels fuzzy. I definitely have zero desire to eat junk or anything sweet. I just want some almond butter with my apple. Or some grilled chicken and steamed broccoli...I think I miss chewing my food. lol

Well on the upside for Shannon, even though weight loss wasn't the goal, he lost 5 pounds in 4 days. Go Shannon! :) He still thinks 6 packs are over-rated! haha.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Juice Fast: Day 3!

I discovered today that excessive amounts of lemon juice make my teeth sensitive. I've never been much of a lemon eater anyway, so I would have never known. But, man I had to cut back on adding lemon to my juices. Ouch. Shooting pain to the teeth= no bueno.

I'm not gonna lie. Today was a little tougher than yesterday just because we really went hard with detoxing smoothies. The first couple of days, we eased into it with the usual 60/40 (veggie/fruit approach) and today we did 90/10. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I had to choke back a few. Shannon really thought he was going to throw up. So as if the taste of the drink wasn't bad enough, top that off with the fact that I made homemade, from scratch, chicken nuggets for Keshlyn for dinner! They looked divine. Click here for the recipe. And I made grilled chicken with one of my favorite glazes (balsamic honey) along with roasted asparagus (another fave) and took it over to a friend who just had a baby! Yay for baby Jorga (pronounced Georgia)! *Sigh. The house smelled so yummy and all we had to eat was stinkin' kale, ginger, spinach, brocooli, cucumber, and carrots!  oh and an apple that you couldn't taste. haha.

The upside for my day was going to one of my favorite places ever...Goodwill! Seriously. Found some great deals today. It's so exhilerating when I find so many things I actually love and it's all dirt cheap. Got Keshlyn a couple of toys to clean up for her birthday. I have no shame in this! If they work and are in great condition, why the heck pay full price!? ha. I actually found one toy I've been eyeing for a bit now and originally it's about $30. Today I got it for a beautiful $4.99. Score! I even got a little something for Shannon. Thanks, Jen, for a day of shopping fun at Goodwill! :)

What's your favorite thriftshop/yard sale purchase? My mother in law just told me she bought a Bosch mixer for $10 this past weekend at a yardsale! What?! Those things are like gold! Seriously.  

Monday, March 19, 2012

Juice Fast: Day 2!

It's Monday. That means it was Grocery Shopping, laundry, and mop day. Mondays are always busy.

One of the perks of Monday: Costco day.

Shannon was so cute. He had to ask me a question this morning that seemed pressing: "so does this mean that we can't have samples at costco?!" This Juice fast is already cramping his style! haha. Well, good thing when we got to Costco there were no samples. Then as we were finishing up. At least one of the samples that we were able to get was a fruit and veggie smoothie made by the demo-guy for Vitamix. Sweet! And darn Costco has ruined Keshlyn's shopping experience everywhere else that we go because she always asks for the receipt and flips it over quickly. Just as quickly as she flipped it over the smile on her face fades and she asks, "where's my picture?" She RAN to the lady at the door with her receipt and asked her to draw her a picture as we're leaving Costco. It is cute, I must say. You know what else is cute? Sweet Kyden can click his tongue! It's pretty cute.

Juice Fast. Day 2- I feel great! Did a crossfit work out today. It kicked my butt. My lungs still hurt actually. lo. I think it's because it was still a little cold this  morning in the garage when I did it. I feel very satisfied with all of the vegetables and fruit I'm taking in. However, I have to drain my bladder A LOT from all of this juicing! TMI? Well, what else is new? :) I must confess though...I had 4 single popcorn kernels today. Keshlyn earned popcorn this evening and so I made her my beloved homemade lime and sea salt popcorn in a brown bag. I had to taste a few times to see if it had enough lime juice. And you know what? Can you believe it wasn't hard at all to not eat it even though it was righ in front me!? Now that's crazy! Popcorn is my number one comfort food. I love it. I could eat it every day. Brownie Trifle and Pizza are a close second. I feel powerful right now. I don't feel restricted. I just feel like I am choosing to detox for the next several days. The fact that my mind is in control is a great feeling.

Shannon- on the other hand- just looked at me a few moments ago and said, "I really want a hamburger. What is the world coming to when it's 9:00pm and my late night snack involves broccoli?" haha. Let's just say he doesn't feel so in control and powerful. He's excited to eat some "real food."

Real food....let's talk about some real deliciousness. Last week, I made several paleo recipes. One of which was for breakfast. Listen to me. Run to the grocery store to make this as fast as you can. Seriously. I don't care if you're a health nut or no health nut. It's the best french toast I've ever had! You have to use banana bread. I added Enjoy Life chocolate chips (there's no dairy, no sugar....but trust me they're still good!) You top the french toast with banana slices and pure maple syrup. If you've never had pure maple syrup before with no fillers or preservatives, then you've never had a party in your mouth! Pure maple syrup is SOOO rich and tasty.

Here's the link. P.S. Her blog is so funny!

http://paleomg.com/banana-bread-french-toast/

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Juice Fast: Day 1

I want a gun. No, not a gun to shoot myself because the juice fast is THAT BAD, but a gun to protect myself and bust a cap, foo. You know, in case the big bad wolf knocks my door down. I would like to be prepared in whatever situation might occur. I've thought this scenario through. What would I do if someone broke in? First, I would run to the sink in my bathroom open the cabinet and grab my Pantene Hairspray! That's right. Bet hairspray to the eyes can't feel good right?! haha. And I got a Louisville Slugger next to my bed. You know, just in case I have some seriously bad dreams! Carrie Underwood ain't the only southern girl who knows how to use that bat! ;)


Green Smoothie Recipe of the Day:

 1 cup water
1/2 cup pineapple
1 cup green grapes
1/2 bartlett pear
1/2 avocado
1 large handful of broccoli florets
2 VERY LARGE handfuls of spinach
1 cup ice

(I often throw in extra greens like kale or cabbage so it's not so heavy on fruit)

The juice fast is going great! Love me some smoothies. Drink 5 smoothies today. Done. And Shannon even discovered that we can stomach a whole heck of lot of veggies in a glass if lemon juice is added. Good to know for the rest of our week. Day 1 down. 6 more to go.

Side note: You must make homemade almond butter. Period. No oils added and no sugar. Use 2 cups of raw almonds and 1 cup of another nut (I used walnut). Roast them in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. Then you throw it in your vitamix or food processor with a few dashes of salt and lots of Cinnamon! Process until it becomes a nut butter. At first it looks like flour but keep going. Process a few minutes at a time and scrape down the sides. It is AMAZING! The roasted flavor makes it the most delicious nut butter I've ever tasted. Honest. You could add a squirt or two of honey into the blend or cocoa powder or.....

{I'm sorry. Keshia has drifted away dreaming about eating almond butter in a week}

Thursday, March 15, 2012

It's about to get serious...

After having Keshlyn I read as much stuff as I could about health and fitness. It became my addiction. I actually lost too much weight as I look back at pictures. But, it wasn't because I didn't eat. Oh boy, do I eat. All day long. Around the clock. Of course it's just snacking and picking, which I will forever do because the thing is: I love food. I love to try new recipes multiple times a week. I love to eat and constantly have food in my mouth. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people who just eats to survive. I wish. Instead, food and I have a love/hate relationship. I think I finally understand the Eminem lyrics, "I love the way you lie!" I've never understood real life relationships where men and women stay together yet they're very destructive for each other's emotional and even physical well-being. But if you liken this relationship to food and human. Ahhh. *Epiphany*. The sky clears and it all makes sense to me now. Food lies to me all of the time. In my head anyway. "Eat me. It won't matter for one night. Eat 5 cookies. Go ahead." But this sucks when food talks to me every night at 9:00pm. I wonder if I'll ever be able to give up my late night snack? Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. I love the way my food lies. I believe it every night. It's not going to matter. And then I feel the bloating and then I don't see the results from my work outs that I want. Shannon is my partner in crime. The nights I want to be strong, SOMEONE (cough, cough) needs a cookie, or cinnamon toast, or some other sweet goodness. Then, of course, I have to cave so that he's not alone. (don't you just love rationalization?) As hard as we work out, especially my Crossfittin' Maniac husband, you would think we would have an amazing 6-pack. But, sweet Shannon comforts me at our late night snack rendezvous with, "6-packs are over rated. I'd rather have a snack." HAHA. I heart him.



Pause food rant.



I just finished Insanity. If you've never heard of this crazy workout program, check 'er out here.

When I first started the program, I was 5 months post pregnancy. I was driven and READY to get that weight off. I started with the fit test as instructed and I felt pretty good about it. Then I began the program as outlined and I definitely cried the first few days of it. It was so difficult especially for someone that had just been exercising lightly for a few months since cleared to work out. I couldn't finish the exercises. I truly thought in my head that I would never be able to keep up with the workout. Then, something happened. Even just after 1 week I noticed I was getting stronger. As time went on, I was able to keep up and breathe through the whole work out! I started to feel accomplished. Then month 2 hit. It felt like I started over. That's how difficult it was again. Now it was longer and more insane. I felt defeated again. But as I kept going, I improved. I could do push-ups before I had Kyden, but not too many. With insanity, I became capable of doing many pushups! My arms began to be toned and have shape to them. My legs became strong and my obliques started to pop out. Check out how much I improved. I was so proud of myself for pushing myself as hard as I could. I really did dig deeper. See the difference between the first fit test and my last!


*********TMI Story Alert: While doing my last fit test, I was determined to beat my previous scores. I got to power jumps and I wanted to at least get 65 since I reached 60 last fit test. Power Jumps (you may need to use google) are a movement where you jump using the power from your gluts and legs to spring vertical in the air while tucking your knees into your chest. You slap your knees as you jump up. You do this jump as many times as possible in 60 seconds for the test. I was so determined to beat myself that I went hard! I noticed after a few seconds I felt a little dribble in my pants. Not totally uncommon since having babies. I was fine and powered through. Usually a "little dribble" is all that every occurs. But, as I continued to jump I felt my pants becoming warm and damp. For a moment I felt like a toddler learning to be potty trained who got sidetracked playing with a toy and didn't make it to the potty in time. I was so close to my goal that I pushed the embarrassing moment out of my head and physically pushed myself harder. I was so focused and in the zone that I reached 70 power jumps in 60 seconds! I was SO stoked. The bad news? I looked down panting with exhaustion and feeling of accomplishment, dripping with sweat...but wait, did I sweat that much? So much there would be a puddle on my carpet in the living room? And streams of wetness down both legs? And soaked bottoms? Hmmm...accomplishment turned into shame and the need for a quick pause to change my clothes. I had to laugh. What else could I do? Hi. My name is Keshia. I'm a grown woman. And I peed my big girl pants. Now THAT's INSANITY! *****************

Love that my body definitely got tighter. But it was quite discouraging that I didn't lose any weight. Not one pound. I tacked on 2 extra weeks to the normal 60 day program. And it wasn't until the extra 2 weeks that I added when I completely revamped my diet that I lost 2 pounds. I still have a few pounds to pre-baby weight but I'm thinking I'll just let that go. (That's the food talking again! :p) I took 1 day off (meaning I did a different workout) after I completed the program and It just wasn't the same...so therefore, I started over with Insanity. Here we go....



Food Rant. Press Play.


Let's just start by saying that it always cracks me up when I talk to people about food. People inquire so I tell them and then it's not uncommon for me to get this response, "But you're so skinny. Why do you care about food?" See this is where the world has ruined us....thin is the goal. Do I care about being thin? Of course I don't want my love handles or muffin top, but for me it's not just about that. I don't focus on changing my lifestyle with food because I want to be a crazy skinny girl. Here's what I care about... HEALTH! I know that might be hard to believe that someone could actually be genuinely interested in health and not some fad diet to lose weight fast, but it's true. Listen to me when I say this: "THIN DOES NOT EQUAL HEALTHY!" I hate when people equate the two. I have a great friend who looks so stinking good and eats chocolate and candy every day. She is blessed with some good genes. I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes I wish I could eat that way and look like her. (Amanda, you know I love you and your junk food addiction!)

But, I also want to feel good and prevent from poor health in the future due to my eating habits. I truly believe that the way we eat and what we put into our bodies can help prevent and even reverse symptoms of sickness and disease. If you've never seen "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dad" go watch it! Right now! It is inspiring and can absolutely change your perspective on food. For you Netflixers, it's on Instant Cue. How did it change my life? Well, we went out and bought a Vitamix. It's not a juicer like they use in the movie but we've always known we would get a Vitamix. We just weren't sure when. But, after watching that movie, we knew the time had come. Since we bought it 3 weeks ago, we have replaced every breakfast and lunch with a green smoothie. The rule of thumb is 60% vegetables and 40% fruit. Can you believe that I haven't bought a box of cereal in 3 weeks? Even though I would only eat Kashi or Fiber 1, I have cut it all out. Do you know that we used to go through 4 gallons of milk a week!? I haven't bought milk in 3 weeks either. Now we go through about 1 quart of Almond milk a week. HUGE difference. I feel lighter. I have more energy. You should see my refrigerator. It's pretty ridiculous how jam packed it is with produce. The majority of my grocery bill each week is produce. Did you know that in one week we went through 2.5 lbs of Spinach, 6 pounds of grapes, 1 pound of blackberries, 4 pounds of strawberries, 3 pounds of bananas, 3 pounds of broccoli, 2 lbs of carrots, 2 lbs of cauliflower, 1-2 cucumbers, kale, avocado, 15 apples, 3 peaches, a couple oranges, 1 bunch of celery etc... We are eating more vegetables than I've ever eaten in my life! I feel great! I've always loved vegetables and fruit but I've always had way more fruit than vegetables. But now, I'm eating a ton of veggies.


I actually have had a hard time when researching what is the best lifestyle of eating to encourage the best health. Isn't it confusing? Low fat, count calories, good fat, no carbs whatsoever, whole grains are good, no sugar, only fruit and natural sugars, no sugar including fruit sugar, zero-calorie sweeteners, absolutely no artificial sweeteners or artificial chemicals/preservatives. My head began to spin as I read so many conflicting articles and information. After much research I began to really believe and support the Paleo/Primal diet. I truly believe that we shouldn't eat processed foods and all of these ingredients in packaged foods that are chemically man-made. I also have learned about "crap" that can appear in dairy and meat products. Paleo cuts out all dairy but is very pro meat. I liked everything about Paleo except for the heavy reliance on meat and the absolute zero grain policy. I definitely think that we as a nation eat WAY too much grains and carbs. But is it really necessary to not have any ever? Some say yes. Paleo says never eat it. I had a hard time believing that a pure grain from the earth could be so detrimental. So, I began to think, "how did God intend it? He created this earth. He placed food here for us to eat. So I looked to the scriptures for guidance. Some would think this is silly. Me-I thought it necessary. Whatever "God's diet" is...sign me up! It will certainly be the best one for our bodies. :)

Those of you who have a testimony in modern revelation and believe in the Doctrine and Covenants- in section 89 it states, "12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;


14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field..."

Meat is to be eaten more sparingly and grain is to be used as the staff of life! We're supposed to sustain ourselves predominately with vegetables, fruits, and grains. Hmmm... Verse 16: All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

So I choose to do "paleo-style" eating 3-4 days a week and the rest of the week I allow myself to have some grains. Mostly though, my diet is made up of vegetables and fruits.

So with all of my research and new direction with eating, It's about to get serious!!! I have decided to embark on a detox through a juice fast. Shannon and I are starting on Sunday and will juice fruits and vegetables 5 times a day for 7 days. (Portions will vary depending on if it is a snack or meal) Nothing else. Who's with me? Anyone?

I will post each day to let you know how I feel and if I'm surviving. I already know it will be great. I've been replacing 2 meals with juice for the past 3 weeks and I'm loving it! You want to know how powerful a juice fast is? Watch "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead!"
P.S. It's 9:30pm and guess who did not have a late night snack!? That's right. This amazingly strong-willed gal! lol. Guess why I can do it so easily? That's right. Because my partner in crime is saving lives tonight. :)

Previous Post Answer: BBT= Big Bang Theory. Love it.

Monday, March 12, 2012

More about The Mr.

These are a some of the Mr's quirks and pet-peeves that make him, well, him. Therefore, things I love about him:

HE
1- takes a "field trip" every day to the mail box. It's "his thing." He is disappointed when I rarely take the time to get the mail and beat him to it. (My "thing" is that I check the weather every day on my phone. I often tell him what the weather is in Las Vegas, Kentucky, and Honolulu. haha)
2- corrected me and so sweetly taught me that under no circumstance am I to ever again leave the scoop handle down in the formula powder. Handle always up. Always.
3- finds it 50% cute and 50% annoying that at night I leave a trail of clothes as I make my way to get into bed.
4- MUST Facebook stalk before falling asleep.
5- Gets LIVID a little upset if I happen to wear his sunglasses and forget to leave them in the car when I get out.
6- Wants to barf when he sees skinny jeans on boys.
7- Will never wear a v-neck t shirt even though I would quite like it.
8- Only wants to eat his chocolate frozen
9- Has confessed that he loves when we all run to the door to greet him in the mornings when he gets home from work.
10- Looks forward to going to Costco to have "lunch" (AKA SAMPLES!) every Monday.
11- is peeved when I get to the bed first at night and just hop in without turning his side of the bed down as well. If he walks in and sees that scenario, he will start to clear his throat with ridiculous obviousness to remind me! haha It's a little joke we have.
12- Loves to have Keshlyn "knock him over." He squats down on one end of the hall and Keshlyn runs as fast as she can towards him from the opposite end of the hall to give him"run hugs" which knocks him over. So adorable. And then "Super Keshlyn" comes next. Of course.
13-needs anything placed on the dashboard which then reflects in the windshield to be removed immediately.
14- Flosses his teeth like there is no tomorrow.
15- Has zero self control when sweets are in front of him. (we really are soul mates)
16- Is literally addicted to Crossfit. I think he would explode if he ever missed a day.
17- Detests being late. In this way, we are not soul mates. haha. I often remind him to listen to the song, "Waiting on a woman" by Brad Paisley. He doesn't buy it. :)
18- Lives for his annual Moapa Valley High School Alumni Baseball Game! He would love to play more baaseball. I hope he is able to in the near future.
19- has a "toy" that he must play with while driving in the car. He has to be able to twirl and fidget with it in his fingers. He cracks me up. I often tease that I'm going to throw it out the window. He always looks very sad when I say that. haha. If he doesn't have a "toy" he'll use a pen to flip through his fingers. He surely cannot sit still.
20- always makes me smile with some really great quotes like the following one which came from a serious and quizzical Shannon: "what's the big deal? why do actors get put up on a pedastal? The get paid to pretend they're someone else!" 
21- Likes to shorten everything. Couple of quick examples... His work: LVFR (Las Vegas Fire and Rescue). B Cubed (Bed, Bath, and Beyond).

His latest is "BBT." We quite enjoy a little BBT together every day for our entertainment. Can you guess what this abbreviation is for?