The Crazy Cat Couple

Where has the week gone!? I feel like this has been happening a lot lately blink and it's Monday again! Interesting work we last week. Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday nights. Kind of odd, my sleep schedule was interesting, but at the same time I enjoyed having a night off for a small break. Since I can't legally share what happens at the hospital, I'll give a brief run down. I had 3 tough nights last week. Each night I seemed to have one patient who was extremely sick. I mean I understand I have a license for a reason, I am supposed to be able to care for these people, but it makes me super nervous! Having the lives of others in my hands on a nightly basis tends to add some stress to my job. Don't get me wrong I love being a nurse, but I have a long way to go to become comfortable caring for such sick people. Confidence in my skills hasn't always been my strong suit.

Last week I was able to FINALLY go watch Chad play basketball at DMU. This was his first time playing basketball since his undergrad at Missouri Western. I was pretty impressed! He was sinking shots left and right, however, he did make the comment "I don't know how I did this in high school! Sprint up and down the court and actually try the whole game!" He was a little tired and sore, but he did enjoy playing!

This weekend was one for the books. So glad I got to spend time with my friends in Iowa City and of course a Hawkeye win is always nice!

Newlywed Moment of the Week:
Luckily, on my night off, Chad and I got to spend some quality time together. So how would we spend time together? Of course by building a kitty jungle gym! To answer your question, YES, we are the crazy cat couple! We had a gift card to Lowe's so that helped fund our project. We bought some plywood, a carpet remnant, some screws and brackets, a staple gun, and a saw. Then the fun began! We sawed the plywood (I don't suggest this, my ears hurt!) into 4 pieces. Covered them in carpet. Attached the bracket to the wood. Then hung them on the wall! At points it tested us, but we make a pretty good team! Made it out with only a bump on my head, no not from Chad, but from dropping the level on my head! Haha! Here is the finished project!

The kitties and their gym!

You might ask.. Where in the world did you get the idea for this!? Well a mixture of Pinterest and our cat Holly being a bit overweight! 

For my recipe of the week I'm going to share my newest addiction! 

Five Minute Healthy Frozen Yogurt! For everyone who knows me, you know I don't cook! This, however, is so easy even I can make it! 

All you need is:

4 cups of frozen fruit (I used mixed berries and threw in some frozen rhubarb)

3 tablespoons of agave nectar of honey

1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I chose Chobani since it's high in protein)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Throw everything in a food processor. We have a Ninja, which we love! Blend until creamy or about 5 minutes. Then you can either eat it now or put it in an air tight container and throw it in the freezer for later! It is a delicious, yet healthy treat!

So today as I was enjoying my day off, I was able to watch the Today Show for once! They were talking about this new app called Snap! Basically what it is is you download it on your iPhone or iPad then take pictures of your receipt from the grocery store and you get money back! Today I scanned one from last week's grocery trip and I got $1 back for a gallon of milk and 50 cents back for apples. It's not much, but it adds up! There were other items for deals as well such as diapers, $3 back! Click Snap below and check it out!

 Snap

Hungry Husbands and Burrito Bowls

Another week in the books at the Walker house. It feels like I have lived at the hospital lately. Between picking up extra shifts and working my own schedule by Friday I had worked 8 of the last 9 days! Whew! Let's just say when I got off Friday morning I was ready for a few days off! To celebrate Chad and I went to our new breakfast spot called "Waveland" and oh my it is delicious! A huge plate of food for a cheap rate, now that's my kind of food! 

For my first edition of Newlywed Moments I'd like to share one of the funniest moments from this week. Chad was very adamant about showing me a video on Facebook, while he was unable to track it down he goes for plan B. He tried typing the name of the video into the search bar on the Facebook homepage. Not only was he unable able to find it by doing this, he also was convinced that the search bar on Facebook should be able to do things like a search engine would! I could not stop laughing! And he is the smart one in this marriage!!

We spent Friday night with a few of Chad's friends from high school and some of their college friends. Just me and the boys, but heck it was a good time! Saturday we took the opportunity to sleep in! Our day consisted of Chad studying for his Pharmacology test on Tuesday and I caught up on some laundry and enjoyed some snuggle time with the kitties. Sunday will most likely be quite similar, but of course throw in some football and I have to work tomorrow night. I have a pretty odd schedule this week Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. I guess I get Tuesday off because they were overstaffed. Chad usually spends his evenings studying and when he gets a break he plays on an intramural volleyball team at DMU! I was told I missed a barn burner at this week's volleyball match-up! They won!!

I'm starting to get super excited for next weekend. I finally get to reunite with my best friends and cheer on the Hawkeyes! I've been looking forward to this weekend since hmm.. last year's adventure in Iowa City! 

Well there is a little catch up on the day to day happenings of the Walkers, but for my post today I wanted to share a recipe or two that Chad and I have eaten Usually what happens is I browse Pinterest and then Chad makes what ever strange concoction I find! This week I had really been craving Chipotle, but instead of spending 9 bucks on a single bowl, why not make 3 meals worth for equal or less money!

So I am a huge fan of their corn salsa! Delicious! I found this copycat recipe on Pinterest that hits it pretty close!

Corn Salsa:

1 lb bag of frozen corn, cooked

1/3 bunch of cilantro, chopped

2 green jalapenos, finely diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

one lime, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

1 poblano pepper, roasted in the oven and finely diced

Mix ingredients together and enjoy!

Also what is a burrito bowl without pico!? 

Pico de Gallo:

6 ripe Roma tomatoes, finely diced

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp salt

one half lemon, juiced

1/2 jalapeno, finely diced

Mix ingredients together, and enjoy!

We also decided to make the rice as well! Turned out awesome!

Cilantro Lime Rice:

2 cups basmati rice

4 cups water

1 Bay leaf

1 tsp salt

one lime, juiced

2 Tbsp cilantro, finely diced

2 Tbsp canola oil

Saute rice in oil until translucent, add bay leaf and water and bring to a boil. When the water begins to boil, turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. We just used a rice cooker and it tasted equally as delicious!

Mix salt and lime juice together until the salt dissolves. Pour over rice, fluffing with a fork. Sprinkle in cilantro and toss to coat with lime mixture.

We decided on chicken burrito bowls so this is the Chipotle chicken recipe.

- 1 7oz can of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Remove the peppers and keep the sauce.

- 6-7 dried red chili peppers

- 1 small onion

- 2 tsp cumin

- 2 tbsp dried oregano (all I had on hand)

- 2.5 tsp salt

- 1 tsp black pepper

- 6 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

- 1/4 cup canola oil

- 2 cups water

Throw everything together and you get this delicious mixture! Now if you have any questions, don't ask me! Haha! Because we all know Chad is the cook and I just enjoy the food that "The Chef" makes.

                                                                  Our burrito bowls!