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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tomato Basil Soup With Greek Yogurt

I shared a photo of my homemade tomato basil soup in my instagram feed (Kendra_Pryor) a few weeks ago and several folks asked for the recipe. I’m seeing a trend with recipe request on instagram so it looks like I need to do a better job of paying attention to what I’m doing while I cook so I can share with y’all!

Let me forewarn you I’m a wing it kind of gal when I cook. I’m awful about writing down recipes while I cook but this one is pretty straight forward so you should be all good!

 

Tomato Basil Soup With Greek Yogurt

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Gather Your Ingredients:
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of freshly grated cheddar cheese (skip the preshreadded cheese folks go for the block and shred yourself)
1 cup of plain Fat Free Greek yogurt
Shredded parmesan cheese for garnish
2 28oz cans of diced tomatoes 
1 cup fresh basil, chopped (check your local Asian super market for basil it’s cheaper than buying in your supermarket)
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp of olive oil
2 tsp of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of Lawery’s garlic salt (you can use any brand you have on hand but Lawery’s is yummy)

 

Directions:
Over medium heat in a large soup pot add olive oil, chopped onion and allow to cook until soft and translucent. Add chopped garlic and stir into your onion/oil mixture, sauté for 2 minuets. Add tomatoes including juice, add chicken broth. Stir in basil, Lawery’s garlic salt, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and allow to simmer for 12-15 minuets. Tate as you go! You may find that you prefer more pepper or salt. Add Greek yogurt and shredded cheese and stir until well blended. You can stop here if you like chunky tomato soup or continue if you like a smooth soup.  Use a food processor or immersion blender to puree soup. The longer you puree the smoother it will be. Garnish with chopped basil and shredded parmesan

This is yummy and super easy! After you make this you will no longer buy the canned stuff. It’s just too simple to do it on your own! I love to eat mine with a spring salad or a veggie wrap!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Bump Watch 17 Weeks - Vegas Edition

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How far along: We celebrated our 17th week in Vegas!

What’s the baby up to: Um hello bump! So glad you decided to make an appearance! I swear I got on the plane with a mini bump or fat looking tum to those who saw me and didn’t know I’m preggers and woke up with a cute round bump. I think Kent was just as excited as I was! We couldn’t stop staring it and Kent was so cute rubbing on my belly all week!

On to the baby! The little Mr. is the size of my palm and is putting on body fat.  Umm hello preaching to the choir here brother! He’s hair on his head, eyebrows, and eyelashes is filling in!

Best Moment of the week: Oh gosh I feel like I say this every week but I have tons of them this week! I’ll try to keep it quick

1. Feeling the baby kick! Yes the little nugget is kicking up a storm. I love feeling his little hellos from the inside.

2. Eating a chili cheese hotdog from Pink’s on the Vegas strip. Shhhh don’t judge me! It was freaking good and worth every calorie!

3. Seeing Absinthe. It was awesome! If you’re planning a trip to Vegas I highly recommend it!

4. Taking tons of naps and relaxing the day away. No outside distractions, no emails, just downtime and rest. It was heaven!

5. 1st visit to the pool with the bump in tow

6. Spending tons of time with the hubs! I sure love him.

7. Seeing the bump looking all cute in my tops. I used to hide it when it was fluff mess but now that it’s round and big there’s no hiding it and I love seeing it peek through my tops.

8. This has to be my favorite thing from the week!!!! Seeing Kent’s reaction to the bump. He’s become really protective and worries about us (the baby and his baby mama). Holding my hand up and downstairs or while we cross busy streets. Waking up next to him in the morning as he reaches out to pat my belly. Him laying his head on my tummy and talking to Weston. His sweet comments when he thinks I look cute. Such sweet moments. This is a very special time for us and I’m loving every second of it!

Funny/odd things that happened: MMMK so I’m real clumsy even when I’m not sporting a big round belly. Well we were walking around the Forum Shops and I saw a girl who was scantily clad. It Vegas it’s expected but in the middle of the day in a mall? Well it caught my attention as I was walking down some stairs and I started to tumble. Don’t worry Kent saved the day! I only skated down a few stairs before he caught me. I was super embarrassed but when I looked around no one was even watching! I guess if you’re going to fall down the stairs Vegas is the place to do it! You fit right in with all the drunkies!

Clothing: Kent and I went shopping for maternity pants! We looked at Old Navy, H & M, and Gap. Gap was by far my favorite! I bought a pair of their always skinny jeans with the mini band in dark denim and ordered a mint pair from them as well.  Seriously why did I wait so long? Maternity pants are so comfy! Do/did you have a favorite place to shop for maternity jeans?

I can still wear most of my old tops. They just look a little more snug around the tummy. Thank goodness for the boho flowy style that’s in because I have a few tops that should work throughout most of my pregnancy as well my maxi dresses!

Cravings: SMOOTHIES!!!! I was obsessed with them while we were in Vegas!  By the time I had to have one I was usually in my PJs and way too tired to walk down to the mall to get one. They have a Jamba Juice inside the Planet Hollywood mall in case you’re on a smoothie hunt when you’re in Vegas. Seriously I fantasized about them all week. It had to be an orange, pineapple, mango smoothie though! As soon as we got back to Dallas Kent and I hit up out local Jamba Juice. I talked about them so much Kent started craving them too! 

My other craving was healthy food! I tried to make the best choices I could while we were there but we were on a tight budget and the good stuff is expensive! We hit a up a few buffets. I piled my plate with veggies and hoarded apples and oranges in our mini fridge. I could not wait to get home and have better control over what went in my body.

Symptoms: I was crazy tired. I ‘m guessing it’s from the growing bump and all the walking. I also  hit the hotel gym up a few times during our trip so it was the perfect storm for extreme tiredness. Oh and my hips were killing me at night as in hurting so bad I didn’t sleep very well the. Instagram friends all said I need a body pillow so it’s added to the list!

Notes to Nugget: Hi little guy! What a fun week we had sporting you in Vegas! This was your 1st time flying and will probably be the last until after you arrive. I’m so excited to see my tummy grow. It means you’re healthy and growing strong in there. I’m over the moon with your little kicks and nudges! I’m thinking you’re going to be an active boy just like your mama because it seems like you’re awake partying and moving around all day!

We’re getting excited about all the fun stuff coming up: registering for your showers, working on your nursery (I think I have your bedding and room décor all planned out), and taking Grandma to our next sonogram apportionment to see you. It’s all becoming very real!

Random Instgram Pics

Watch the bump grow!
This was 2 days before we left……

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and 3 days later BAM a bump!

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Headed to the hotel gym in a shirt that pre trip was baggy on me.

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Taken during Absinthe which as I said above is awesome!

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Taking the bump to the pool

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Waiting to see Love

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On our way to dinner and Recycled Percussion

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Smoothie fix

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Weston’s 1st gift from his Grandma!
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Bump Watch–15.5 Weeks

 

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Happy Easter (sorry getting this up a little late)!
I had to get sweet Ninja in on this week’s Bump Watch shot. He looks thrilled right?

 

How Far Along: 15 week and 5 days! I feel like it’s literally a bump watch at this point. My lower abdomen has rounded out a little more but that’s about it. I feel like it’s more my body than belly that’s doing the rounding out. I my face has gotten a tab bit fuller and I swear my butt is growing if that’s even possible. I have a big booty so this is a little scary.

 

What’s the Baby Up To: Little nugget is 4 inches long (about the size of an apple) and covered in fine hair. The hair keeps our little man warm and at a consistent temperature. Although I don’t think he’ll need it once the TX summer kicks in.  His taste buds are forming (hope he likes Asian food) and his fingernails/toenails are growing.  Weston can now hear my heartbeat, voice, and breathing (that’s exciting stuff). He is also swallowing, making faces, and sucking his thumb (oh my gosh soooo cute).

 

Best Moment of the Week: 1. Registering at the hospital! I know it sounds silly but it feels good to cross that off the list. It was our 1st time seeing the labor and delivery floor. It so nice! Planning on going back for a tour next week.

2. Impromptu movie, dinner, and frozen yogurt with our friends. Love spending time with them! We always have lots of laughs. I feel so blessed to have such a good circle of positive, happy, life loving friends. 

 

Funny/Odd Things That Happened: I had to add this question into the rotation because I feel like the weirdest things always happened to me.  I talk to strangers so that may be why.

-Kent and I were at lunch and a lady walked up to us and told me she took a picture of my hair to text to her daughter. People often stop me to talk about my wild hair but this was a 1st. She said her daughter and I are hair twins and she’s been missing her daughter so she enjoyed looking at my mane. She was sweet but my hair felt a little violated……just kidding of course it loved the attention.

-Another hair related one! I went to the Aveda training school to get a cut (6 inches now gone) and a root touch up aka hide a few grays. They always do a great job but you never know what type of character you’re going to get. This time I got a young guy fresh out of high school. He was sweet but I could tell he was a little immature. I also loved hearing him say that I was his 1st client. Have you seen my hair…..POOR GUY no fun for your 1st time around! Well we started talking about color and he said “Do you mind me asking how old you are?” to which I replied “No, I’m 30.” He then went on to say “Gosh how in the world do you have soooooooooo much gray hair.” Uh really dude…..really? Seriously y’all it’s not that bad. I have one little patch that is about 10 gray hairs grouped together. It kind of looks like a gray hair highlight. He then went on to tell me that his nana had gray hair and embraced it and so should I. Yeah thanks for the nana tip buddy! Anyway I will not being going back. Not because of the guy but it just takes so stinking long. I started going because I was in between hair dressers and too lazy to find one. Good thing about going to a training school is they have a ton of students so they can always get you in on the fly. Well I’m done being lazy it’s time to find a stylist one who will not tell me to embrace my nana hair! 

Clothing: I can’t wait to dress my bump up but for now I live in anything stretchy and baggy. Leggings (so glad they’re in style) baggy tops and boots are my go to outfit of choice. I can still get butt my in my skinny jeans but they are not super comfy after I eat and I feel like they really make my belly look fat not pregnant so I usually skip them unless I go casual and wear a t-shirt and some flip-flops. Not loving this fluffy awkward stage. I’m not really picking out cute outfits more like trying to hide the bump aka fluffy baby tummy and looking for something comfy.

 

Cravings: I took a Zumba class the other day and all I could think about was chips and salsa! Seriously the whole class my mouth was watering. That’s what happens when you play salsa music around a pregnant girl I guess. Still craving pickles and mash potatoes. I made mashed cauliflower and it totally worked! Something else I’ve noticed that pretty much anything I eat taste delicious. It’s like my taste buds have magnified and have super strength. I was drooling over an apple yesterday. I swear it was the best apple I’ve ever had but then again I say that pretty much anytime I eat these days. Anyone else experience this during their pregnancy?

 

Symptoms: “ I have to go pee! “ and “Oh I totally forgot".” are 2 things I say often. The pee thing started before I even knew I was pregnant and has not let up. I get up at least once a night to visit the loo. Sometimes it’s worth the visit other times I wonder where’s all the pee that’s causing me to feel like I’m about to wet my pants. As far as the forgetful thing it’s not as bad as I hear it gets but I keep forgetting to put my seat belt on (which I always wear)  along with other silly little things like leaving refrigerated food out. 

I had my 1st oh maybe I should call the Dr. moment this week. I was having a pain in my side. It wasn’t painful but uncomfortable and felt different than a pulled muscle. It would wake me up at night when I was moving and got a little worse as the week went on. To be on the safe side Kent thought I should call. The doctor thinks I just pulled something. I didn’t think it was anything big just wanted to make sure I didn’t rip something. 

Another fun symptom this week is gas. Oh man my burps can put any teenage boy to shame. I’ve never been able to burp with so much power. Kent and I always get a kick out of it.  Sometimes I think I feel the baby kicking but it’s probably just my gas baby saying hi. Good thing we’re so open with each other when it comes to stuff like burping and potty humor. Some of my most favorite Kent stories involve gas!

Something else I’ve noticed this week is that it’s hard to tighten my abs.  It’s like they aren’t even there anymore. I have to really concentrate and focus on tighten them to feel it a little. I’ve read this is normal in your 2nd trimester

Notes to Nugget: Hi Nugget! We’ve had many nicknames for you since we found out you’re in my tummy. *Baby Mango (ask your dad about that one), Baby Bean, Nugget, Baby Huie, Grayson (friends and family called you that for about a month. I shocked them all when I decided to change it to Weston. Love the name Grayson BUT it just didn’t feel right. Weston sure does though!). Your dad still really likes Grayson but I have a feeling it’s going to catch on a be a popular name soon. I want you to have your own pizzazz! I love saying your name but I really love when your Daddy says it! It warms my heart to hear him say things like “When Weston gets here…..” or “Let’s take Weston to……..” not sure why but it gets me every time.

Now that I’m feeling more like my hyper self your daddy and I have been very busy working on the house to get it all ready for your arrival.  I’ve been organizing everything and your Dad has a list a mile long of things to help with. Right now his out in the backyard planting tons of yummy herbs in the garden. For the past 2 years he’s planted tons of veggies along with herbs but we know we’ll be pretty busy once you get here and won’t have time to look after a garden full of veggies so herbs it is this year! I know he’s excited about doing this with you when you’re old enough.

We celebrated Easter with you in my tummy. This is our 5th holiday with you on board including: Christmas, New Years, Valentines, St Patrick's Day, and now Easter. We also took you to see Oz the Great and Powerful. We thought it was okay but not as good as we hoped!

 

Random Instagram Pics from this Week (User name Kendra_Pryor):

Drinking water all the live-long-day can get boring so I like to fancy it up! Mint and lime = yummy!

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Fun baby mail day!

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Mashed cauliflower topped with shaved parmesan to help curve my mash potato craving.

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Adding the Zulliy app to my phone was stupid! I’ve put myself on a baby Weston spending freeze so I’ve been taking pictures of things I want to buy to satisfy my “Oh my gosh so cute I must buy it” problem.

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Kent and I waiting for our doctor. We had our 4th check up this week. Love that Kent has been able to go to all our appointments so far!

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Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Celebrating Easter Huie Style

We didn’t have anything planned this year.

We let the day make of its self what it wanted. Which always ends up being some of my favorite days!

I whipped up little grub: whole wheat pancakes (I was very impressed with the Log Cabin whole wheat pancake mix super fluffy and delish), a little fruit salad yummy-yummy (you know you can’t hear the words fruit salad without thinking about the Wiggles, and an egg white scramble. The dogs even got a little Easter love in their dog food.

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After we filled our bellies we decided to hit the park!

We found a really neat little creek to play in. Brady loved it!

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It was beautiful outside! Perfect for a walk.

Brady is awful at walking on the leash. He pulls, jumps, and darts at runners as they pass by. We’ve been trying to work on it but not seeing tons of improvement. Little Mr. is going to obedience school in 1 week. We’re hoping to whip him into shape before baby Weston arrives.

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Normally when people run buy he starts acting all crazy but yesterday we saw two gals run by in tiny shorts and revealing sports bras. Brady stopped in his tracks and just watched them run buy. He was totally checking them out and saying  “Yowza hey there pretty ladies!” with his eyes.  Kent and I were cracking up!

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Brady always looks so well behaved in the photos we post of him. Don’t be fooled he is a HUGE and I mean HUGE handful. Seriously it’s always something with this guy. My Instagram buddies get to hear all about Brady aka Imamess, which is what his name should be.  He’s adorable but I would not recommend a Border Collie for a 1st time dog owner……..nope! It seems like every place we take him (1st time meeting his vet, training school, or even a BC lover that passes us by) we always get “the talk” about the breed. It always starts with what a huge responsibility it is to become a BC owner and ends with but they are great pets if you are able to train them correctly. They are amazing dogs and one of the smartest breeds but all that brain power needs to be worked. It’s recommended that BCs get at least 2-3 hours of off leash play a day. Yep that’s Monday-Sunday!   They are very active and need to be exercised. Just a walk around the neighborhood is not enough. When we don’t give Brady a job or exercise his body and mind we notice a huge difference in his behavior. BCs are not for people who don’t live an active lifestyle. These are not your sleep all day/night type of dogs. They are always on the go, bread to be  working dogs! If you do live an active lifestyle and you’re willing to put the time into training and exercising them BCs are awesome dogs! He really is one of the sweetest smartest dogs we’ve ever owned but he’s a ton of work. If you or someone you know is considering a BC just do your research. Learn about the breed and see if you think you would be a good fit. Don’t get on just because you think they are cute.

I just felt the need to share. I’m always posting these cute pictures of him where he’s sitting and looking so well behaved. Don’t get me wrong he is for the most part very well behaved (he has a few behavioral problems we’re trying to correct) but he requires a lot of attention and work!

Okay off my soapbox!

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After the park we headed to Whole Foods for a little patio lunch action. I ordered a veggie wrap that was soooo stinking good! I’m thinking I’m need to hit them up again this week for another one.

Kent and I love getting in our patio time when the weather is nice!

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After lunch Kent made me a very happy wife!

He got his chainsaw out and took down 2 trees that I’ve hated since the day we moved in….8 years ago.

 

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Just look at them! Kent has this thing about cutting down trees and would not budge. It was a battle I would never win.

One day out of the blue he says it’s time to say goodbye to the ugly things.

I was totally shocked! 8 years I’ve been complaining about those things…….8 freaking years.

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Kent said they were dying and asked if I had anything to do with it. Nope, but if he gave me a few more years I may have taken matters into my own hands.

Ahhh sooo much better! I hated the way they closed off our porch and dated our house. It looks more open and fresh!

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Brady got in a little puppy nap………

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and I took a bubble bath and snapped way too many pictures of this awesome mask! The mask promises health and beauty. As you can see it’s totally working!

I posted this on Instagram and quickly lost 4 followers ahahah! I don’t blame them this is some scary stuff! Not everyone can hang!

Kent said I looked like Kevin Bacon and an Instagram buddy said the top left photo looks like Donkey from Shrek (I totally agree).

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Hope y’all had a great Easter!
I can’t help but think this will be our last Easter kid free.