king arthur flour bakealong: inside-out pumpkin muffins

Last month King Arthur Flour launched a new series called bakealong. Each month they announce a new recipe to try and participants share their baking experiences on social media using the hashtag #bakealong.

To usher in the glorious start of fall, the bakealong recipe for September is inside-out pumpkin muffins. I tried the recipe last weekend and oh my word are these muffins delicious, especially warm right of the oven. The cream cheese filling melts in your mouth and the pumpkin flavor is on point thanks to my Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Spice.

weathering the unemployment storm

Being unemployed the last two months has been rough. Losing your full-time job is a major blow to your confidence--at least it has been for me. Most of the time I've felt a lot like the girl in this picture. Defeated. Lost. Confused. Angry. Hopeless. I haven't known where to turn or what to do next.

I was really unhappy and stressed out in my previous job so being relieved from that position was actually a blessing in many ways. But losing my main source of income when I have bills to pay has been super stressful. Add a rough bought with depression to the mix and it's been even harder to get up in the morning.

delicious black bean and butternut squash enchilada casserole

We recently made a delicious, veggie-filled black bean and butternut squash enchilada casserole that I just have to share. Dale found the recipe from Julia's Album on Pinterest. We both have been working on finding more veggie recipes to make and enjoy. 

I picked up a butternut squash at the grocery store but our garden produced enough little baby butternuts for us to use in the recipe. I've got a thing for butternut squash right now. So delicious. There's no meat in this recipe but I honestly didn't miss it.

I'm officially a Dodgers fan

Baseball has always been my favorite sport. I grew up loving the Mariners back in the good old days with Griffey, Buhner, Wilson, and Olerud. Dan Wilson will always be my favorite Mariner. As a fellow catcher I idolized him during my softball playing days. I even got the chance to meet him when he played at an Aquasox game one summer as part of a rehab assignment.

jumping on the green smoothie train

True confession: seeing our engagement photos was a bit of a wake-up call for us. Our photographer Kayla Kitts did an amazing job and we got some really great shots, but Dale and I both were less than thrilled with our actual physical appearances (I'm looking at you my double chin!).

Separately and then together, we both came to the conclusion that we need to work on being healthier and losing some weight. Neither of us will ever be models or have rock-hard abs and that's fine. For us, that's not the point. We want to be healthy and active to take care of our bodies and better care for each other and our family.

exploring the national park in our own backyard

I have wanted to explore the Petroglyph National Monument since we moved to Albuquerque and yesterday we finally made it happen. After a breakfast of pineapple and Bisquick pancakes, we filled up my backpack with water, sunscreen, and snacks and took the short 15-minute drive to the Piedras Marcadas Canyon parking area.