Lately

Lately I've been...

COOKING

Homemade skinny french fries. These have been a staple with all grill-outs at the Mahal house. Super simple. Super delicious. 

preheat oven to 425

cut up several potatoes and place them in a bowl with ice and water for 

10 minutes (this will make them nice and crispy!)

toss the potatoes in olive oil and lay on parchment paper - season as desired 

(I've been using rosemary) 

bake for 25 minutes, flip, cook for an additional 10-15.

DRINKING
Fruit infused waters; cucumber, mint, strawberry, lemon. If it's delicious - I'm infusing it!

READING
The Girl on the Train! It's the Book Club book of July.

PLAYING
with Charlie.

WASTING
Time .. watching the Bachelorette. It's such trashy television but it's like a car crash - I can't stop. I really do like Kaitlyn, she's unapologetic and I think that it's a key characteristic in these reality dating shows. 

WISHING
That summer would stop moving so quickly!

LOVING
My husband

WEARING
dresses. every. single. day!

It's so much easier to throw on a dress and a pair of flats and head off to work - especially in the warm summer months.

FOLLOWING
The 2016 presidential election. I know, I know it's early but I really enjoy the debates, banter and everything else that will go on in the next 18ish months.

Give Grace

Every time I hear of a bloggers, news organization or anyone speaking out about infertility, my ears perk up and my heart smiles. I blogged about it during NIAW week that 1 in 8 couples are affected by infertility but still people don't talk. 

Women remain silent and hurt. Men don't share. 

The latest blog is a new one to my repertoire; Scarlet & Gold Designs. They've started a Give Grace campaign - you have to see these designs! Beautiful gold foil prints all designed based on their personal struggles with infertility. 

100% of the proceeds will go towards sending these women to the creme de la creme of fertility docs in the country. Once they've received their treatment - they're continuing the collection and donating the proceeds to help more couples struggling to start a family; either through IVF or adoption. 

Read more about the campaign here.

more reading: the ugly truth of IVF

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us

We hope that you will join us in our #GiveGrace™ movement to break the silence about infertility and to become more open about all our struggles. There is so much freedom in being real and sharing with honesty and vulnerability. With each purchase, we will be including two gold metallic Give Grace™ temporary tattoos. We encourage you to wear the first one and post a picture, telling your friends what giving grace means to you. Then, share the second one with someone who needs encouragement. Together, we can be a light in this dark world and can help carry each other’s burdens. Will you join us?

So, maybe pick up a beautiful print and do something good today. 

#givegrace

#tbt :: a puppy + a pupcake

Charlie's friend Ace just turned 2 and he was so generous to share his birthday pupcakes 

(i suspect when you have kids the dogs in this story change to children, no?)

Ace's mom (Kaylee) made amazing pupcakes; shredded carrots, peanut butter, milkbones - everything a puppy dreams of.

This montage of her demolishing this pupcake is probably the cutest thing ever:

All done! 

SUMMER IS HERE!

the smell of grass, a cold glass of wine on the patio, frizzy hair, fresh flowers, tan lines, catching fish, farmers markets, dairy queen runs, twins games, jogs.. being outside!

Our summer is super busy but I am so excited for some of the plans we have; weddings, celebrations, weekends at the cabin, travels, amazing concerts. 

It's worth being busy when there are so many crazy amazing things on the docket. 

Also, since I'm a typical two months removed from a post - here's our life.. in bullet points:

• Charlie graduated from her Beginning Obedience Class. She placed second in her class (and was the youngest by a long shot). We're clearly super proud! 

• The puppy and I have started an amazing Saturday morning routine; wake up - cuddle - walk/run around Cleary Lake - browse the farmers market - grab some Starbucks - head home to relax. 

• Little brother is traveling in Spain! Check out his travel blog here. He's having a blast but it will be great to have him back in MN soon. 

until next time...

iphone pic roundup

I know you're sitting there thinking to yourself; 'man, i wonder what crappy iphone photos Amanda has been taking lately'. Don't worry, I'm here to oblige. 

This puppy gets soo tuckered at daycare that she can't even be bothered to put her tongue in her mouth when she passes out. 

The struggle is real.

During our stretch of warm weather, the puppy learned the joys of passing out in the sun.

So sorry for the food posts but Phil and I discovered something new at Von Hansons. For as much as we frequent that joint, it shouldn't be possible to find something new - but we did! 

Peppercorn rubbed beef skewers & Chipolte Chicken skewers (with zucchini, of course). We grilled it up, sat on the deck and enjoyed the weather!

The little lady celebrated her first 1/2 birthday. 

Pretty typical cuddle sesh. 

NEW MUMFORD. 

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of Believe. One radio station compared it to Coldplay and then that's all. i could. hear! The Wolf is much better and (in my opinion) much more true to them. 

Guacamole + Cucumber Infused Vodka = All the makings for a bitchin' Friday night on the patio. 

There you have it. I'm glad I could grace you with my mediocre photos.

Until next time, folks.

#NIAW

For those who don't know what my fancy, fang dangled abbreviations are - NIAW = National Infertility Awareness Week. 

This year's theme is You are Not Alone. Genius.
It's crazy, really. Everyone knows someone who is or has been in this boat - Infertility impacts 1 in 8 couples of reproductive age. So, think about your friends, aunts, uncles, co-workers - you know more than 8 couples, right? At least one of them is impacted by this!

We are 1 in 8.

I find so much inspiration reading and listening to others' stories; the successes and failures. 

This is a great week to search blogs, read twitter and join a community because, as the theme states, you are not alone. We are not alone. Listen. Read. Speak up!

My favorite resource: Resolve

want more information on our story? click on the PCOS, Loss & Infertility tab at the top of the page. want even more? drop me a line!

   

#nationalsiblingday

Happy National Sibling Day to my favorite brothers of all time. 

I still remember when my mom was pregnant with Parker and I remember thinking; 

I already have one brother, I'd really like a sister. No, I want a sister. 

I didn't get my wish. Another brother it was and now I can't imagine my life without them much less with a sister. If I had a sister there would have been even more screaming around the house and I would have had to share my shoes - my brothers steer clear of my nude shoe collection!

They're perfect (to me). We laugh, cry, make inappropriate jokes and love eachother for who we are. 

So, Tyler & Parker - Cheers to you. 

You're the best little brothers a girl could ask for. 

I believe...

Nah, not necessarily in the religious kind, but I have beliefs - strong ones at times. Here's my list of what is generally important in my life. 

I believe in..

- Red Wine

- Live music. My favorite saying is "Live Music is good for your soul" and I really, truly believe this.

- Keeping my nails short

- And, having them polished 

(side note: sally hansen gel, no light, polish is the greatest gift to me - and my checking account).

- A cold beer at a baseball game

- That dogs really are a girls best friend

- Farmers Markets & Fresh Flowers

- My husband and our relationship

- That my girlfriends are my sisters

- Date nights

- An MPR membership & Birchbox are great investments

- Handwritten notes are always a good idea

- Coffee

- The Eve's of holidays are better than the actual day. And, of those, Christmas Eve takes the cake. 

- Minnesota is the best state in the world. Yeah, I said it, WORLD. 

What do you believe in? 

Arizona Vacay

This year after all of Phil's work (fun) travels I said enough was enough and I was escaping to somewhere warm. I booked a trip and headed off to the Valley of the Sun. Andrea and I planned and schemed to make the most out of our four days together and we did not disappoint. 

I arrived on Friday morning and we changed into our hiking gear and went to breakfast (:)). Daily Dose and the breakfast nachos! did not disappoint. 

We hiked our way around Gateway - my favorite AZ hike! The weather was perfect!

Friday night we got dressed up and went to Old Town and had a ladies night. Mama Mee joined us at Olive and Ivy & Kazimierz. The atmosphere was great and the wine was better. Olive & Ivy had the most amazing apps; bacon wrapped dates, apple cinnamon bruschetta, etc, etc, etc. 

Olive & Ivy

Kazimerz speakeasy entrance sign

Saturday morning I woke up to 70 degrees and enjoyed my morning coffee by the pool - not too shabby. When Andrea woke up we went on another hike - this time to Sunrise. I knew that Sunrise was a little more steep than Gateway but was not prepared for how difficult this hike would be. 

Halfway through the hike I felt like Katniss Everdeen looking for my next tribute. It was desolate (besides the other people hiking!) and beautiful. There was no sign of city life. Below is a screenshot of my health app - 101 floors to the top of the mountain. Andrea said, "we're almost there" to me at least 27 times .. clearly she was lying the first 26! 

The view from the top was stunning!

After our hike, we had to get home (quick) because the AZ Wildcats were playing in the NCAA tournament. We threw on suits, mixed up some margs & guac and laid out by the pool watching the Cats advance to the next round.

And let me tell you about these margaritas that we mixed up: fresh squeezed juice from the trees in the backyard + tequila = happy Mada. 

Saturday night we made a delicious dinner and home and drank too much wine by the fire. It was the perfect way to catch up with friends!

Sunday morning we woke up and went to the most adorable coffee shop; Sip. And did yoga. In the parking lot. It was so perfect. We were outside, listening to good music, doing yoga and drinking coffee. What more could a girl ask for?

yoga in the parking lot

After yoga we sampled some amazing Cartel Coffee (ON TAP - IT'S THE DREAM!) and soaked up the beautiful morning. 

Sunday afternoon we tried to go to a spring training game but settled for margaritas instead and did what any good Minnesotan visiting Arizona does - went to Oreganos. If you have never been - go. Get the "original pizza cookie" (pizzookie) and enjoy. This place never, ever, ever disappoints. 

 Monday was the perfect way to wrap up the trip; I had a quiet day by the pool reading and hanging with Marley (the puppy). Before I headed on back to Minny we enjoyed Orange Blossom beer (andrea's favorite) and laughed until our stomachs hurt (like we always do). 

love this girl!

I'm already planning my trip for next year! 

You know what's depressing?

Tonight I decided to combine all three of my blogs (baby mahal blog, first blog and new blog). I was going through posts - editing, cleaning up, etc. and came across the post when we first met with our RE (reproductive endo) and made a plan for baby Mahal. Want to know when that post was? APRIL 2013 - two years ago. Two years ago we made a plan and set forth to have a little one and here we are April 2015 and we don't. 

If April 2015 Amanda would have told April 2013 Amanda that I'd be where I am; crazy happy with my husband and (fur)baby - I would have laughed at her. Screamed at her. Told her she was wrong. Because how on earth could we have been so hopeful and two years later there would still be nothing. 

Here's the thing: It's a struggle every day. I think about it (pretty much) every day. I can be having the best day ever and hear that somebody is expecting and I get a deep pit in my stomach and my eyes well up with tears. It is gut wrenching and tough but I deal - we deal. 

I wonder what April 2017 Amanda would have to tell me? I can't (and can) wait to find out. 

Enough mushy stuff for one night. Peace, folks. 

Still Following Operation:baby?

Hey You. Yes, you. Are you still receiving updates from this blog? Well, we've moved. There isn't much going on in the world of trying for baby Mahal but for updates please head on over to our new home!

http://themahals.blogspot.com

How to follow: Scroll down and on the right hand side, you can enter your email address and click 'Follow".

Thanks for hanging out here.

xo- A

world's worst blogger

A lot has happened since my half-assed, iphone pic only, blog. Sorry about the length but I've got to get caught up here!

1 - GRADUATION! 

Charlie graduated from Puppy School. Graduation day was filled with games, races and competitions. After each game, the winning puppy was given a small bone and the puppy with the most bones was the winner of the Graduation Ceremonies. Charlie won. Not to brag because it probably was her parents' competitive nature that catapulted her into the winners circle. 

shaking hands to accept her diploma

diploma!

"give me that kong"

2 - ENGAGEMENT!

Tyler and Courtney are engaged!! It has been a couple months since Tyler told me that he was planning on popping the question. After that, the planning and scheming came into play. I wish I could say that all went exactly according to plan, but it didn't.. but who cares? They're getting hitched!! 

A couple days after the big question - family gathered at bonfire for 30 mimosas a congratulatory toast. It was so wonderful! I can't wait for the wedding!!

celebrating!

3- VALENTINES DAY.

You may or may not know that Phil and I really don't celebrate valentine's day, per se. What we do do is eat a heaping pot of mac & cheese with cut up hot dogs and dip into a nice bottle of wine (or two!). It's fun and it's us. And really something that I look forward to every year!

I mean.. just look at that amazing-ness. 

 4 - CHARLIE

This little puppy is testing us! She's starting to push the boundaries and test our limits. Even when we want to scream - she licks our face and looks like this. Can't get enough!

5 - CABIN WKND

We made our annual winter trek to the cabin and brought along a few buddies! I didn't get stuck (first time in 2 years) and we had an amazing time - per the usual. 

deer in the clearing

saddle up buddies

ride it.

ice fishing buddy

I had a crappie on my line and wasn't so sure about it. Phil and Corey were yelling at me; "Do you have a fish?". Then I pulled this beaut out of the lake. Boom!

cribbage & coffee

the best

That's all, folks!

Until next time - which hopefully won't be months and months away.