I am obsessed with all things Greek food. Greek yogurt, Greek seasoning, Greek dips, Greek rice. I'll admit, I am not a huge fan of lamb, but even that I can tolerate with all of the yummy goodness of Greek flavorings added to it!!
I love eating Greek when we go out. Taziki's is always yummy and I love everything I have tried there. Jim n Nick's has a fantastic Greek Salad that you can add their smoked chicken or turkey to. I crave those often! Full Moon also has a pretty good version of a Greek salad. I know Birmingham has a plethora of Greek style restaurants and I am looking forward to trying them when we can.
Jason and I are pretty good tasters and can often duplicate what we taste in a restaurant at home. We have made Taziki dip with the cucumbers, dill, yogurt and seasonings. I haven't mastered Jim n Nick's Greek dressing, but I MUST!! It is the best I've ever tasted.
Ok, so now that you know about my latest food obsession, I must tell you about a dish I made this week. In Clanton, we have this fabulous new fresh meat and seafood market, B's Market. If you live in Chilton County or close by, it is a must to visit. I picked up two Mahi Mahi filets from B's, brought them home and marinated them in about 1/4 cup Annie's Naturals Organic Lite Green Goddess Dressing, 1/4 Plain, non fat, Oikos Greek yogurt, juice of one lemon, a heaping tablespoon Greek seasoning and a normal tablespoon dill. I let the fish marinate about 20 minutes then baked in the oven on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes (until fish is flaky). It was to die for!! I would have eaten a whole plate if we had more!! I served it with carrots cooked with a hint of dill and fresh pasta salad.
So, if you are like me and love all things Greek, try this out and let me know what you think. If you aren't a fish eater, this would do just fine on chicken, turkey or pork as well.
Hope you enjoy!! Happy Eating Y'all!!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Draw me closer to You . . .
Ok, so I have failed miserably at updating the blog. It's been about a month. I started out strong and then just completely dropped the ball. For those of you who were so excited to see this get started, I'm so sorry!! I promise that it will not be months in between posts from now on! My goal is to update once or twice a week.
That being said, much has happened since I last updated. Of course the usual, work, court, church, doctor's appointments, family time, a quick trip to the beach (thanks to an awesome friend!) and, of course, the monthly 5k I've been trying to run. All of this is just our usual routine, just living our life. But we have had another significant event happen recently and it is this event that I want to share with you.
The title of the blog mentions a fertility struggle. While I'm not 100% comfortable putting all of this extremely personal information out there, I know I must if I am going to be true to the spirit of the blog.
During the week of July 4th this year, I miscarried my 3rd pregnancy. I wasn't very far along, maybe 5-6 weeks. No ultrasound had been done, just blood work. I had several positive home pregnancy test and went to my doctor immediately for blood testing. With the 4th of July holiday, summer time vacations and other factors, my doctor's office was short staffed and slow in relaying information, so I don't even really know what the results of the blood work were, beyond a positive pregnancy test.
This was the first of the the 3 miscarriages that I passed naturally instead of having a D & C to remove the pregnancy. It was excruciating and horrible. Jason was fantastic and those few friends and family that knew provided much needed prayer, support and strength. You know who you are and we are eternally endeared to you!!
Jason and I took our time to grieve, cry, pray and discuss our options and the next step. We had been discussing returning to fertility treatment or trying something new. We opted to try something new. By my definition, we are not "infertile". We can get pregnant. We have done it 3 times now. What we need is someone to work with us on sustaining and maintaining a pregnancy for a happy and healthy 9 months. After talking with friends and doing some internet research, we opted to go to the Reproductive Endocrinology group at UAB. I made an appointment with Dr. Bates, one of the directors of this program and had my first appointment yesterday. I sat in the waiting room and prayed before the doctor came in with me. I prayed for him, for me, for the process. I could not be happier with the decision we made to go with this group!! They didn't immediately start by putting me on Clomid or some other type of fertility medication, which I was afraid of. I am no doctor, but I knew from previous experience this was not what I needed. Dr. Bates ordered tons of blood work. One of these tests is a genetic test to check for a chromosome defect that might be at issue. His plan of action to to start simple, work quick and be aggressive, but not to jump to a quick fix solution. He truly seemed committed to finding out what the problem is.
All of this being said, I honestly feel the presence of my Lord and Savior by my side in all of this. While I may not like what is going on, and Lord knows I am disappointed, I know He is giving me strength and wrapping me in His loving, peaceful arms. I also know that the bond between Jason and me has never been stronger. With each obstacle in our way on the journey to become parents, we are drawn so much closer to each other. How can anything be that bad if it is drawing me closer to my God and closer to my husband?
I am so thankful for the blessings in my life, and I know that I do not deserve any of it. I look at my husband sometimes and just reflect in amazement at what a wonderful person he is and how special our relationship is. What in the world did I ever do to deserve him!?! He keeps me grounded and focused. His love and support for me in all things, especially the loss of these pregnancies, makes all the difference is keeping me focused on the blessings and maintaining a positive attitude. It would be so easy for each of us to be bitter and angry, but we never let each other go there. That's not our Faith, that's not how we believe, and that's not who we are. And I am forever thankful that God blessed me with Jason to hold my hand through this and ALL of life's trials and struggles. Thank you Lord for drawing us closer together and closer to You!
That being said, much has happened since I last updated. Of course the usual, work, court, church, doctor's appointments, family time, a quick trip to the beach (thanks to an awesome friend!) and, of course, the monthly 5k I've been trying to run. All of this is just our usual routine, just living our life. But we have had another significant event happen recently and it is this event that I want to share with you.
The title of the blog mentions a fertility struggle. While I'm not 100% comfortable putting all of this extremely personal information out there, I know I must if I am going to be true to the spirit of the blog.
During the week of July 4th this year, I miscarried my 3rd pregnancy. I wasn't very far along, maybe 5-6 weeks. No ultrasound had been done, just blood work. I had several positive home pregnancy test and went to my doctor immediately for blood testing. With the 4th of July holiday, summer time vacations and other factors, my doctor's office was short staffed and slow in relaying information, so I don't even really know what the results of the blood work were, beyond a positive pregnancy test.
This was the first of the the 3 miscarriages that I passed naturally instead of having a D & C to remove the pregnancy. It was excruciating and horrible. Jason was fantastic and those few friends and family that knew provided much needed prayer, support and strength. You know who you are and we are eternally endeared to you!!
Jason and I took our time to grieve, cry, pray and discuss our options and the next step. We had been discussing returning to fertility treatment or trying something new. We opted to try something new. By my definition, we are not "infertile". We can get pregnant. We have done it 3 times now. What we need is someone to work with us on sustaining and maintaining a pregnancy for a happy and healthy 9 months. After talking with friends and doing some internet research, we opted to go to the Reproductive Endocrinology group at UAB. I made an appointment with Dr. Bates, one of the directors of this program and had my first appointment yesterday. I sat in the waiting room and prayed before the doctor came in with me. I prayed for him, for me, for the process. I could not be happier with the decision we made to go with this group!! They didn't immediately start by putting me on Clomid or some other type of fertility medication, which I was afraid of. I am no doctor, but I knew from previous experience this was not what I needed. Dr. Bates ordered tons of blood work. One of these tests is a genetic test to check for a chromosome defect that might be at issue. His plan of action to to start simple, work quick and be aggressive, but not to jump to a quick fix solution. He truly seemed committed to finding out what the problem is.
All of this being said, I honestly feel the presence of my Lord and Savior by my side in all of this. While I may not like what is going on, and Lord knows I am disappointed, I know He is giving me strength and wrapping me in His loving, peaceful arms. I also know that the bond between Jason and me has never been stronger. With each obstacle in our way on the journey to become parents, we are drawn so much closer to each other. How can anything be that bad if it is drawing me closer to my God and closer to my husband?
I am so thankful for the blessings in my life, and I know that I do not deserve any of it. I look at my husband sometimes and just reflect in amazement at what a wonderful person he is and how special our relationship is. What in the world did I ever do to deserve him!?! He keeps me grounded and focused. His love and support for me in all things, especially the loss of these pregnancies, makes all the difference is keeping me focused on the blessings and maintaining a positive attitude. It would be so easy for each of us to be bitter and angry, but we never let each other go there. That's not our Faith, that's not how we believe, and that's not who we are. And I am forever thankful that God blessed me with Jason to hold my hand through this and ALL of life's trials and struggles. Thank you Lord for drawing us closer together and closer to You!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)