Did I Ever Tell You About the Time We Ate Bugs?

Broccoli is our family's favorite vegetable. Steamed, raw, plain, sauced, roasted, or casseroled, everyone gobbles it up and asks for more. We easily eat it 3 times a week in some form or fashion. I buy it fresh in the produce section and choose the organic variety when it's on sale. It's a staple in our house.

It used to be a staple, that is. All of that changed when we ate a hundred million black bugs embedded in broccoli florets for dinner one night. Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew.

It happened back in November. I am just now able to write about it because it has taken me months to get over the disgust and shame of feeding my family insects for dinner.

In my defense, I had no idea my broccoli was infested. I bought the organic variety, washed it, quartered it, and steamed it for 10 minutes. I served plates. I called everyone for dinner. We thanked God for the food set before us. We began eating.

Everything was fine until I forked a too-big piece and bit half off. Then my eyes beheld the horror of the situation. I saw hundreds of black bugs. Everywhere. They were all dead of course, but who cares. Bugs are bugs, dead or alive, I certainly don't want to eat them. And boy, did I ever eat them. As well as JD and Beatrice and Penelope.

The worst part of this story is that we ate a lot of bugs. Our plates were almost completely empty before we discovered the infestation. "How could one not know they were eating bugs?," you may be asking yourself. Well, we never use the overhead light in the dining room. The light from that thing is bright and abrasive so I turn on the wall sconces and a buffet lamp instead. Also, I overcooked the broccoli a bit so the tiny little buds at the end were dark green. The bugs were the same size and tightly tucked into the branches under the florets, totally out of sight. In our dark dining room, those things were impossible to see.

After I bit off half of my too-big bite and saw the bugs, I went into the kitchen to investigate under the light. It was then that I saw dead bugs everywhere. In my broccoli, on my plate, in the pot I steamed it in, on the serving spoon. Everywhere. If I had a mirror, I'm sure I would have found them in my teeth too. How could I not see this earlier??? I told everyone to stop eating immediately.

I was in denial for half a second and asked JD if the sesame seed sized black things in my broccoli were bugs. He cut into his remaining portion and saw thousands of them. I turned the lights on. Bugs were covering our plates. We ate bugs. We fed our kids bugs. We didn't know how to move on from that moment, so we laughed and cried and held each other.

Months later, we are still traumatized. JD said it would have been better if we never discovered them in the first place. At least then we would still have our innocence. And could sleep at night knowing that we fed our kids bugs. 

I have still not bought fresh broccoli since the incident and I'm not sure that I ever will again. I have purchased frozen broccoli that is diced into small bite sized pieces, but honestly, JD and I are so skeeved out by the fact that we ate bugs, we barely eat it. Thankfully, the girls are oblivious and still eat it with carefree abandon. Mommy's so sorry, girls. 

Upon googling, I learned that tiny black bugs are pretty common with organic broccoli. Washing them out is often futile since they hunker down deep into the florets. I should feel better about feeding my family organic bugs, right? I mean, if one's going to ingest hundreds of thousands of insects they better not have any fillers or preservatives. That's always been my motto!

Anyone wanna come over for dinner?

February Photo Challenge: Part 3

February is almost over! I'm still churning out my photos for the photo challenge. Here is week 3's installation.

Weekend Adventure: Korean Friendship Bell

We had a very relaxed long weekend. We made fake blueberry muffins with real cranberries. We ate fried egg sandwiches for dinner. We took walks. We did laundry. We went to church. We wanted to go to San Diego, but gas is nearly $5 a gallon here and I didn't want to spend the money. Instead, we ventured to the Korean Friendship Bell.

The Korean Friendship Bell is this humongous bell given to the U.S. in 1976 as a symbol of friendship between us and Korea. It's pretty cool. A lot of kung fu movie scenes have been filmed here. It sits inside this elaborately painted structure.

A lot of tourists come to check it out. A lot of locals come to fly kites. We came for the views. It is located on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is beautiful.

Beatrice came for the playground.

Penelope came because she's a little baby and goes wherever we go. She liked the sunshine.

It was a fun adventure with a little U.S. history too.

What kind of weekend adventures do you go on? Is there an awesome riverbank close by? Enchanted woods for exploring? Is your mall amazeballs? No matter what is available to you in your area, I'm sure there is adventuring to be had. Do you guys want to play along and share your weekend adventures? If so, let's link up each week and share the fun. Grab the code and look for my next weekend adventure post to link up. Happy adventuring out there!!

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February Photo Challenge: Part 2

I've been having so much fun participating in Fat Mum Slim's February Photo Challenge. It's really caused me to look for moments or objects to capture on film. Plus, I freaking love Instagram. Here are my contributions for week 2 of the challenge.

Link up and play along on Instagram!

February Photo Challenge: Part 1

After today's Debbie Downer post, I got a bunch of phone calls from my friends and family making sure I was okay. I am! Just missing everything my old life had to offer is all. But let's not dwell on that. Let's see my first installment of Fat Mum Slim's February Photo Challenge instead.

I just now realized how awesome Instagram is. It's been on my phone for 6 months, but this week was the first time I figured out what it's all about. It's super fun to check out everyone's photos and catch little  glimpses of their everyday lives.

I'm digging this photo a day challenge. It's not too late, play along and link up!

Fabulous and Fit In February

I have not written about postpartum weight loss since having Penelope for 1 very good reason: I haven't lost it all. It has been 5 months and I have about 7 lbs to go. I wanted to wait until I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight before mentioning the 50 lbs I gained with this pregnancy. I failed. So far, the weight has proven harder to drop this time around. Could it have something to do with my looming 30th birthday??? Possibly, but I think I have it narrowed down why I am holding onto these last few pesky lbs:

It could have something to do with butter. And heavy cream. And sour cream. I put it on most everything. I can't help it, I love all 3 and they make everything so much more delicious. Don't even mention margarine to me. Real butter is where it's at. Somehow I started putting heavy cream in my coffee instead of skim milk and I can't go back. Sour cream makes everything yummier, don't even try denying it. And then there's dessert. And portion sizes. I basically have no concept of a normal sized meal. Or that cake is not breakfast. I am out of control and I have the muffin top to prove it. Sigh.


Since my 30th birthday is next month, I am finally getting serious about kicking these 7 lbs to the curb for good. Or until the next pregnancy. Kidding, honey, kidding. I decided to dedicate February to getting fit. I can commit to a month of healthier eating, smaller portions, and regular exercise. Plus, I'm no dummy, I chose the shortest month of the year to commit to something. I can do anything for 29 days. I'm starting with this:

Source: tumblr.com via Aly on Pinterest

I'm pretty sure the bulk of those 7 lbs resides in my belly. I really want to get rid of the pudge in that area so I am going to do these abdominal exercises all month. I'm also going to limit snacking to only fruit or veggies, drink lots of water, and cut down on my portion sizes. I want to say that I'll give up dessert, but that would be a lie. I live for Jesus and sugar.

I took some before photos of my belly today. I will post them at the end of the month. Maybe. Only if there is change. Significant change. Abs of steel change.

Things also changing in February? The blog is getting a makeover. It's time for something new and I can't wait! Also, I am doing Fat Mum Slim's February photo challenge. Basically, you take a photo a day for the category determined and link up with others via Instagram or the blogosphere. Fun stuff, you should play along too! I'll post my pics on the weekly.

Here's to a fabulous, fit new me (and you) in February!

Sunday Dinner

I have barely cooked in the past 2 weeks. We were on vacation, then had a few dinners prepared for us by family for Easter and just plain thoughtfulness, and then I completely forgot how to cook. Not really, but I thought I forgot how to cook. So I abstained for fear that I actually did forget. Make sense? With an empty fridge and no more excuses for JD, I decided to dust off the ol' dutch oven and prepare a home cooked meal for my family.

Swiss Steak and Mashed Potato Eggs
Beatrice calls potatoes "potato eggs." There are no eggs in these mashed potatoes, just so you know. 


Heat vegetable oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.

Season the round steak with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Dredge in seasoned flour. 

Brown on both sides in hot oil. 

When browned, remove steaks and reserve on a plate. 

Chop onions and garlic. Some recipes call for celery. JD hates it so I omit it. Add to hot, steak-y oil and cook until translucent. 

Add tomato paste, oregano, paprika, Worcestershire, and beef stock to pot. Stir. 

Add steak back to the sauce. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. I happened to time it perfectly during daddy/baby nap time. They came downstairs as soon as the 2 hour simmer began.

Good afternoon, sleepy heads. 

While the simmering commences, fish out the toys under the couch.

Make sure you get them all out.

When the 2 hours are almost up, peel and dice potato eggs. If you don't have potato eggs, the regular variety will do. 

Boil until tender. Drain. Add sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Whip them until they are thick, creamy, garlicky, and yummy. I forgot to take a photo of these steps. Honestly, it's a miracle that there are any photos in this post. JD doesn't understand why I take pictures of food and makes me feel self-conscious about it. I think I just like the practice. My eternal excuse for every weird thing I do is the blog. Sorry blog. 

Meanwhile, add a few tablespoons of seasoned flour to the sauce to thicken. 

Serve over mashed potatoes. This photo looks like slop. It tastes much better than slop. 

JD's plate looks a little better. Bigger, but less slop-like. 

You will make your husband very happy. 

Giddy even.

Baby girls will be happy too. 

For full recipe, click here. Enjoy!