I'm back...

I bet you've all been wondering what happened to our happy little blog and tips on cooking!

We haven't been doing much of that lately.  We have a joke in our household, I eat a can of hominy if Cory is gone.  Sometimes, I have been known to eat toast, left overs, even mac & cheese, but I usually don't cook.  Which is why our month of meals go so far.

A while ago I mentioned that we were in the effort of trying to conceive.  The last year has been very trying on our marriage, and we decided we needed to take a step back and some time off.  I used to laugh when I heard couples express this, even the whole "you are trying too hard".  What a joke, right?  Wrong, this has been the hardest thing we have tried to accomplish, individually and together, but we learned a lot together, shed some tears together.. and grown.

So the "baby" word was not allowed in our house, for a month.   Our month is drawing to a close in a couple of days... we've spent the weekends.. on the Harley, out with friends (which was a treat, because I didn't drink for.. 10 months- it effects your fertility), and with family.. in the pool and on the beach.  We've take a lot of time for just us.  At the same time, I had surgery, had some follow up doctor appointments and found out my brain is swollen.  I've had a lot of follow up on that, some new meds and a lot of abnormal headaches.  Cory has been doing a lot of cooking, even if it's just bacon & eggs for dinner.  He's been amazing.

I started seeing a behaviorist to help cope with the pain, the stress of all the listed above, and she suggested to get a family animal, that will give me something to focus on other than my pain, give Cory and I something more in common, and help be a bond.

So I haven't posted, but I'm back in the kitchen.. I've been doing some baking, some cooking, experimenting with new recipes, and I've taken a lot of pictures and notes, oh!  Meet.. Bella, the newest member of the Radel Family:

She's the little one, she's playing with our existing dog Spud, who goes on the road with Daddy.  Bella will stay home and keep me company!

So what do you have to look forward to:

Coming up next... Grilled pineapple, chicken and potato packets with broccoli.
(we grill so much in the summer, we have already gone through 2 tanks of propane.)
Later: How we use the grill as an oven.
Even later: Homemade hamburger helper
More homemade recipes to come: Homemade rice-a-roni
Taco Seasoning
Quick Biscuits

This month should be interesting.. :) hop along for the ride!

Working on life

Cory and I both have been working on losing weight.  I've also over the years consulted with nutritionists on diets and what can and will impact my migraines.  I had surgery on my neck on Wednesday to help with my migraines.

I've had plenty of time to scour the internet for plenty of ideas, one of the biggest things is removing preservatives from my diet, like things in pre-made soups, dinners, etc. So I've been writing down recipes and filling my recipe box.  I'm also working on another month of meals, once I get a chance to sit down and look at the meat flyers for the local stores this week.

I've done things like cut frozen pizza out of our diet, but, we still have it, I make 4 pizza's ahead and freeze them.  All we have to do is pop them in the freezer.  Working on our garden gives me a chance to control the amount of preservatives & ingredients in things like spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, etc.  Which I love making home made now.

I found a recipe I'm very excited about for Olive Garden's alfredo.  I'll let you know if it turns out the same.  We are still enjoying life, we went out on our first bike ride this last weekend together to bring a fallen rider home.  You may have heard about the accident, 12 of a local biker group were mowed over by a guy in WI.. please keep the family & all of our riders on the road in your thoughts & prayers.

Happy Anniversary

Hard to believe it's been a year since we said "I do".

Cory made me a wonderful dinner the night before our anniversary, it was a recreation of our wedding dinner, roast and all the fixings, even homemade bread.

We've learned a lot about each other in the last year.  Most people say the first year is the hardest.  We've crossed some obstacles this year, between sickness, migraines, and our struggle with fertility... I think we both spent some time going back to the day we married to remember what we said in our vows.

I wrote our wedding ceremony, everything right down to the commas and periods came from me.  I meant every word, I know he did as well.  We've found strength and sorrow together.  We've fervently hoped to be parents, we've faced cancer in a family, debt, nothing ever going right, and held on.   I would say these vows all over again.. because today, they have even more meaning.

I, Kelly, choose you, Cory.. as my best friend, my love for life.
Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you,
and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle.
I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
when life seems easy and when it seems hard,
when our love is simple, and when it is an effort.

I promise to be faithful to you, I promise to love you, commit to you and support you.
From this day forward, you shall not walk alone. My heart will be your shelter and my arms will be your home. As I have given you my hand to hold, I give you my life to keep.

 

Family Matriarch

Almost a year ago... I married this man...

Along with gaining an amazing husband, I gained a sister, niece, nephew, brother-in-law, loads of aunts & uncles.. and a second set of parents.


A couple of months ago, my mother-in-law had testing done on a spot they had found on her kidney. I received a text "It's Cancer". The first person I thought of was my husband, this is his mommy, one of his best friends, someone he adores to no end... I called him and we cried on the phone together...

We spent the next few weeks finding out treatment was pretty easy, but at the same time... one of the people I've been closest to in life, died from cancer that originated from organs. I tried to hold myself together, support and give hugs and kisses where needed.

Thursday morning, we got up at 3:45 in the morning & spent the day in the hospital. As you can see, my father-in-law & husband found this to be a very exhausting day. Waiting.

We received word about 1:30PM that she had successfully come out of surgery. The doctor then came out and confirmed that he had gotten all of the cancer successfully and that she should soon be recovering in a room.

She came home on Saturday, while she's in a good amount of pain, she's here, and continues to be the one that makes us laugh, gives fun clothes, hugs, and keeps us all held together like a special glue.

Thank God, Sue... we love you so much!!