Hello and goodbye.
Unfortunately I feel as though I must say good bye to you all on Happier Healthier Jeffie. But…only because I have started a new blog on blogspot! It’s been fun wordpress, but you can be a bit complicated and I love how blogspot is already powered by google. The tone of this blog is pretty much the same but a little more active and alive than this one was. I hope you all can join me here: http://www.jessieadriana.blogspot.com
Love,
Jessica
Being twenty and engaged may seem unusual in this generation. Why? I’ve only graduated high school three years ago, am “inexperienced” with life and am supposed to be finishing up college and receiving my bachelor’s degree. This is half true, partially because everyone has a different way of doing things, including me. I think I’ve been through different trials these past two years that forced me to grow up and maybe I’ll go to college when I feel physically and mentally ready. As for getting married at my young age, I feel ready than I’ve ever been for anything in my life! The man I am marrying on November 2nd of this year has been the answer to all my prayers. He’s my best friend, a lover of Jesus, my better half and the supporter of all my passions and dreams. I feel rather relieved that I didn’t have to date around the world and back to realize that Michael was who the Lord wanted me to be with. In fact he’s the only man I’ve ever dated. I used to always wonder “How do you know if you’re supposed to be with this person forever?” but I believe that the answer really lies in prayer, scripture and from the wisdom of the people who love and know you best.
Speaking of being engaged, I see a few things from a different perspective now. I sometimes like to pretend I’m already married and try to pick up after myself as much as possible. I’m still cooking and baking but now I try to cook a variety of different tastes and colors; I even tried cooking free-range lamb, which I didn’t eat myself but knew my dad and Michael would enjoy it… And they did! I am also more conscious of how I carry myself and am no longer finding myself lusting [okay maybe not lusting] but daydreaming about the cute sandals from Urban Outfitters *sigh*. I guess a good thing that my priorities are now transforming into things that the both of us will benefit from. Such as going to premarital counseling, studying marriage books, saving money for our wedding and so on. We are going to be united this upcoming fall and twenty years old (by then I’ll be 21) or not, I am ready for that. That’s all I am going to say about this subject right now… More unsolicited insight to come!
-Jessica
Now on to the food:
Possibly the most quickest, healthiest and tastiest lunch I’ve come across… All it is mashed avocado (seasoned with salt + pepper, a dash of raw apple cider vinegar and a squeeze of sriracha) topped with sliced scallions, and on the other side is sardines in olive oil on perfectly toasted wheat bread. Perfection!
I made these gluten-free brownies but substituted the eggs for two “flax eggs” and used coconut oil as opposed to butter. The brownies were…um..flat. I should’ve known that eggs were the primary leavening agent. So instead of cutting them into traditional brownie squares, I cut half of them into heart shapes and the other half I rolled them into truffles with some shredded coconut. They were absolutely decadent!
A simple frittata for the special man in my life… I made this one with sweet potatoes and onions, spiced it with cumin and smoked paprika and topped the eggs with goat cheese and collard greens. My dad and Michael approved of its deliciousness immediately!
Last but not least, a German apple cake that was adapted from this vegan baking book. I added slight modifications by using goat butter and added ground cardamom to the spiced apples. This cake was perfect with coffee, I know I say that line a lot.. but this time I am being very serious! It was like apple pie and coffee cake had a baby. If that doesn’t excite you, than I don’t know what will!
That’s all, I have for you all today! Enjoy the rest of your weeks 🙂
-Jessica
Right now I’m feeling a little tired… I woke up earlier than usual so I could make breakfast, eat it, read my bible and then go get blood work done. But unfortunately that didn’t happen because when I went to leave the last person who used my car pushed the emergency break up really far up. I blame having such poor grip in the morning because it was utterly impossible for me to push it down! So the blood work didn’t happen. I did eat breakfast though and I got to read my bible, so that was good! I also read a very old book my mom let me borrow on having a happy Christian marriage. I am finding it refreshing because of its ageless advice! There’s nothing dated about treating your partner with the respect he deserves or being proactive about having proper communication. The author also said that you shouldn’t complain about your partner’s shortcomings and weaknesses with your mom, sister or best friend. But instead share those concerns with Jesus and of course your partner!
Quite honestly I don’t know where Michael and I would be if we didn’t discuss our concerns with one another. I always feel a sense of freedom and relief when we tell each other the truth about how we feel. The next chapter is about spiritual adjustments which should be really good! In other news today Michael and I are going to check out one of the catering places we had our eyes on. We are hoping to make a menu we both love and that goes with our style without compromising our budget. All in all things in wedding land are coming along quite marvelously! I ordered my dress a couple weeks ago, we settled on a venue and I think I’m starting to develop a clearer vision of how I want everything to look. But first I just need to share those visions with my fiancé! 😉
Until next time!
-Jessica
I’m pretty sure banana bread is one of those things everyone and their mother have baked. It’s so easy to throw together and is somewhat healthy making it perfect for any occasion and season. I personally believe banana bread is one of those things that taste better as the days go by, almost like chili. Almost. Somehow the flavors seem to be richer and the texture is much moister. I love it! I tried to bake a new recipe that I found here, but of course stuck to some of my old recipes roots and just added Jessica’s coconut streusel to the top of each muffin which came out amazing.
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
¾ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup unsweetened organic applesauce
4 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
Coconut Streusel:
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 teaspoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used goat’s milk butter, though it can easily be substituted with vegan butter)
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with papers or spray with nonstick spray. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas really well. Add the maple syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, and molasses, and whisk briskly to incorporate. Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan. To make the Streusel: Combine all the streusel ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until butter is easily dispersed. You want the entire mixture to be moistened. Evenly sprinkle on top of each banana muffin and bake for 25-30 minutes. (This can easily be baked into a loaf pan and will take about 45-50 minutes)The top should be lightly browned and a toothpick inserted through the center of a muffin should come out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool before transferring onto cooling rack.
….Because sometimes you just need a little pick me up!
Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Bread (Adapted from these)
Preheat oven to 375 F
Dear Sleep,
Without you I become a neurotic mess. I feel more of an urgency to take on my daily routines, my head is clouded and I tend to forget what I am doing. I become crabby and believe that the whole world is supposed to be considerate of the fact that I haven’t gotten enough sleep. I realize how imperfect I am. I see that I don’t handle stressful situations on low-energy. Let’s face it I need you sleep in order to stay positive in my environment.
Sincerely,
An Exhausted Jessica
And lately I haven’t been getting very much of sleep. I’m really thinking it has a lot to do with my incisions and all the stress my body has been through during surgery which I had a little over four weeks ago. (Time flies!) I also think it’s all this wedding talk. It’s not stressing me out at all, but I am always thinking about it and somehow repetitive thoughts tend to haunt my sleep. Like last night for example, I woke up at 4AM because I couldn’t stop thinking about caterers… Then my other thoughts have been based on Michael and his job. He’s been very distracted by it lately and it’s definitely been on my mind too. It’s been such a long journey for both of us so we were praying for good news nearly every day. He heard some bittersweet news yesterday but I’m not fully sure what all the details are. I trust that God will provide clarity for the both of us and I’m also praying that we’ll be close together once again. It’s been really hard and it sucks to see him so frustrated. I just want all of this confusion to end and to end in clarity.
And those are my thoughts.
-Jessica
Dear Friends,
Today I just finished my last day of in-patient physical therapy, and I must say I’m very amazed with how quickly my range of motion is coming back and I’m feeling truly optimistic with what I’ll be able to do after outpatient therapy! I’m dreaming of deep squats for sure! I don’t know how many times I’m going to say this but I feel extremely blessed to have had this operation, and am excited for the future because every day I get one step closer to full recovery. In your face, avascular necrosis! Okay so I’ll admit my physical well-being isn’t the only reason I’m so excited to be alive right now. Something occurred this past Saturday afternoon. Something big. Something beautiful. Something incredible, special, remarkable and spectacular!
….And that something is that I, Jessica Adriana Malave, got engaged! And not just to any old fellow either, but to my best friend, motivator, encourager, blessing and the love of my life Michael. We couldn’t be any happier either! Our journey together has been nothing less of a blessing and though we’ve been through many trials this year, we’ve only grown to love each other more and more. God has taken care of us both immensely. He continually uses Michael to encourage me and motivate me to be the best version of myself. Michael supports my dreams and I support his dreams. Ah, I’m just so happy because we’re finally engaged after talking about it for months! Oh my word, Michael is my fiancé. Alright, I know what you’re thinking the million dollar question… How did he do it?
As you all probably know, I haven’t been out of the house much. I’ve been feeling pretty sick from the all the horrible Coumadin pills I’ve been taking, (which I stop taking on Monday, wee!) and being out of the house for longer than twenty minutes can be very uncomfortable. Last weekend we also got a lot of snow too. So, I was a little surprised and kind of suspicious when Michael told me he wanted to take me to the park where we had our first date just to “talk.” To make a long story short, we walked by the lake and we took a few pictures. He then went on to say very sweet words to me which I honestly couldn’t concentrate on because I was just waiting for it to happen. I knew it was coming as soon as he unbuttoned his coat and reached for something in his pocket. Yep. It was a black box and as he opened it he recited the question, “Will you marry me?” I couldn’t help but attack him at that moment and kiss him. After that he placed the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen in my life on my ring finger and carried me to my car. And the whole ride home we kept saying, “Ahhh, we’re engaged” and “you’re my… fiancé/fiancée!” (said in a much exaggerated French accent of course.) All and all it was a beautiful experience and I wouldn’t have asked for anything better. I just felt the need to express my happiness to the world! By the way, I hope you don’t mind seeing wedding stuff on here for a little while. Muahaha 😉
PEACE.
-Jessica
Hello!
So, it’s the second week since I’ve been home from the hospital, and I must say everything is going rather splendid and I’m feeling a little bit better each day! On Tuesday I graduated to one crutch and should be walking unassisted by next week which I’m really looking forward to. Crutches are not fun! I remember when I was little, I always wanted to break my leg so I would have to use crutches or break my arm so people can sign my cast. I have no idea why I thought those would be fun experiences because having to use crutches has been anything but fun! Sometimes people stare at me like they’ve never seen a person on crutches before, other times I’m bumping into other people with them or people are bumping into me. Anyway other than that I’m super optimistic about how I should be feeling these next few weeks, and I am still blown away by the absence of hip pains that I had been experiencing for over a year. It’s such a relief.
Now that I’ve been spending a lot more time at home, I’ve been obsessing drooling over food blogs and have been repining gorgeous foods from Pinterest nonstop! Most of the time I’m drawn to the foods I’ve never made at home and I dream of making them instantly. But because I’m still healing and get tired easily, I’ve limited myself to cooking new things only on the weekends. The weekends are also the only time I see my lovely boyfriend Michael. He helps me tremendously in the kitchen and we both have a blast cooking new foods together! Last Sunday we made “Dirty Chai Pancakes” with bacon and boy did those pancakes taste incredible! They were perfectly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and COFFEE. Yes, coffee. Oh, and we both loved how perfectly they absorbed the maple syrup like a sponge. I’m not a huge pancake lover and neither is Michael, we would definitely choose waffles (and ice cream!!) over pancakes any day, but these were wonderfully delicious!
I am coming to the realization that breakfast is indeed my favorite meal of the day and it should be eaten without hesitation. I’ve wrote about the nutritional importance of it but the comfort it provides is what I truly love. Coffee, fellowship with those you love and the sweet & savory flavors joining forces make me feel so delighted. I honestly don’t know where I was going with this post… But I guess all I can say is I’m going to continue enjoying to eat with the people I love and not hesitate to make the beautiful foods I’ve been daydreaming about for weeks! That’s all I got to say.
-Jessica
It’s been exactly one week and one day since I’ve had my spur of the moment bilateral hip replacement. I call it “spur of the moment” because everything happened so quickly! It all started on January 17th while sitting in the doctor’s office with my parents and Michael. After Dr. Alexiades came to the conclusion that I needed a bilateral hip replacement, he told us he would probably be booked until May or June to do my procedure; unless of course there were cancellations… After hearing that I said a quick prayer in my head as we waited in his assistant’s office to schedule my surgery date. She told me there had been some cancellations and then asked me how soon I wanted it done and I was like, “as soon as possible!” So after a little waiting and plenty of praying, she asked me, “how about on Monday?” and I said “yes” without hesitation. Monday was only four days away and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, it was my first serious surgery after all. But I was calmed after hearing rave reviews about The Hospital for Special Surgeries and the overwhelming flow of prayers I had been receiving. God revealed His mercy to me and it couldn’t have worked out better, after the surgery I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off shoulders, or in my case both of my hips.
At the moment, my pain is at bay and I’m feeling pretty great considering I had both of my hips replaced. In fact, I should be off my crutches by next week and switching to a cane for another couple of weeks which is exciting progress. The swelling on my thighs, butt (oh my word was it huge…) and pelvis went down significantly! I can finally tell that I’m standing and walking without a wobbling, and notice that my legs are now even. Unfortunately I think the only thing compromising the pace of my recovery is the Coumadin I have to take on a daily basis; which is a blood thinner which prevents blood clots but like anything else it has its side effects. It makes my skin very vulnerable and more susceptible to cuts and bruises. For example I’ve noticed a heck of a lot of bruises on my knees, calves and inner and outer thighs, making it uncomfortable for me to sleep. But I’ve been sleeping on my back and with fewer blankets on me which is different, but very helpful at the same time! I also have to limit eating too much vitamin K which is the antidote of Coumadin. So this means I must go easy on the kale for the next three weeks. Wah!
Aside from getting random bruises on my legs and a little swelling, I’d say I should be ready to roam about unassisted, by my next follow up visit on February 21st. I’m so thrilled to be able to be active again, and enjoy being 20 years old without experiencing arthritic pain and always feeling fatigued. Most importantly be able to do the merengue at my grandmothers 80th birthday party in April, oh it’s going to be a whole new world for me! A la Aladdin. In other words my life is going to change a lot this year in more ways than one! Now I am going to enjoy some reading followed by a nap, I promise to continue keeping everyone posted on my recovery status. Peace!
-Jessica
Healthier, Happier, (Me.) 