Deep dish veggie pizza for 2

** forewarning I chopped extra veggies for munching on while making this

What you'll need:

2 carrots chopped

2 celery stalks diced

1 green pepper diced

1 yellow pepper diced

10 grape tomatoes cut in half

1 bar of cream cheese

1 ranch seasoning packet

1 can of crescent roll

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to temp the crescent roll calls for.

2. In a small square pan (mine is glass) grease pan and then roll out crescent roll dough 

3. Make sure dough is pressed and there are no holes in the dough and it's distributed evenly

4. Place in oven for designated time on can, mine was 11 minutes

5. While crescent dough is baking chop all your veggies and set aside (make sure you have washed veggies first)

6. When crescent dough is done sit to cool on a cooling rack

7. Microwave cream cheese to loosen so it's easier to spread and mix

8. Add packet of ranch to cream cheese and stir well

9. When crescent roll is cool, spread cream cheese mixture and sprinkle veggies over baked dough

10. Place in fridge for about 1 hour before serving 

11.enjoy 😊

This was a spur of the moment recipe, I am constantly trying to find ways to get my husband to eat more veggies!!! With the left over veggies I cut I made a veggie packed salsa and homemade chips. 

Care for Each Other

Taking care of each other in marriage is a no brainer, or at least that's what we all think. However, sometimes even in a new beginning as newlyweds we forget to take care of each other. When I say take care of each other I just don't mean the normal needs a couple faces, I'm not just talking about cooking or cleaning or working (whomever does it in the marriage). I am talking about each other's marriage itself. Follow me if you will below:

Your marriage is a plant, what are common needs a plant has?

• Water (Kisses, Hugs and all that stuff married couples should be doing) 
• Sunlight (Warmth, love attention) 
• Soil (A firm grounding to build upon aka Your Faith)
• Pot for the Plant to sit in (A home, not a house...there is a difference)

Taking all these things into consideration, are you and your spouse fulfilling all those needs, so your marriage can grow in new and unexpected ways? It's no secret by now I cling to my faith like a baby clings to their mother or favorite blanket. What does my faith have to say about my marriage and the role I have in it? It tells me many things, Some that stand out to me right now in this moment is Proverbs 31, I know many people who have read it, but let's look at it carefully in a marriage perspective, in a wife perspective: (scripture copy and pasted from Bible Gateway) 

31 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
    Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
3 Do not spend your strength[a] on women,
    your vigor on those who ruin kings.

4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
    it is not for kings to drink wine,
    not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
    and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
    wine for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.

8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The Break Down of what I am trying to show you: 

     When we read this scripture we normally hear all about how this woman, this wife, this "ideal wife" that the mother has taught the King about is someone who sacrifices, who does all and anything she can to not only care for her family but her husband and for those who are poor and in need. No where do we read how she is to be vain or how she is supposed to take care of herself first, she even puts her workers before herself. We as wives we need to put our husbands and our families and the people we come into contact with first. 

How does this apply to my plant theory? Well its like this If we don't take the time, to love and care and grow in our faith with our husbands and for our husbands, then ultimately we cannot expect our husbands to do the same for us. We should do things cause we want to and because we love to do it without expectation but unfortunately our human side is to look out for ourselves before we look out for each other, or when we do look out for someone we expect something in return whether you realize it or not when you do something nice you expect "thank you" or something nice in return. That's NOT how marriage works. You have to do things for the other person because you love and care for them. 

***I know this was a long post, longer than usual, and I know I have been doing this lately but it's important to me to share my faith and not just share it and expect someone to know what I am talking about (hence the entire scripture being put in here). 

************My point is this, take care of your significant other, take care of the ones you love, and as a married couple take care of your marriage, help it grow, help it reach the sky and go beyond it. Your marriage can't become the romantic ideas of marriage on its own like a magic fairy comes down and blesses you with it, you both are going to have to let go of comfortable and put on the working boots and get in the mud in order to achieve the romantic marriage you guys so hope and dream to have. 

Broccoli Salad

I know this is a rather underwhelming recipe to start February (yes I know I am late by almost 2 weeks) but its a healthy one, that is enjoyable and husband approved!

What you will need:

1.  2 medium heads of broccoli
2.  1/2 onion diced
3.  4 strips of bacon 
4. about 1 to 2 cups worth of red grapes cut in half
5. 1 cup of mayo
6. 3 teaspoons of vinegar
7. 4 teaspoons of sugar
8. about 1 cup of celery diced

What to do: 

1. wash all fresh produce
2. cook bacon, when bacon is done, put on a paper towel and blot out grease
3. dice up all the fresh produce that needs chopped, diced or sliced
4. crumple up bacon into tiny pieces (you could buy bacon bits but I like them made fresh)
5. layer like you would a lasagna the ingredients excluding the mayo, and vinegar, and sugar
6. once complete mix in a separate bowl the vinegar, mayo and sugar
7. pour over salad
8. stir well and make sure all is mixed well
9. chill for about 1 hour in the fridge

I hope you enjoy this recipe, I omitted a lot of sugar that is in most recipes due to family of mine being diabetic I watch how much sugar goes into things, also keep in mind the grapes are going to give you a sweet taste that you won't need to compensate with a lot of sugar for. Also I don't add salt to my food, if someone wants salt they can add it to their own plate, this is a good way to keep sodium levels low. I find that this salad is good for getting fresh produce in your system, while also catering to your sweet and salty side of cravings. 

Newlyweds problems #1

That moment when your husband tries to take your share of the blankets

Fertile or Not Fertile?

Many people who know me know I have dealt with many issues health wise since I was about 16 years old, what many people don't know is how extensive having these issues at a such a young age can be. When I was 16 I started having feminine problems, I went to doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist and every single one of them summed it up to be "Well your going through puberty." None of them wanted to listen to me and hear me, even though I was the one living with the issues. Finally my senior year of high school the pain got to bad, to the point that I missed literally half of my senior year of school. All because I was in pain, and no one would listen to me as to what was my pain, and where it was, some doctors said I just wanted out of school, some said that I didn't know what I was talking about, and some even went as far as to say that it was all in my head. But something in me knew this wasn't in my head, this was real, it hurt, and I could see and feel my body giving me warning signs that something was wrong.

When I was in my first year of college I finally found a doctor who for the most part listened to what I had to say, ordered tests and blood work, so much so that he would check my hormones, every month 1x a month I would be going for blood work and ultra sounds. finally my second year of college I heard devastating news but at the same time while hearing the news I had a rock lifted off my shoulder and a new one put on. "You have PCOS" Me being young, I asked "What is PCOS? How do I get rid of it? What are my chances of having a baby? Will this affect me long term?" the doctor responded with "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and you just need to lose weight and you'll be fine." they handed me a pamphlet of papers on it and sent me on my way. Upon entering the car and reading the first sentence sealed my fate, "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a fertility disorder caused by a hormone imbalance" *Thank you doctor for being so upfront on answering me*

Flash forward to October 2015, I am 2 months into my marriage, I have just run out of hormone treatments and need more, so I find a doctor, a specialist and she does 1 ultrasound, and 1 blood work test, and determines, "You don't have PCOS, you currently have no cysts and right now your hormones are fine."

Now someone living with the problems I have been living with would probably roll her eyes at the doctor and find a new one, but me being so prayerful for a healing, I believed her. When I left I stopped hormone treatments, no more montly blood work, no more ultrasounds. I was free.....was being the key here.

Flash forward further now to February 10, 2016, Yesterday. I was coming down with what I thought might be strep throat, or a really nasty cold (turns out a really yucky sore throat thanks to my sinuses) and I have a new family doctor, so of course he has me go through EVERY little background of history for me medically and mentally. When I finally finish he does a test to see if I am pregnant, as I am married so you know...married couples do things. I had been showing signs of pregnancy from late, missed or non existant periods, nausea, constant exhaustion, bodily fluids not so appetizing, appetite lowered but when I did eat it was weird cravings of items, and a constant need to clean. From all this he did the pregnancy test and this is the following that he explained to me:

"You do not have strep throat, you have bad sinuses and are probably eventually going to have a bad cold. Your also not pregnant." at that moment, the world stopped, my eyes filled with tears and I just lost it crying. While right now probably isn't the best time to be having a baby, a baby was what my husband and I were hoping for. This moment, this problem, it told me multitudes. The doctor looked at me very confused as to why I was so emotionally distraught. Finally my husband the loving protector that he is speaks up and says "She thought she was pregnant, she has been having symptoms that were pointing to pregnancy and she had hoped you'd come in and say she's pregnant." I could see the horror, the sympathy and the kindness all wrapped into one on the doctors face. He asked me why my new gynecologist had said I had no PCOS and what tests were done, I mumbled 1 blood test and 1 ultrasound and in that moment that is when I knew God had placed me with the right doctor, because his response was this

"PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, is a syndrome, that means you could have some symptoms, or you could have all symptoms, or you could only have one symptom, but that doesn't mean you don't have it, you don't have to have a cyst on your ovary constantly to confirm you have PCOS. There are multitudes of tests that need to be done and even then you can't completely rule it out especially with someone with your history and the displays your showing. What I want you to do is reschedule an appointment with your doctor and explain everything you explained to me and what we have discussed, and as for me, I want you to walk everyday together for at least 15 to 20 minutes, it will help you in losing some weight which will help with your fertility and PCOS, and it will help you to bond, then I want you to eat as much vegetables and fruits as you can, the more of it you eat the better. When you come back in March, I want to see that you BOTH have lost 5 pounds. You guys have to do this together, your newlyweds enjoy the process of being just married, and work together."

This this was the best thing I could have heard from a doctor, the worst news but the best help, the best advice.

So am I healed? Yes and No, I no longer carry my PCOS as a huge rock on my shoulder, I now carry it as a pebble in my pocket, do I still have PCOS, unfortunately yes, but you know what? That is ok. God has blessed me with many nephews and a few nieces and I have been able to devote my whole being into being a good Mimi or Aunt, and being a good steward of God, pouring my heart into renovating the church nursery and getting a staffed program running, and caring for those and advocating for those that can't.

Yesterday was Hard, but that's part of being a Harding.

The world spins, so does life

It's been a while since I've blogged, I apologize, then again I don't apologize, I apologize if you were eager and let down, but I don't apologize for living life and momentarily taking a step away. Blogging about our marriage, our recipes, and our thoughts are fun but sometimes I need to step back and just enjoy the life that I have and the marriage I am in, in order to offer something worth reading.

Within the past few months we have added more to our plate, but our plate has stayed the same in size. At points it's even heaping. Our church nursery I have taken on to remodel and make a fun and warming and nurturing environment for all of those who enter, My husband has taken on the task of youth convention, which in itself isn't all that bad, the planning leading up however is monumental!

One of our great pleasures this past week was getting to celebrate our lovely niece's 1st birthday, there is something so uplifting, full of love and amazing to celebrate a person's first year in life. To see how much they have grown, their personalities forming, likes and dislikes being more and more apparent. Watching her grow, and take on more and more adventure (sometimes to her mother and I's dismay). To be that young and to see the world in her eyes, to see her smiling all the time, full of love hugging everyone and anyone, this is the compassion and love and way I often think God wants us to see the world.

So now that you have had an update on our little lives, in our little area and nitch of the world. I say hello again, from the other side *Adele lyrics intended* Tomorrow I will post our first recipe for the month of February stay tuned.