do people sit at Mexican restaurants, outside, in the dead of summer, sweating, writing in their journal, holding their pet ferret.

I can hardly believe it’s been 5 years. It seems like just yesterday that my dad walked me down the isle to marry my dream-come-true of a husband. I have been pleasantly surprised by so many things about marriage and have learned so much about life, love, and commitment.  I feel (truly) like the luckiest woman in the world. Stan and I have both grown up so much and it’s been both challenging and rewarding to experience this growth together.

We tell our couples all the time: we believe in marriage. We’ve seen it work - not only for us in our short 5 years, but for both of our sets of parents, who will celebrate their 35th (Crosses) and 36th (Mounts) wedding anniversaries this August.  And not only does it work, but it’s a blessing.

When I think back to August 2nd of 2003, and all that happened on that very special day, I look at my life today and feel like I’d choose Stan all over again a million times! I am so thankful for all the laughs, hugs, kisses, tears, and adventures we’ve experienced together and I so look forward to many more.

Stan Cross - I love you. Forever. And ever.

Hey guys! Now, I am not the healthiest kid on the block and I try not to give health or fitness advice too often because I’m certainly no expert, but I wanted to share a little tip with you guys that I’ve discovered about getting my greens in!

I found that I was having trouble eating salads and raw veggies during the day because I was simply too lazy to get everything out, wash it, cut it, and mix it. However, I have found that if I cut up three times as much of everything and just stick it in the salad spinner in the refrigerator, then I only have to overcome my laziness once every three times I want some veggies!

What I do is cut up about one whole head of romaine lettuce, about half of an entire broccoli crown, maybe some carrots, possible a bell pepper, and one large tomato. I place the romaine, broccoli, carrots, and bell pepper in the salad spinner, spin away, and take out what I want to eat right then. Then I place the rest of the veggies in the salad spinner into the refrigerator for later. I cut up the entire tomato and place it in another container. Now, when I think I may be inspired to eat a salad, I’ve made it the easiest thing in my entire kitchen to make! I simply pull out the salad spinner, give it a spin (for those wilted lettuce leaves), and pick out what I want! I stick a few tomato slices on top, maybe grab some nuts and/or cheese crumbles, pour on my dressing, and I have my salad all ready to eat in less than 2 minutes. This has definitely increased my veggie intake by at least 3x! Try it out!

My salad from lunch yesterday - lettuce, tomato, pine nuts, feta cheese, olive oil and vinegar. This was a pretty simple one.