Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Finally finished!

I started this piece in Jan 2009 with the intention it would be a Christmas present in 2009...well it is almost Christmas 2010 and I am finally finished!! Yay me! I can't wait for Robert to open it Christmas morning!


On a side note, I got a great deal on some bamboo kitchen utensils awhile back and they finally came. It took almost 5 weeks for them to be delivered, but I paid less than $4 total for a 6 piece set and they seem to be really good quality, nice and heavy.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

First snow of the winter

Just sharing a few pics from the snow we got over the weekend. We were at the local Christmas parade and right as the parade started so did the snow it was perfect!
And it was the best kind of snow, it was beautiful for about 12 hrs then melted and caused no problems! :)




Monday, December 6, 2010

Online shopping

I must admet I have never been a huge online shopper, I like to actually see and touch things before I buy them. But this year I have discovered the joy of online shopping! I came across a promotion on Amazon.com, "amazonmom" which gave me 3 months of free amazon prime, which is 2 day shipping on all things sold by amazon.com, it has been great and I got an email the other day that they have extended it by 2 more months :) I also have discovered Vistaprint.com, which is constantly running great sales on all kinds of printed goods, note card, business cards, calendars, magnets all kinds of stuff. Anyways, I have already gotten 2 calendars for free, just pay shipping (less than $5 at the time) and tonight I ordered 2 more calendars and 250 business card(my first!) for less $22, this time I had to pay an upload fee for the calendars but other than that they were free plus shipping.
I am happy to say that I am mostly done with my Christmas shopping! I still need a few stocking stuffers for hubby and a gift for my Dad, which is soo hard to shop for and then I think I am done. I am considering giving my Dad a heffer or some other animal :) I probably am not really going to do it, he isn't the kind of person I think would really appriciate that, but it would be funny!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Failure and success all in the same day

I have had several people ask me do I make Red Velvet cake over the last few months, and the answer is always not yet, but if you order one I will gladly make it. I didn't have an order for one, but I attempted it today. I used a Paula Deen recipe and I can't believe I am saying this, but it was a failure. I just don't really care for red velvet so I didn't like it. But, my husband does like it and he said it was dry. I have a few taste testers that I still have to hear back from but I am not expecting rave reviews of. I also have a carrot cake recipe that I pulled from a magazine awhile back that I had been wanting to try so I made it today also. And it was a success!! It came out perfect, and was so super simple. And while I actually made cupcakes with both recipes instead of actual cakes, I think that it can still count towards my make a cake from scratch that is on my 101 things list. I was covered in sugar and flour by the time I was done making both these recipes from scratch and the icing to go with them. They both called for cream cheese icing, but it was different from what I usually make and so far everyone really likes this icing. I uses both cream cheese and butter, of course butter makes everything better :)

My little cake monster...think she wants one? She ate 3 today!


Carrot


Red Velvet

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Why....

did I wait so long to make this recipe?? I have had this recipe for probably 3 yrs and never made it. I have no idea why, but I am glad I finally did, cause it was soo yummy! Me and Hailey both really enjoyed it tonight and I am sure Robert will when he eats in the middle of the night. Christopher of course didn't try it!
The picture really doesn't do it justice!

Taco Pasta Skillet
8 oz lean beef (I used turkey)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 11oz can corn
1 14oz can black beans
1 C salsa
3 C hot water
8 oz penne pasta
4 oz fat free cream cheese
4 oz shredded cheese

*Brown meat, add seasoning-pasta, simmer 15 mins. Add cheese to melt.
And this is a weight watchers recipe, but I don't know the point value, I had hand written it.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

New recipes

Last night I tried two new recipes and they were both a hit! :) I love RR!! Her stuff is easy and we almost always like it. I didn't take any pics of what I made but here is the link to the recipes, Snappy schnitzel and dill and shallot potatoes:


http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/snappy-schnitzel/
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/dill-and-shallot-potato-salad/

Monday, November 8, 2010

Hair Trama!!

One of the things on my list;http://www.dayzeroproject.com/user/hway; is to color my hair something other than the blonde that I have been all my life! So last week I decided to go for it and I went to the beauty school hoping for the best. I told her I wanted all over brown with blonde and red highlights. I got all over brown, with gold streaks, and wait for it...ORANGE streaks!



When I got back to my Mom's to get the kids Christopher informed me that my hair was HORRIBLE! And my Mom said I probably shouldn't go home like that cause Robert was gonna have a stroke and went to the drug store and bought hair color so I could re-color my hair. I ended up with much darker hair than I had hoped for but after a few days I am getting used to it....

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Super Doubles just aren't as good as triples...

I say it every time, but Super Double coupons just aren't as good as Triple coupons! I really really wish Harris Teeter would start doing Triple coupons on a regular basis again! But since I can't resist a deal I hit up HT tonight with two whinny cranky kids and I guess it was a fairly successful trip....here's the goods:



The breakdown:
1 12 pk Charmin= $4.99
3 Martha White muffin mixes= -$.46!!!
2 Quaker multi pack oatmeal= $.50 each
2 Fabreeze room spray= $.49 each
2 fabreze plug in= $.49 each
2 Dawn detergent= $.99 each
2 frozen Green Giant veggies= free
1 Dayquil= $2.09
1 NyQuil= $2.09
1 raspberry= $1.99
$16.10 + 1.81(tax)=17.91
total saving for the trip was $41.93 :)

I have had better trips but this was still a pretty good one. I really wish I had some Barilla pasta coupons, which I thought I did but most have used them already. They have Barilla on sale buy 2 get 3 free, so if I had coupons to use on the 2 I had to buy it would be an outrageous deal cause we eat a ton of pasta in this house. Oh well, maybe I will get lucky and there will be some in this Sunday's paper(fingers crossed)!

I also discovered a new place(for us) in Durham tonight-Loco Pops. My brother and sister have both told me about it recently and they were having a tasting tonight so I took the kids. Christopher of course was very excited to go taste some popsicles but of course didn't participate once we were there. Hailey on the other hand was in heaven and kept telling me "I bite!" and "I big bite!" cause I wasn't feeding her fast enough :) Turns out tonight we were sampling ice cream and sorbet, not popsicles but the lady was very kind and gave Christopher a pop anyway-which he of course decided he didn't like and only ate a few bite of. We tried the Mexican Chocolate ice cream, which Hailey really liked; the Hot Chocolate with marshmallow ice cream, which I really liked; and the last one was a liquor that I don't remember which one now with raisins and ginger snap which was also very tasty :) The sorbets tonight were the Mojito which was very good and tart and the pumpkin with candied orange which was good but I liked the Mojito better. This is definitely somewhere we will be frequenting regularly I believe.

Wow! I have blogged like 3 times in less than a week, I am on a roll! Lets see if I can keep it up :) See ya soon!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Quick comparison

Christopher was a dalmation his second Halloween and was soo cute. This year Hailey didn't wear the costume to trick or treat, mainly cause I didn't think about it til after I had already bought the Minnie Mouse costume but we did try it on and she was adorable as well. She is a month younger than Christopher was when he wore it and it did fit her just a little bit better. Heres a few photos of each :)








Did I mention my wonderful Mom made this costume :)

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Just a few pics from this weekend. Hailey ended up wearing 3 costumes and Christopher 2 :)









Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Just another Tues

About a month or so ago I came across a promotion called amazonmom by Amazon.com. The promotion was you sign up for this free club for caregivers and you get Amazon Prime-FREE 2 day shipping for 3 months free!! Well, needless to say the free shipping has been burning a hole in my pocket so I finally used it and am very excited about what I got today!

I can't wait to try some of the recipes in this book, it may even be "the" book I have been looking for to make every recipe out of the book :)

However I did NOT eat like I care about calories today! Christopher had his last ice skating class today in Wake Forrest. So we stopped at Chick-fil-a for lunch and then there is a lovely new Krispy Kreme right across the street so of course we NEEDED doughnuts-yeah right! But I of course still went and bought a dozen doughnuts and I must say there current feature doughnut the Pumpkin Spice is most excellent! I have eatin 2.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Cakes

I created a new Facebook page for cake orders!! :) I am not an offical business, but I am hoping that this will lead to have cake orders on a regular basis. So if you are on facebook check out Sweet Treats and like me please :)

These are some cupcakes I made awhile ago, that I just really liked:

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Special K

So, I see the ads for Special K all the time. You know the ones, the lose a jeans size in 2 weeks deal. So, part of my super double shopping trip included 2 boxes of Special K ceral and 2 boxes of the snack bars, I am giving it a try. However I think Hailey is the best diet for me. She eats half of my ceral (which I have actually been measuring out 1 cup of) and half my yogurt! Anywho, I did pretty good with my eats today, although as I am typing I am feeling pretty hungry and not sure what my evening snack will be, the cookie dough in the fridge is SCREAMING my name...

Todays eats:
Breakfast:
Special K Chocolately Delight w/ just a splash of 2%-I hate soggy ceral!
Yoplait cherry yogurt
*I only actaully ate about 1/2 the ceral and 2/3 of the yogurt, Hailey ate the rest
Lunch:
Special K chocolately Delight w/ a splash 2%
couple bites of orange as I was cutting them for the kids
Snack:
Special K 90 cal pretzel snackbar
ginger ale
Dinner:
Itilian Chicken(again Hailey ate several bites even though she had already had dinner)
Brussel Sprouts in butter sauce
stuffed mushrooms

Friday, September 17, 2010

Super Doubles :)

HT is doing Super Double coupons this week! This means instead of doubling coupons up to 99 cents, they double coupons up to $1.98! So of course I had to make a trip...
This is what I got:
6 boxes of Hamburger Helper
2 Betty Crocker mashed potatoes
4 cans Pegresso soup
2 Pills cresents rolls
1 Pills sweet rolls
2 bags frozen Pills biscuits
2 bags frozen Yoplait smoothies
1 3-loaf bag of Rhodes bread dough
3 Toastinos pizzas
12 Yoplait yogurts
1 box playtex tampons
1 bag oranges
1 bag mushrooms
2 boxes Special K cereal
2 boxes Special K snack bars
2 boxes Pills Sweet Moments
2 Wonka bars



And I got it all for a whooping $32.34!!! I saved $67.83!! They only double up to 20 coupons per day per VIC card, had I been able to use more coupons I could have done even better.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

New hobby

I am always admiring little girls with all the fancy bows, but just don't have the money to spend on matching bows to go with all Hailey's outfits. So, I found a tutorial online that seemed pretty easy to follow and I have been collecting clearance ribbon for a couple weeks. I finally got a chance to try my hand at bow making tonight and while they aren't perfect I am happy with how they came out for my first attempt and I think I will be making lots of bows in the future. Hailey may just end up with bows to match most outfits after all :)
This is the website I used:


The out come:

Monday, August 9, 2010

2 down 28 to go....

pounds that is! So 2lbs isn't great, but it is a start and not bad for a week. I tried the maple cheese cake recipe out of the Biggest Loser 30-day jump start this weekend. They tasted pretty good, but I had trouble getting them out of the pan, which stresses me. I like for my food to look and taste good and they did not look very pretty, especially since I was serving them to others.

On a side note, my Mom took Christopher to see Toy Story 3 a few weeks ago and to put it lightly he did NOT like it. Apparently there is a mean bear in the movie and Christopher got very upset and they had to leave early. Well, not knowing what happened my friend Tiffany came over yesterday and was all excited about bringing the kids matching shirts, Christopher was very excited too until...he looked at the shirt and it is THE bear from Toy Story 3!! I busted out laughing and he then went on to tell her that he did not like that movie and that was a bad bear! HAHA, I am pretty sure he will wear the shirt with some prodding at least once to match Hailey but he is funny to me :) I will try to take a pic of the kids in their matching shirts in the next few days.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Swagbucks

So, I tend to be a little leary of something that is totally a free on the internet, but a friend is doing this and I thought I would give it a try too. I will update on this as it progresses and if I actually get enought "bucks" to trade for something worth getting and if it actually shows up!

Search & Win">

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

HT success

So, today being Weds Harris Teeter specials changed and I was very happy as I was looking thru the new flier. I got several really good deals! Pampers were on sale for $8.99 and I had a -$1.50 coupon plus a coupon for a free box of wipes w/ the purchase of any diapers. Yoplait was on sale 10/$5 and I had 2 -$.40 coupons on 6(which were double to -$.80 each) Tampax are on sale for $2.99 a box and I had 2 -$2 coupons, that is $.99 a box! Nutrigrain bars are on sale for $1.77 and I had a $.75 off(which was doubled to -$1.50) so only $.27 for the box!! Below is a picture of everything I got, I am pretty pleased with my 60% savings!
This is what I got for $21.99!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Passwords

So these days everything has passwords and codes and such and I know it is for our protection but sometimes they are just such a pain! I have a bank of words/abbrivations that I generally use but aparnetly I didn't use any of them for my weight loss ticker and now I can't access it-ggrgrrgrrr. O, well, so I am starting over with a new ticker. Right now my goal is 30 lbs, ultimately I hope to lose more than that but this is my first goal :)
Last week we really watched what we ate but didn't do much moving so I am hoping that this week we will still go just as good with out food and actually get moving some too!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Back on the wagon...

the diet wagon that is. So my hubby has decided to seriously try to lose some weight, and I am so happy and proud of him. It also makes things easier on me because he is now eating what I am and I am not buying as much snack stuff, so there is less temptations. So far this week we have both done very well. I have been packing his lunch and snacks, for him right now he actually needs to eat more than usual since he is really bad about eating one or two huge meals and eating late at night. I am using the Biggest Loser 30-day jump start as a guide. Mainly because I just can't bring myself to eat about half of their menus, but I am being very careful about our calorie intake and greatly upping our fruit and veggies everyday! I have tried several new recipes this week and all but the pineapple pork(there is no picture of it because I couldn't get a got one), but here are pics of some of the stuff we have tried this week.

Blueberry bran muffins(Biggest Loser)












Tomato and Mozz pizza burger(Morning star veggie burger) w/ broiled asparagus














Keys style chicken,broiled asparagus w/ mozz, and baked spiced oranges













Garlic Steak w/ broiled asparagus and mixed roasted potatoes(w/ evoo and Cajun seasoning)




As you can see I have been on an asparagus kick this week, the burger was actually my lunch today though, so I only served it twice for dinner. I didn't weigh myself at the beginning of the week but I am pretty sure I have gained most if not all the weight I lost back in the last 2 months I will weigh tomorrow and see how ugly it is 8]

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

get a free light bulb!

Post this badge and get a free light bulb :)
Solar Energy">

Friday, July 16, 2010

Gazpacho

So, I keep trying to find ways to get us to eat better, and I must say lately I seem to be having alot of misses. This recipe was pretty good, but wasn't filling enough to be a main course. But we all(me, Robert, Mom, and Dad) all did like it and I may make it again, it was nice and refreshing and had good flavor.

Ingredients:
5 lbs seedless watermelon, flesh chopped and chilled
1 English cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 pints grape tomatoes, 1/2 pint quartered
1 red bell pepper-seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
3 tbsp evoo
S&P
3/4 lbs large shrimp-peeled, deveined and patted dry
4 ounces feta crumbles

1. On a work surface, finely chop enough of the watermelon and cucumbers to yield 1 cup each; in a med bowl, combine w/ the quartered tomatoes. Using a food processor and working in batches, puree the remaining watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion vinegar and 2 tbsp evoo and 1 teaspoon pepper. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
2. In a lg bowl, toss the shrimp with the remaining 1 tbsp evoo and season w/ S&P. Heat a lg skillet over med-high heat, ass the shrimp and cook, turning once, until opaque 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Divide the gazpacho among 4 bowls and top with the reserved chopped watermelon mixture, the shrimp and feta.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Oh, how I love coupons...

So today being Weds the new sales went into effect for most grocery stores, Lowes foods being one of them. And I was very happy to see that both Hormel Entries and Country Crock side dishes were on sale BOGO this week. Why, was I excited? Because I have been hanging on to 3 coupons for each for a couple weeks now waiting to see if they would go on sale. I had 3 $1 of the sides and 3 .75 off the meats, which the .75cent ones were doubled to $1.50 off! So I paid $2 for each of the meats and $1-$1.50 for each of the sides :) Add a salad or a can of veggies and I just got 3 dinners SUPER cheap! They also have Breyers ice cream BOGO, but since I didn't have a coupon for them I only got one at half price. I also got a bag of diapers that is reg $10.99 for $5.99, since they were on sale and I had a coupon. All in all it was a good trip to the store and I only bought the few things on my list, which is a miracle in and of its self...Below is a pic of my goods. By the way my total was $14.37 and I saved $37.50! That is a savings of 62%!!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Awsome NO mayo Potato Salad!


So this was on Rachael Ray the other day and looked pretty good. So when we were invited to an impromptu cookout this weekend I thought I would give it a try and it was a HUGE it! I especially liked it, since I do NOT eat mayo!

Patrick's Grilled Potato Salad

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds baby red or yellow potatoes, roughly cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 or 4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and chopped
1 lemon, half thinly sliced and half juiced, divided
1/3 C evoo
salt and pepper
2 tlbsp cider vinegar
2 tlbsp Dijon or grainy mustard
3 tlbsp brown sugar
2 tlbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, thinly sliced
*serves 4

Preparation
Preheat a grill to medium-heat. Scatter the potatoes in an 8-inch disposable aluminum baking tray and toss w/ garlic, thyme, lemon slices, a drizzle of evoo and some salt and pepper. Cover the tray w/ foil and place on the grill until potatoes are tender, about 30 min.
While potatoes are cooking, whisk together remaining evoo, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and parsley in a large bowl. Season w/ S&P and toss potatoes in while they're still warm, giving them a good stir to coat. Serve warm or at room temp, garnished w/ scallions.
*I did this in the oven at 400 for 30 min and it came out perfect, also I doubled the recipe so it may not need quit as long for a single recipe :)

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cream cheese frosting


So, I found these in a magazine back in the fall, obviously since pumpkin is usually a fall thing. But as soon as I saw them I immediately thought of my friend Tiffany, so I pulled it out to try sometime. Well, I never got around to making them over the fall/winter. But she just recently found out she is pregnant and she was having party the other night so I made them for her and they were a huge hit! And super easy to make. All you do is substitute pumpkin puree for the amount of water in a yellow cake box mix and the icing is one cup powder sugar for each block of cream cheese(I used 2).

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Chocolate-zucchini cakes w/ nuts


So I can't remember now which magazine I pulled this recipe out of but I am very glad I did!! I think it was either Reader's Digest or Guidepost, but it is possible it is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, anyways I made these tonight and they are excellent so thought I would share. Plus, they are a great way to sneak some veggies into unsuspecting kids and hubbys :)

~1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
~1 C sugar
~1/2 tsp salt
~1 lg egg
~1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
~1 cup finely grated zucchini
~3 tbsp sour cream
~1 C all purpose flour
~1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
~1/2 C bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips
~24 walnut halves

*Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together butter, sugar, salt, and egg until combined. Add vanilla, zucchini, and sour cream and stir until incorporated. Sift flour and cocoa into bowl and stir until combined. Stir into wet mixture.
*Spray two mini muffin pans w/ cooking spray. Fill each cup w/ 2 tbsp batter and top w/ a walnut. bake 15-17 min. Cool on wire racks.

*I used pecans because it is what I had and prefer. Also, I got 34 cakes not 24...Hope you enjoy if you try it!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Super low sodium scampi

So, I tend to have swelling issues when I even slightly increase my salt intake, so I have found a great combo flavor wise that isn't pre-made so I can totally control the salt.



1/2 stick unsalted butter
3tbs chopped garlic
lemon juice
sm onion, chopped
lime juice
cracked black pepper
white wine
1 bag jumbo raw shrimp, thawed and peeled
1 bundle asparagus, washed and chopped into lg bite sized pieces

*In med/lg frying pan combine butter, 2 tbs garlic, and onion, let simmer covered til onions are translucent. Meanwhile toss shrimp w/ remaining garlic, pepper, and a few squeezes of lime juice and let rest. Once onions are translucent, add a few turns of the pan worth of wine and the asparagus and cover continue to simmer til asparagus turns bright green and slightly tender. Add marinated shrimp for pan and cook through. Serve w/ your choice of side. I have found that I really like it over jasmine rice for something different, however Robert likes pasta. I also had a farm fresh tomato tonight so I chopped it up to top the scampi tonight.

Tonight for dinner I used the left over scampi to make lettuce wraps and it was great like that too :)

Friday, May 7, 2010

Day Zero

So, a friend of mine is doing this project and I thought it would be fun to do myself. It is basically a "bucket list" for the next 1001 days. The goal is to set 101 things to do in 1001 days. It took me 3 days to finish my list but now that it is done it is time to start working on finishing it.
http://dayzeroproject.com/user/hway
I can't figure out how to get the link to post so you can just click on it to view my list the the project but if interested hopefully coping and pasting the above address will work. Like I said it is just a cool thing I came across :)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Chilly willy Wedsday

So it was chilly but we spent the morning at the park today. I planned to join a gym today, however I only have one local choice and when I called to get prices it is $50 a month! I don't know if that is reasonable, but for me it is not! This is a little gym and I can not see how it can possably be that expensive other than the fact they have no compition. So no gym joining for me :( Tonight was my last night of course two the the cake class I have been taking and my cake came out most excellent! I am loving these classes. Course 3 starts next Thurs, which will be tiered cakes and starting fondant I am soo excited to be getting into fondant. Other than that just the same ol' stuff.

Today's eats:
Breakfast:
1.5 mint brownies

Lunch:
2 mini cinnamon rasin bagels w/ butter

Dinner:
Baked ziti w/ hot itilian sausage(whole wheat pasta and turkey sausage)
2 slice texas toast garlic bread

Quick Tuesday eats

So I really didn't do much today other than pack a few boxes and play with the kids. But here are todays eats:

Breakfast:
Strawberry shortcake

Lunch:
7 m&ms
1 bowl chicken and gnocchi soup

Snack:
1 serving homemade strawberry ice cream

Dinner:
Bertolli Chicken florentine
2 pieces garlic bread

Snack:
2 mint brownies

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Chicken and Gnocchi soup


So, I have had this recipe for awhile and finally made it last night. It was very good! My husband said it was excellent and is definitely a do again recipe :) Of course I altered it a little because like usual I thought I had everything and didn't check until it was time to start cooking. I am posting the recipe as I got it and then at the bottom what I changed.

3-4 chicken breast cooked and diced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups half and half
1 stalk of diced celery
1 garlic clove chopped
1/2 carrot shredded
1/2 onion diced
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
16 ounces of potato gnocchi

1. saute the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, in oil over med heat until onion is translucent
2. add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi Gently boil for 5 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes
3. Add spinach and cook for another 2 minutes until spinach is wilted


Towards the end, I did add just a few additional seasonings (randomly whatever was in my cabinet) and I also sprinkled a little Bisquick into the soup to thicken it up a little.

**CHANGES I MADE**
~I had skin on bone in chicken breast so they still had the tenders and rib meat, so after taking the meat off of 2 I had plenty of chicken. I think it I was using bl/sl chicken breast it would probably need 3-4.
~before cooking the chicken I diced it up and tossed it with a little bit of poultry seasoning
~Of course I did not have half and half so instead of using that and adding the bisquick I made a quick bechamel sauce w/ butter, flour, and whole milk to help the soup thicken and it was the perfect thickness for us.
~Instead of fresh spinach I used a whole box of frozen chopped spinach, which is way more than the recipe calls for but it really helps boost the fiber and iron content and probably made it a little more filling.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Getting back in the swing of things

So its Monday, the beginning of a new week so I am trying to get back to eating better and excersing more again. First step is to start actually blogging and making myself accountable again.
The whole thing that made me start the blog was the weight loss challange I was doing with some friends. That ended a few weeks ago, but they had the awards ceremony last Tues. I was the only one from my group to win a prize, which I feel kinda bad about but it was still great to win something. My prize was a $50 visa card :) They are also having another weigh out in Sept, so that should help keep me motivated to maintain adn hopefully lose more over the summer.
In other news, we found a house!! If everything goes according to plan we should close at the beginning of June. We are very excited!

Eats so far today:

Breakfast:
strawberry shortcake :)
*I know this does not sound like a good diet breakfast, but it is actaully pretty low cal and took care of my sweet tooth for the morning. A serving of the little cakes is actually 2 (160 cal) but I only used one, strawberries can't be too high cal and it was light whipped cream(15 cal serving)

Snack:
1 deviled egg
1/2 orange

Lunch:
tortilla pepperoni pizza

*Dinner is going to be chicken and nouche soup w/ fresh baked bread. This is a new recipe a friend gave me, that is supposed to be very close to what they serve at Olive Garden. I'll share tomorrow if we like it!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Ugg, I have been super slack w/ posting!

So this past Friday, the 26th, was the last day of the weight loss challenge I have been doing. So everyone had to go be weighed, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that in the past 10 weeks somehow my scale has gotten knocked off balance! I went in thinking that I had lost 12-13 lbs but when they weighed me it was actually 19 lbs!! I am super excited about the loss, but can't tell it in most of my clothes yet which makes it hard to keep it up but I am going to try to keep losing. Hopefully in another 5lbs I will actually be able to feel it.

In other news, I have been taking cake decorating class this month at Micheal's. I am loving it and so far it is coming pretty naturally for me. This week is the last week for class one and next week I will start class 2. I am hoping that I continue to excel and can maybe start making cakes to make some money on the side just to help pay off some debit we have. One of my goals for the year is to pay off both of our credit cards and Robert's truck. But we are also hoping to buy a house in the next couple months so I am not sure if I will actually get both cards paid off. I have already been asked to make a few cakes for people so one of my projects for this week is to research cake prices at bakeries to get a feel of what I can charge to get people to order from me, but still make a little profit. But to actually make this a business I am going to have to jump through some hoops, because I have to have the health dept come out and inspect my kitchen and do a few other things. So for now I am going to not advertise and use friends and family as genie pigs. :)

On a side note, if anyone knows anyone looking to move to our area we need to sell our trailer!! We are looking for someone to assume the loan. Not trying to make any money off of it, just need to get out of it. The washer/dryer will stay. Buyer would be able to move in here or move it if they prefer.

Well, I guess that is most of what has been happening in my world. Have a great day! And I am going to try to get better about posting more regularly :)

Monday, March 15, 2010

Back in the saddle...

So today was weigh day...I lost 1 lb, sad but better than a gain! It was overcast but soo nice out today. The kids and I went to the museum and walked the trails. I didn't notice if it actually said anywhere how long each one is but we spent not quite 3 hrs walking around so I would say it was at least 2 miles total. Not much else going on today, hope everyone had a good day!

Breakfast:
1/2 pack peanut butter cracker
water
Lunch:
Chick-fil-a sandwich w/ extra pickle and hot sauce
med fry
med diet lemonade
Dinner:
baked sweet potatoe w/ butter and brown sugar
peppercorn marinaded pork loin
water

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Bad weather, Vacation, and sickness...


these are my excuses. We had like a week of cold wet weather, where we didn't really get out of the house all week. Then me and the hubby had our kid-free cruise! We had a great time, but I gained 5 lbs back!! :( This week since we have been home, I have had a horrible cough that I can't seem to shake, Christopher and Robert have both had a terrible horrible stomach bug, so not much got done this week either. Tomorrow is weigh day and I will start back eating and excerising again! Me and the kids did get out today and walked to my dad's and dollar general.
I post again tomorrow :)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Quite Thursday

All in all, it was a slow quite day today. No excerise, did some housework nothing exciting. The kids were very good today and Robert actually came home early today which was a great suprise. Me and Hailey got to go visit with some friends and see a new baby tonight while Christopher and Daddy had "boys time" as Christopher told me. on to the eats:
Breakfast:
banana cream oatmeal
water
Lunch:
bowl of fruit salad
pretzels
(same as yesterday)
Dinner
Salad w/ balsamic itlian
lasanga
sweet tea

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

13:23...



is how long it took me to do a mile on the treadmill tonight. This is not a bad time, but I would like to get it down to 10 minutes or less. So that is my new goal to add to the list. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill tonight, I also tried the elliptical machine but I felt like I was gonna fall off so I only stayed on for about 4 minutes. I also did one 15-min mile from my Denise Alston video this morning. Soo...all in all it was a good workout day! Yay me :) Just as a side note, let me just say it was very cold out this morning we went to the park for an hour this morning and were freezing by the time we left! I am so ready for Spring. On to the eats for today:

Breakfast:
cinnamon apple oatmeal
water
Lunch:
bowl of fruit salad
pile of pretzels(about 20)
water


Dinner:
1 serving garlic butter rice
Cream corn
2 Raspberry Chipotle monterey jack cheese stuffed chicken sausages
1 glass of Sunkist


*I found these sausages at Wal-mart last week and they sounded very yummy. I thought they were good, but they did have a serious after bite to them. Robert said they were good, but they were alittle too spicy for him and he didn't really care to have them again.