Winter Weather

Our
dump
cute newlywed house sprinkled with snow!

I love Alberta and the uncertainty that comes along with our weather. One day sun, in the afternoon a blizzard, and back to clear sidewalks by the evening. And although I've been lovin' the warm-ish weather we've been getting, I have been dying for a storm! I LOVE STORMS! Big white-out blizzards where you stay in and drink hot chocolate and snuggle. The weather man was calling for a huge storm this past weekend, and like the silly girl I am, I believed him! Well on Saturday it finally snowed... sorta... more like a gentle sprinkle. And then Ryan had to leave early for work (so no snuggling).. Aaaand I try not to eat dairy anymore (bye bye hot chocolate).... but I'll take what I can get! Hakuna matata! Carpe Diem!.. Something like that, you know what I mean ;) ANYWAYS... back to the point I was making... Saturday was my "stay in because it's a
fake
blizzard" day. Which made me so excited for dinner because a blizzard day is not complete without homemade soup!!!

White Bean Chili

I got this recipe from my awesome sister in law Alley who is the cutest thing ever, pregnant with her first baby! I tweaked the recipe a bit to cut down on the dairy/sugar but the great thing is it's a veeeerrrry flexible recipe and it has become one of our faves!

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts, cubed

1 Onion, chopped

4 Celery Sticks, chopped

1 1/2 tsp Garlic

1 tbsp Virgin Coconut or Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cans White Beans, drained & rinsed

1-2 cans of diced Green Chiles

Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Oregano

1 1/2 tsp Curry Powder

1/2 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Pepper

OPTIONAL: 1 cup Quinoa flakes or cooked Quinoa (This will make your chili thicker!)

1/2 cup light coconut milk (or 1/2 cup greek yoghurt if you eat dairy)

1) Cook the chicken, onions, celery, garlic and oil together until browned.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients (EXCEPT the coconut milk) and the chicken mixture in to a large pot. Add enough chicken broth so that it covers your mixture (you can add/less depending on how "soupy" you like it)

3) Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 30 mins.

4) After 30 mins, add the coconut milk and heat for another few minutes and then serve!

Chili with a side of corn bread is one of my favourite comfort foods!

Aaaand here's a quick 3 count update:

1) Ry is doing spring semester at BYU which means I will be living by myself for 7 weeks! I was so excited to hear he got in, but then reality hit me and I realized I would be living ALONE! I promptly had a break down right then and there, with lots and LOTS of crying.. I can't live alone! I get scared being home alone past 6pm! Plus I would miss Ry so much! But after I let it process for a while I have gotten more okay with the idea. PLUS my friend Tracey has been nice enough to offer to let me stay at her house, so all it's good!

2) Pinterest is the cool club that wont let me join. I feel like it's junior high all over again. Why can't I be cool? I have "requested an invite" 3 TIMES! And still - nothing. Anybody have any advice?? I am feeling pretty rejected here...

3) The insanity that is EXAMS is coming up. You thought I was already done with exams? You thought wrong. I have already graduated and written all my school exams, but to become a "registered" ultrasound technologist I need to write 5 more exams. It never ends I swear. Bring on the stress, the sweatpants&ponytails, the sleepless nights and craming. Ughh... good thing I have such a patient and helpful husband :) - He makes everything more bearable!

Enjoy the snow while it lasts!

Love, Car

Coconut Hemp Bars

Soo.. I think that by now it has become obvious that I am not the best blogger. Months and months between posts, and when I finally get around to it they usually say something like "Sorry I suck.. here's whats going on." I'm hoping that now that I am finally graduated I will be able to be a little more consistent, but if I were you I wouldn't bet on it. Heres a quick update on the Bevans family has been upto lately:

1) We DIDN'T move to Utah. We have literally been all over the map when it comes to the future. Each day we dream up new idea of what we should do with our lives and then reality sets it and squashes is. Yup, reality kills dreams. At least, that's what John Lund told me in the the hours and hours of his marriage "communication" CDs that Ryan makes me listen to in the car. I swear I get nauseous every time he puts them on. Bleh. At least Mr. Lund has taught me one thing - Reality bites sometimes.

2) I have a new JOB. I took a job at Cardiology Plus there and I absolutely love it! Being a working girl is soo much better than a student!

3) I am turning this blog into a healthy cooking blog. My life isn't the most exciting thing lately because of all the working Ryan and I have been doing but cooking has always been a hobby of mine. Okay, I guess it's everyones or else how would we eat, but I love eating/cooking healthy foods! So here it is.. my first recipe!

Coconut Hemp Bars

No, this is not my sneaky way of getting stoned... hemp is totally legit, I promise. A few weeks ago I was shopping at Planet Organic (which is a natural foods store in Calgary) and came across these gluten free coconut and hemp granola bars. They were so tasty I instantly became obsessed. If you know me well (and if you dont.. why are you reading my blog? ;) ) I tend to have an obsessive personality. I go through stages. Obsessive, compulsive, "all the way or bust" stages. Well this was another. I was addicted and I often (too often) found myself driving halfway accross the city to buy a three dollar overpriced granola bar. They were that good. But after a few months of this, and especially after the hubs sat me down and gave me a little chat about sticking to the "budget" I realized the insanity had to stop. This is where my idea of creating my own bars came from. I had no idea of the quantities and I wasn't aware of all the ingredients, all I knew is that they had hemp, coconut, seeds and tasted like heaven!

So here is my take on the coconut hemp granola bars, and they are delish. I was originally going to call them "Hemp Millet Bars" but then my friend informed me that she feeds millet to her birds, which I thought might drop the appeal of my bars. Thanks Paige ;)

Dry Ingredients

1 cup hemp hearts

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup millet puffs (or kamut puffs, or rice puffs, or any grain... puffed?)

2 cups large flake oatmeal

4 tbsp flax seed

4 tbsp chia seed

Sea salt to taste

Wet Ingredients

1/2 C. + 4 tbsp virgin coconut oil (Realistically, you could use any type of oil. But I used coconut oil because of it's high nutritional content... Just make sure it is virgin)

1/2 C brown rice syrup (Or any other natural syrup.. Such as honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup... mix it up!)

2 tsp vanilla

3-4 tbsp maple syrup

Method

Easy peasy. Preheat the oven to 350. Add all the "dry" ingredients to a bowl and mix them up. Then in a microwavable bowl you put the coconut oil and melt it for a few seconds until it is liquid. Then add the rest of the "wet" ingredients and stir up with either a wisk/fork. After you stir the wet ingredients together, add them to the "dry" ingredients and mix. Everything should be well coated with liquid, and if not then add a bit more coconut oil. If they are too dry they will fall apart once you cook them. Once it is mixed, pour it into a glass 9x11 pyrex type dish that is lined with parchment paper. Smoosh it down, for reals, smoosh... HARD or else they will fall apart once they're cooked! Put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges look a tiny bit browned. The bars themselves will look a little bit uncooked. This is okay. Put them in the fridge to cool and solidify. Once cooled, cut into pieces (I make them into 24 little bars) and wrap them up!

* You can also crumble it up after it is cooked and cooled to make granola* :)

The best thing about these is that they clock in at about 180 cals each (if you cut them into 24 pieces) plus the have a good amount of protein from the hemp hearts and some heart healthy Omega 3s! They are great as a snack or for post workout! I would totally feel good feeding these to my kids, if i had any, as they are free of all the chemicals and "fillers" and cheap sugars that come with most granola bars. One day.. One day...

Anyways, hope you like them!

Love Carly

Settling Down

Nothing Is As Constant As Change

If you would have told me a few years ago that by 21 I would be married and graduated from post secondary I would have thought you were kidding. Heck,I would have thought that if you had told me a year ago! One of the best things in life is its surprises, its constant changes and ups and downs. Things are always changing and moving forward, and before you know it you are living the life you have always waited for. I was always the little girl who dreamed of being married and having a family, and it's crazy to think that I am now living that dream. (NOT the family part.. yet :) )

Ryan really is my dream husband. If I could write down a list of qualities my "Ideal Man" would have, he would have every single one... And then some. We are about to hit our 2 month mark as husband and wife, so here are a few little discoveries I have made these past two months about my man:

1) He is dang handy!! Some of us were never taught to change a tire... or put oil in a car... or fix the heater etc.. etc..Seriously though, I don't know what I would do without him! There are some things that I am good at and some that I most definitely am not, so I'm glad he can fill in where I'm.. er.. lacking.

2) The boy LOVES Vampire Diaries. When we first got married he used to make fun of me for all the "dumb shows" I would watch. I convinced him to watch one episode, and that's all it took.. he is HOOKED! Our weekend nights now consist of popcorn and V Diaries marathons.. and he has been caught on a few occasions staying up late by himself watching extra episodes haha.

3) He speaks Carly... fluently. Sometimes, I am just in my own world. I will say one thing, and mean something totally different, and then get frustrated when someone doesn't understand me. I am also a big fan of saying things like "Hey Ry.. Can you put that in there?" Needless to say, any normal person would go crazy trying to figure out what I am trying to say most days... But Ry has got it down!

4) He puts up with my crazy antics. He will check the doors for me as many times as I ask in the middle of the night to make sure they are still locked, and a few weeks ago when I heard a scream outside in the middle of the night, he got up with me to help push the dresser in front of our door.

I love learning new things about him each day, and growing together as a couple. Right now we are living in Calgary so that I can finish school. I'm set to graduate in just under two months, and then after that we are off to Utah! Ryan will be going back to BYU and as for me... well.. Let's just say I will have a lot of time to blog :)... I have 6 months of waiting before I can work in the states, so hopefully I can find something to do with all my spare time!

Lots of big changes coming up, and I can't wait!

Love,

Car

Picture Day

At SVP our main orphanage we get one day during our service time that we are allowed to bring our camera and take pictures. One day to capture all those little moments that we have been having with the kids since day one.

I have been looking forward to this day for

so long

& in typical SVP style.. the day started off slightly chaotic :)

As soon as we walked into the orphanage we were hit with a stench so bad I felt like I was going to get sick. Usually it smells pretty bad in the mornings, since theres 10 kids per room and 3 rooms... all of which haven't had a diaper change since the night before.. but this smell was different.. it was MUCH worse. As I walked into the first bedroom.. I quickly realized what was going on. 5 /10 kids had their diapers off and were playing and/or eating their poop.. sick!! As we started to bathe them, we realized that every single one had a dirty diaper.. and to top it off 3 more started to pee in their cribs after we took of their diapers. Lovely.

What a way to start off my picture day! :)

I actually ended up getting some pretty cute pictures.. but I am not surprised.. these kids are adorable! I also, might I add, used up my whole camera battery and took over 500 pictures... I know I know.. thats a little much. But I'm not mad about it!

Here's a little peek at my daily life at SVP...

Every morning we get the kids ready for the day, which includes bathing, dressing, and doing their hair!

This is one of my fav parts of the day because I get to pretend I am a hairdresser :) I like to think I'm pretty good..

We then feed the kids breakfast, which is usually yogurt. I haven't yet mastered the art of feeding 10 kids at once with one bowl and not spilling everywhere.. but I'm not too worried about it since I don't plan on ever having 10 kids!



After breakfast is playtime!! We usually take the older kids for a walk or go play at the park.. but whatever we do it is always a good

BTW.. notice the bit of drool on my arm in the pic on the right? Ya.. its a daily occurence. When I get home in shift I am almost always covered in some combination of snot, drool, and food. And yes... I Love It :)

During the day we have to do therapies with each kid. A lot of the kids at SVP are behind developmentally, so we work with them on numbers, colors, movements, etc... to help them be at a level more appropriate for their age. This is our attempt to teach Ana Maria how to walk... she is adorable and I love her.. but she is so lazy. She crawls everywhere and wants to be held all the time. So far the only way we can get her to walk is if she is being bribed. I think she knows how to work the system.. haha gotta love her!

For some shifts I get to work in Sala Uno (Room 1) & take care of the newborns. They don't do much.. just eat and sleep.. but I love to take them out of their cribs and lay them all on the mat to play for a bit! This is Angie.. I've posted pics of her before. She is my girl. On picture day, I made sure to pick out the cutest outfit for her and bring a flower for hair & we had ourselves a little photo shoot.

We love each other :)

I look forward to each shift at SVP & as my time here is winding down

I am starting to realise how much I love these kids

and just how much I am going to miss them...

Mindo Trip

Every Friday we get the day off of work to go and tour around Ecuador and today was by far my fav field trip. We went to a little tourist town called Mindo and did a zipline course in the jungle, followed by touring a butterfly farm and finishing off with tubing down a river. SO FUN! Here are some pics from the day :)

Riding the ziplines was a BLAST.. minus the awkward moment I had when our guide asked me if I wanted to try a trick and go head first. I was all for it... until I realised that I had to wrap my legs around his waist.. maybe a little too close for my comfort haha

If you put a piece of fruit on your nose at the butterfly farm they will come and land on you :)














Abbey and I before we set off on the raging river of death. For reals. It was sccaaarry but so so fun!



Our field trip this week was a nice break but I am glad to be going back to work tomorrow. I miss my babies. They have become such a big part of me... I wake up in the morning looking forward to seeing them, and I miss them when I have to go home. They are each special in their own way, with their own little loveable qualities that I just can't get enough of.

I only have one month left with them...

& I want to cherish every single moment.

Sick Day

On Tuesday night I had "Night Shift" at the SVP Orphanage.. which basically means your pullin' an all nighter with the newborn babies. Normally I love this shift - I have all night to write in my journal, read my scriptures, study, and jam out to the 90's music on the radio (Last week it was Mmmbop by Hanson.. Classic!).. PLUS it's an excuse to snuggle with my Angie baby all night! Unfortunately this night shift didn't happen like usual. Around 2 am I started to feel super nauseous and dizzy, so much so that I couldn't stand up straight! I ended up getting sick everywhere and an orphanage worker had to come take care of me AND the babies!

Long Story Short - I have been confined to my bed ever since. I'm not sure if its the flu or just a bug, but this blows! After sleeping 16+ hours a day, watching all 3 High School Musicals, creeping on all of my facebook friends... twice, hours of online shopping, and skyping all my besties, I have reached my limit..

I am so0o0 bored!!

Hopefully I get better soon..I miss seeing my babies everyday, and to be honest.. I think I am starting to lose it! My roomie Katie walked into our room to find me asleep.. with my puke pot on my head.. ya..reeeeaaal cute.

Loves This...

Put Your Trust In God
By President Gordan B. Hinckley

It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is.
It all works out. Don't worry.
I say that to myself every morning.
It will all work out.
Put your trust in God,
and move forward with faith
and confidence in the future.
The Lord will not forsake us.
He will not forsake us.
If we will put our trust in Him,
if we will pray to Him,
if we will live worthy of His blessings,
He will hear our prayers.


Ever have one of those days where it seems like every possible thing that could go wrong does?

Today is that day, and whenever I find myself having a pity party I think of this quote by Pres Gordon B. Hinckley & it helps me put everything into perspective. No matter how bad things seem, it will get better. I am so grateful to have a testimony and to know that my Father in heaven will always look out for me and that there is always a master plan. I just need to keep reminding myself that all I need to do is have a little f a i t h and know that with whatever storm comes my way, there will always be a rainbow waiting at the end of it :)