beautiful africa

Crap.
I knew I shouldn't have broken my rule to write about Uganda. Ever since that post, I've been reading about Uganda and looking for blogs of people who are at Watoto currently or went recently in hopes of catching a glimpse or two of my babies (Phoebe, David, Patience). I may or may not have looked at flight prices. [They're still crazy expensive, no need for you to worry about me up and leaving]

I got the Watoto newsletter this morning.
And cried while watching this video.


Welcome to beautiful Africa. Colorful, thriving, dancing, beautiful Africa.


Ani Yakulokola Video from Watoto on Vimeo.

eat this, not that. smith style.

Have you ever seen the "Eat This, Not That" books?
It's basically books full of food swaps, that are similar in taste but less in calories, fat, or sugars, etc.

 

I've never read any of them, but there are several food swaps I make on a daily basis. Mostly because I like the taste of the swaps I've made, but also because they provide more nutrition and it's so easy, so why not?

Swap Numero Uno: Avocado for Mayo
First of all, I am having a love affair with avocado. But really, who isn't? It soooo good. Oooo baby, avacado. I'm kinda putting it on everything these days.

Now that that's out in the open, let's move onto the swap.

I don't 100% swap out mayo for avocado (I like to make garlic lime mayo to put on salmon burgers), but we are using less mayo. For the most part, avocado provides enough creaminess to make up for mayo, but sometimes I still add a bit of mayo too. Like in various "salads"...egg, tuna, chicken.

Swap Number Two: Applesauce for Oil

This is for baking purposes only. Not like putting applesauce in the bottom of pan before cooking onions. That would not be a good swap. At all.
But when I'm baking cakes or breads, I cut out 3/4 of the oil that a recipe calls for and replace it with applesauce. Just as good. You won't even taste a difference.

Swap Number Three: Ground Turkey for Ground Beef

Sigh. This is a tougher one. Because I love me some ground beef. And turkey spaghetti just doesn't cut it. But turkey tacos? Turkey chili? Turkey meatloaf? [A new attempt for tonight, which turned out like thebombdotcom (yes, I'm stuck in 2006), I'll post a pic in my next post] All good. Might even go as far to say better. And turkey is so much leaner! I love not having to drain all that fat out after cooking.

Swap Number Four: Sweet Potatoes for Regular Potatoes
I mainly do this swap for fries, but I recently tried sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes in stuffed acorn squash, and it was delish. Basically, you can never go wrong with sweet potatoes. They rock.

Swap Number Five, also the bestest swap of all: Plain Greek Yogurt for Sour Cream

This is my favorite swap because you will not taste a difference, and greek yogurt is so good for you and well, sour cream is not. It started out when I was eating my normal fage for lunch and I ran out of strawberries, so I just ate the last spoonful with nothing added to it. Oh, hello crazy tartness. Not that it was terrible, but...well, not what I was expecting. So then, I thought to replace our sour cream with plain greek yogurt. I was planning on pulling a fast one on Ryan and not telling him until after we ate, but I couldn't keep it in. Darn me and my innocence.
Anyways, since we both couldn't taste a difference, we've 100% replaced sour cream. I even make veggie and fruit dips with it. I'm going to attempt a dressing as well. I'll share the recipe if it's tasty.
I freaking love greek yogurt.

Oh and also, if you're gonna try and make the switch too, go with Fage or Chobani. They're the best. Fage is the best for eating as a snack, I like the kind that come with fruit or honey (I like strawberry the best, peach is pretty good too). Both are good for replacing sour cream. You can get 2% fat or 0%, we've done both and they're both good. I just get which ever is on sale.

Do you have any awesome swaps I should add to my list?

sseko love

I started this blog to keep family and friends updated during my couple of months in Uganda in 2009.
[2009?! That can't be right. But it is. Oh my...]

Nowadays, you'll notice the overall feel of my blog has changed significantly.
This is 100% on purpose. Not because my heart no longer beats for Uganda. No, no, no, that is not it at all. It's just that I kind of...have to ignore it. When I write about Uganda, read about Uganda, look back at my pictures of the babies I left behind, I get severely depressed and bitter. It's not healthy. It's not fair to my husband. It makes me lose faith. I try really hard to put Uganda on the back burner. I know that sounds terrible.
But for right now? It's what I have found works best. I once heard a sermon about what happens when God's plan for you is to just wait, which I remind myself of often. Right now, I'm just supposed to be patient and wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Ugh, I hate the waiting. And right now? God has me here. In Philadelphia. Supporting a husband whose following his dreams. Watching little babies who have mommies and daddies. It's not at all where I would have myself, but I know it's what is needed now. So to be the best I can be in the here and now, I just have to tell my heart to not focus on Uganda. On what I'm missing.

Annnnnyways, all that to say, I've broken my own rule.
I'm going to kind of speak about my love, my home, my Uganda.
Only for a short bit. And really, only kind of.
It's not something that is going to pull at my heart. And make me a terrible wife and friend for the next month. I'm still in guarding mode.


So for our wedding, my bridesmaids and I wore shoes from Sseko Designs.
They are a company in Uganda who employ young women to make sandals in order to earn money for schooling. They're awesome.

And now in addition to their sandals and inter-changeable straps...they're selling clutches!
Oh my!
LOVE them!

Oh, what was that? You want to buy me one? Okay, if you insist.

And while I'm at it...let me share this photo with you.
I'm not 100% sure this allowed by Watoto, but I think their sponsorship photos are public so I'm pretty sure it's okay. Also, I have maybe 13 people reading this. So I'm really sure it's okay.

This is my little girl, Phoebe, now. Ryan and I got our updated photo for this year and I love it.
Remember Phoebe? You can see her during my time in Uganda here, here, and here.

I love her missing teeth and scrunched up little nose. Isn't she the cutest?
I love that even from across the world, I can still be a small part of her life and watch her grow year by year. I love that Watoto brings hope to the hopeless.

You can sponsor a kid too, you know ;)
Watoto is an awesome organization to do it through. And it's not even that expensive. If Ryan and I can swing it and then some, you can too. So go save a life.

adventure aquarium

I left my Jason Wu fashion show post up as first for a while on purpose. It's been my favorite blog post ever. I'm kind of sad to see it go.

But sometimes we just have to move on.
So here's to that. Moving on.

Ryan and I have wanted to go the Adventure Aquarium since before we moved here. For his birthday, I planned to spend the day at the Aquarium and go out for Thai food for dinner (something I will not do on any other day. I don't like eating Asian food. Mostly because it's so saucy and watching men eat it and slurp and ugh...it grosses me out.)

And then I got sick.

And then I was sick the next week.

And then Ryan was sick the next week.

But turns out, he was only sick at 8am, not at 10am. So we still went, just a few weeks late.

It was crazy expensive, and not nearly as awesome as the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Sounds about right for Philly, eh? Actually, it's in dirty Jersey...so even more fitting. But let's focus on the good.

The Penguin Island. They were kind of funny.

Jellyfish!

We got to touch little sharkies.

I didn't like them.
And yes, I have nice, shiny, thick hair.
I try not to complain about my hair, cause I know I've got it good.

Walk through the Shark Tunnel

"I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots."
Name that show.
Didn't know it? We're no longer friends.

Touched these squishy things.
They grabbed onto your fingers until they realized you weren't food.

Starfish! I thought they'd be squishy, but they were not.
Disappointment.

And the very, very, VERY BEST part of the Aquarium....

STINGRAY BEACH CLUB!

WHERE WE GOT TO TOUCH STINGRAYS!

This is who I lovingly named "Mac Daddy"
Cause he was massive.
And he liked to come to the edge and then splash everyone.

Getting ready to splash.
Please love that I am the only one over the age of 6
(or not accompanying someone under 6) who is LOVING it

View of Philly.
Ryan and I attempted to get a shot of both of us with the skyline
in the background. Let's just say it was a lost cause from the get-go.

fashion show. fashion show. fashion show at lunch. for my blog.

I ventured out early this Sunday. For none other than THE JASON WU COLLECTION FOR TARGET! Naturally there was a line outside the store, waiting for the doors to open. And I felt bad for the man who was there to do some everyday grocery shopping before the Superbowl and had no idea what was going on. "You here for the Jason Wu collection?" "Aww man! I'm just here to do some shopping!" Bahaha. Hilarious.

Some people were jerkfaces and just grabbed everything in sight so that they could go home and sell it on ebay for a ka-trillion dollars. And other people (ahem, me.) (and the nice lady I talked to by the fitting room who has 3 daughters and was there for support. so sweet.) just grabbed their sizes in whatever they could reach, tried it all on, and bought what they liked while surrendering the stuff they didn't want to those waiting by the fitting room for the discards.

I was given a budget (a VERY GENEROUS budget at that!), remained reasonable and level headed, and came home with 3 new items to add to my wardrobe AND under budget. It was a fantastic day. Like a really, really, wonderful, super great day. (Thanks again Rye, for letting me splurge a bit and get some new clothes)


I have 3 sisters. So it's only natural that when I buy new clothes, I want to come home and put on a fashion show. Ryan is just the sweetest, so he kind of puts up with me and will sit and watch, but he doesn't last too long. Or notice the little details. Or ask for a spin. Or you know...do the girly stuff.

So, you ready? You want to see what I got?
Fashion Show? Fashion Show? Fashion Show at lunch?

Item number one: Black Accordion Skirt.
I'm super pumped I got this skirt. I've wanted an accordion skirt for a really long time now, but every time I've seen one it's either a hundred bucks or too long or too short or a terrible color. I've had such a hard time finding the perfect one. And then when I saw this one in the preview of the collection, I knew I wanted it.

Drake REALLY wanted to be in the fashion show too.
He photo bombed several of my photos.

I was really lucky to snag that beauty too. When I got into the store, there were only 3 left. A 14, 16 and 6. Me and one lady reached for the size six at nearly the same time. She was so gracious and let me take it. (I offered to give it to her too, I wasn't a total jerk or anything) It's a little big, because I'm not a size 6, (not sure why I'm sharing this info) but it's meant to be high waisted, so it just sits lower on me. Which is totally cool with me. I love it.

It's a super good twirl skirt.
Love.

Pretty little details.

Item number two: White "Tie" T-Shirt.
This shirt wasn't in the preview, so I didn't even know about it until I got to Target. But I was super excited when I saw it. I love tie-shirts. A little bow? A bit of whimsy? What's not to love?
No joke, every time I shop in a vintage store, the first thing I look for is tie-blouses. I've wanted one ever since I saw "Hairspray"

That's not me. Or Jason Wu. It's Tracy Turnblad.
And if you didn't know that, you need to go watch Hairspray this second.

with my toms wedgies.
I call them wedgies, cause it sounds like a 10 year old boy.

Little wheels.

Item number three: Blush Tie-Blouse.
I may or may not have squealed out loud in the fitting room when I tried this on. I was also not the only girl squealing or giggling there. I felt right at home amongst these ladies. Haha.

I went all out and did the whole socks with bare legs and shoes combo. Which turns out, I love. (Those socks are pretty lacey ones, you can't really tell from the picture. But trust me, they're not just sports socks or something silly.) I realize it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't care cause I like it and that's all that matters.

Pretty little details.

Pretty little details number two.
(Thanks for the photo fix, Julie!)

Sigh....so pretty. They're almost too pretty to wear. Almost. Psh.

ryan's birfday present.

This past summer, Ryan saw a basic painting of a bike at the art fair in our neighborhood park. It was $800, so we looked at it for a total of 25 seconds. As we were walking away, I was like, "I could totally paint that. And then we could still eat this year." So Ryan told me that's what he wanted for his birthday.

But he forgot about that. I couldn't believe that he couldn't guess what I was getting him. That might have something to do with the fact that I'm the best guesser in the whole wide world, but seriously? How can you not guess it when you specifically told someone what you wanted 8 months ago?

I think it turned out pretty nice. I didn't get the reaction I was expecting from Ryan, but he has reassured me that he likes it. It's hanging above his desk, so I guess that counts as liking it.

Isn't he the cutest PA student you ever did see?
I make a pretty mean stylist, as well, if I do say so myself.

Painting is my favorite craft. I enjoy sewing and now knitting, but whenever I paint...I just...really love it. When I was little, my dad found a small newspaper clipping behind my bed. It was a classified ad for art lessons. He asked me what it was, why I had it...I said, "It's my dream." So he signed me up for art lessons (what a great dad) and it's stuck with me ever since. Even before that I always loved my art class...There's a picture of me and my childhood best friend carrying a painting of a butterfly I made onto our bus after Kindergarten. And my grandfather had a picture I painted in 5th grade hanging in his kitchen for years. I mean YEARS. [That meant the world to me, too]
You know when people say when you do what you love for a living, you're not really working? Well in my case, that would be painting.