Healthy Whole-Wheat Pizza

So my dad and I have been doing this body detox together since last Wednesday. It has gone really well so far (although i slightly slipped up once or twice) that's okay though! It's been fantastic. We have taken several things out of the diet including:

processed foods
most dairy (occasional cheese)
caffeine (although my dad cut his intake to 2 cups of coffee)
breads

Basically we can eat fruits and veggies and fish. We also added chicken(grilled only), peanuts and a few other things here and there. We feel great! It took my dad some time to adjust to it since it was such a dramatic change to what he has been used to, but now that he is he feels so much better!

Last night when my little brothers asked to order delivery, we decided to make a healthy pizza for us to eat instead of what they were having. So here is what i made and it tasted fantastic!

I made homemade, whole-wheat crust that was very tasty and very filling. :)
I started with these ingredients:

1 1/2 c. white flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. active dry yeast (you can also use 1 pkg of dry yeast)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey



Combine everything in a big bowl. Dry ingredients first, then begin to add the liquid ingredients.

Kneed the dough for about 6 minutes or until a full/stiff ball of dough. You may need to add a bit of water if too dry, or flour if too sticky.

Cover with a moist cloth and let rise for 30 minutes.



Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Put pizza sauce on the rust and then begin to add your veggies and meat. We added cooked chicken, bacon, and ground turkey. We then added onions, garlic, and mushrooms. You can add any veggies or meat you enjoy!



Cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and the cheese is melted.



We covered it with a little bit of sauce to the top :)

Enjoy!

I'm back!

It's been a while since I've been on here. I haven't really been up to updating for a little bit simply because I felt i had very little to update on. However, i am going to begin changing that :)

Here is a little update on our lives lately:
As many of you may know, Kendall was deployed to Iraq in September 2010. He has now been there for about 5 months. Although it is really hard having him gone things like skype, facebook, and gmail chat have been amazing! I love getting to talk to Kendall. We talk daily, which is such a blessing (Many people don't get that luxury). Kendall's job in the Army required him to fix and work with communication items such as radios and computers. However, while he's in Iraq he basically just has to wait for things to break and then he can fix them. :) I love that he is not out in the midst of everything going on over there. It gives me just a little piece of mind!

Kendall got to take his R&R right before Christmas which was amazing to see him! He was home from Dec. 5-Dec. 21st. I loved the chance to get to spend the holidays and my birthday with him! :) These were taken while he was home:












I absolutely loved having him home! it was amazing to get to spend that time with my best friend again.


Since then I have started going back to school at heartland. I am trying to finish my degree there so that I can then transfer to an online program in August. This fall I decided (after hours of researching school programs) that i needed to change my degree from Art to something more general that I can do online. So i decided that I am going to be a Business major. Probably with a focus on business management. Although this has very little to do with my interest and love for art, it is a good major that is practical and useful in almost any field (even art) so I am definitely ready to take it on! As of right now I have As in all my classes and it's my goal to keep it that way.

I also started working at Bed Bath and Beyond again. I love working there. I love the people and the environment :) Plus it transfers to Texas when I move back there in August when he comes back, which will be wonderful!

Overall everything is going very smoothly lately. I am living at home and we are saving as much money as we possibly can over the next few years!

Thank you all for your love and support!
Have a great day!
Erica

its been almost 2 weeks...

So Kendall has been gone for almost two weeks... unfortunately it feels like it has been longer. Time is definitely not going as fast as I would like it to be going.

Today I am going to be going out and trying to get a job.. I will probably also go out and take some new pictures... idk. I will be updating my photography website within the next few days so when it is up I'll let you know so everyone can check it out!!!

Well i don't have too much to write right now but I will probably update later.

Its been one year.

A year ago today Kendall and I promised our lives to each other. This has been the most amazing year! Although I didn't get to actually live with him except for about 3 or so months, the times we have spent together and the ways we have grown have been incredible. Kendall and I have such a special relationship.

Recently, through conversations with my parents, I discovered that not everyone marries their best friend. Yes, they are friends, but not truly best friends. That that is rare in today's society. That had never occurred to Kendall or I. Kendall is my best friend. I have other good friendships, but none of them are like my friendship with my husband. I literally tell him everything and he is incredible enough to listen even when it's not necessarily the most interesting stories.

So babe, here is to you, my best friend...

-Thank you for always listening when I make a story that could be told in 2 minutes into a 20 minute thing.
-Thank you for always wanting me to go for the things I want to, even if they are unconventional and maybe a little unrealistic.
-Thank you for supporting me in everything, even if the decision isn't always the easiest, I know that you will back me no matter what.
-Thank you for wanting to much to care for me and provide for me. That means more than I could ever put in words.
-Thank you for a year full of fun, laughs, hugs, and new experiences. Things are are never dull when we are together.
-Thank you for encouraging me to always do my best at everything I do. That always keeps me going.
-Thank you for being there to talk when I need to.
-Thank you for being patient with me, I know I need that often :)
-and Thank you for loving me. That alone makes my day better.

I know that I could keep going a lot longer, but that would take incredibly too long. I know that God worked out our lives so that we would meet our junior year of high school and I can never thank him enough for that. I can honestly say my life is better because of Kendall.

Here are a few pictures to highlight our last year together!








































Happy anniversary babe! Can't wait to have more!!!

It's good to be home.

When Dorthy says "There's no place like home" she has a lot of wisdom in that. Whatever home is for you, there is no place that that one when things are rough. It's also just as amazing when things are good too :)

I know, even from only a few days, that it's so good that I'm home during this time apart from Kendall. I would be struggling so much had I decided to stay at Fort Hood. That would have been a really hard things to deal with. Its wonderful to be home around my family, friends and just in a town I know and love. This place is truly my home, from the endless horizon to coffee shops. I absolutely love it here. Although I wish Kendall could be here with me.

Here is a little picture highlight of the past few months. Most of these pictures I finally got off my camera and some of these are very recent from the last few days.

Not too long ago we went boating with some friends. While we were there we went tubing! Here are Kendall and I tubing.




This was taken while we were at SeaWorld in July, waiting in a long line.


a few miles south of Austin, TX is this area with some hiking and waterfalls that people swim in! It was so much fun swimming in it.


Kendall's formation before he left for his deployment


The boys carrying Kendall's bags to drop them off


Well this is just a small preview of some of the pictures i've taken recently. I will do another post like this soon with some pictures that are more recent.

Have a great day!
Erica

You can't wear shorts and a tank top in September here...

It's really weird not having Kendall around to talk to all the time and stuff. it just feels like something is missing. But i know that as time goes on things will begin to feel normal again. Plus getting to talk to him helps so much!! even if it's just for a few minutes.

He said that where he is in Kuwait is really enjoyable. There are lots of things to do and everything is pretty nice, so he doesn't mind being there. Which is really good to hear. I like to know that he isn't miserable being there.

Right now i'm taking a little break before I begin putting everything away. I have so many things that need to be put away. I have clothes that either need to go in a plastic tub or a drawer, items that need to be repacked and things that need to searched out and found. Plus I want to get most of this stuff put away today so that A. I don't have to deal with it anymore and B. so that it's out of my family's way.

I am still not used to living at home again. it's kind of weird. I have a new bedroom and it just feels different. But i know that it's going to be a good change :) Plus, i really missed my family so i'm excited to get to see everyone a lot more often!!

OH! and in regards to my title... this morning I was not thinking and went outside in short and a tank top (this is very typical clothing in texas however.... not in the fall in Illinois). Definitely was not thinking about the temperature difference... Needless to say, it was quite cold! I now need to dig out my fall/winter clothes which i'm excited to get to wear them again. Fall is my favorite season!

Tonight i will putting tons of pictures from my camera and phone onto the computer, so tomorrow I should have a post with lots of pictures and such :)

How has your day been today?
Erica

A day to say goodbye... at least for now.

So today I had to say goodbye to my hubby as he is leaving for Iraq. My dad flew into town and we spent a majority of the day hanging and getting things ready for him. These goodbyes are definitely hard as I know they are for a while.

Here's a few things that make it hard:
1. that sinking feeling that this isn't the first time i'll miss him for the next year.
2. knowing that my best friend is across the world kinda sucks...
3. i mean, come on... who likes to say goodbye to anyone...not me! :)

But there are several things that make things a little bit better for me.
1. Knowing he will be back soon
2. knowing that we will be able to skype and such really helps
3. knowing that no matter what our relationship will not change and we will still be best friends regardless of where in the world we are.
4. going home to be with family and friends
5. knowing that in a year we will get to go apartment hunting and such is exciting haha.
6. and finally... Knowing that he loves me no matter what makes it all better.

So although I will miss him every day, and want to talk to him constantly (ha), I know that things will be okay.

My best friend is still my best friend no matter what is what keeps me going definitely!

Erica