It's November.....Already!!!!

I can hardly believe it's November already. Only 3 weeks till Thanksgiving, 8 weeks till Christmas. Seems like yesterday it was January 1, 2013. I love this time of year. The leaves are turning and falling, the pool is covered, it's football season, the weather has a hint of winter in the air and people somehow, to me anyway, seem a little nicer.

This time of year seems to bring on sickness as well. I recently had a virus. Everyone else that had it, had it for 12/24 hours. I had it for 3 stinking days. Then as soon as I got over that I developed a persistent dry cough. I still have it and have gotten very little sleep because as soon as I lay down I start to cough.

I've already started Christmas shopping, hoping to be done by Dec 1. I love to enjoy the holidays but not the rush of the season. I prefer to spend it baking and being with the ones I love.

This past Saturday was spent with family for a birthday party. I'm blessed with a great family. Lost some of them with all I've been through but that doesn't matter to me. What I have is greater then what I've lost. You've gotta be pretty special to be let in the circle. Bridget, "B" as we call her has been around so long that she's just a Russell. My adopted redheaded step child. Her mom and I became friends through our kids and band. I consider B my daughter and so naturally her son, Parker, or Parker Parker as he is know, is my grandson. I had to go all out for his cake. I do that for all my grands. This year Parker Parker was a ninja

 

Now they don't come much cuter then this!

 

A few days before this was Halloween. The weatherman said RAIN! I tried to remember the last Halloween that it rained and I couldn't. We had planned to meet at a friends and go on a hayride in a neighboring subdivision BUT the rain came and it came hard. We had 4 kids and myself all dressed in costumes with nowhere to go.....sad faces all around.

My little witch and my superhero.

 

 

My Babies

 

We finally decided to take the kids, in our cars to at least a few houses and then come home. We headed out and it looked like the rain had let up some and so they hopped out and went on their way

 

We actually trick or treated the entire neighborhood and the kids made a "killing" On candy overload. My Recey had such a great time that he proclaimed it "the best day of his life" All that worrying we momma's did about the rain and the kids had a great time. Sometimes we should stop and see life through the eyes of our kids

 

Getting Healthy, Happy, Fit and Fabulous

 

After a conversation with a dear friend, my workout buddy, my partner in crime last night I thought it might be a good idea to refresh myself on the good health guidelines per Weight Watchers (WW). All my life I was fortunate to never have a weight issue. Somewhere around 2003 I started gaining. I had never really followed any weight loss plan other then to not eat. That always worked. This time it didn't. I went to my doctor fearing something was wrong. He informs me that because I wasn't eating my body was holding onto the fat when I did eat. WHAT????? My first grandbaby was born in 2003 and all it took was a picture of me and him and off to WW I went. I was very successful on the program and lost 32lbs. I worked for the company for a while and fully believe in the program because it's real. When I pick up a few pounds I just revert back to WW habits and I'm back to where I need to be. Well until recently.....more on that later.

 

The food pyramid suggest veggies in abundance and 2/3 servings of fruit per day. I had to learn this one. I wasn't a big veggie eater unless they were smothered in bacon fat :0/ My love for veggies has grown a lot. I play with new recipes and am willing to try things outside of my comfort zone. I realized that I LOVE eggplant, okra, zucchini, butternut squash, asparagus, broccoli and mushrooms. I'm still not big on fruit. Bananas, grapes, pineapple and blueberry is about my limit.

 

 

Whole grain foods use to be a problem too but my taste buds adjusted. I love whole wheat bread over white. And I use a mixture of brown/wild rice whenever I have rice, except with gumbo!

 

 

DAIRY!!!!! A huge struggle for me. I don't drink milk! I developed a dislike for it several years ago and I don't know why. I will eat cheese on the occasional sandwich but that's not often. I occasionally eat yogurt or an egg but nothing on a daily basis. I know I need to for my bones

 

 

 

This is one thing I do not have a problem with. I eat so many veggies that I get plenty of oil. Despite what a lot of people think, canola oil is actually the healthiest oil to cook with. I use EVOO, sesame or coconut (I'm new to this). The coconut oil is so versatile. My friend Theresa blogged about it. You can read all the good uses she listed here.

 

 

At least 2 servings of protein is recommended per day. I'm pretty sure I get that everyday. I have a protein at breakfast and dinner and if I have a hard workout I'll have a protein bar.

 

 

At least 6-8 glasses of water everyday.....I'm finally getting this

 

 

 And of course who can forget that we need to exercise. I'm think I'm finally getting into this thanks to my daughter :0)

Fall Fever

There's something about fall in the air. The slight chill in the air. The leaves changing color and falling to the ground that makes me ever so happy. College football is in full swing. Boots, scarfs and tights are being dug out of their hiding places. Windows being raised. Pools are being covered and.....

The smell of pumpkin in any way you can imagine. Today I've got a pot of pumpkin butter simmering on the stove and pumpkin cheesecakes in the oven. It smells heavenly in here. Two different football games on two different TV's. I'd say this girl is pretty content.

 

Pumpkin is naturally low in calories, fat, sugar and carbs. It's extremely versatile and yummy. In particular the pumpkin butter that I made is great for pancakes, biscuits, toast, fruit, and goes along nicely with the pumpkin cheesecakes I made. Both are points friendly and very tasty. You can find both recipes here.  Happy baking and healthy eating!

BRUTAL....that's all I got

I survived my workout yesterday.....and I will tell you it was BRUTAL! Our warm up consisted  of jogging 3 laps around the gym....yah! Great way to start (NOT)  Next we moved on to some big ole ropes. Looked like ropes for a big boat?

 

This looks easy enough. I got this. Squat, raise and make a wave with the ropes. Sets of 8......30 sec. rest 10. About halfway I was begging for it to be over. Next we moved to some other ropes that we pushups and pullups on.....not easy!!! Then we move to the treadmill......

 

Yeah you thought this was the easy part......NO! We had to make the treadmill go as fast as we could, but couldn't turn the machine on. Another words it was by sheer will power! Set of 8....30 and 10

 

 

Next was the spin cycle. Easiest of it all. Of course Bryan and Danica stood and pedaled. I did not.

 

Next we are on to lifting a huge weight that is attached to a barbell. Squat lift and return. Set of 8....30/10. Are you getting the picture? Then a smaller weight and leg lunges. I'm dying at this point but pushing through this. We move to a medicine ball, a barbell and some other machine that we pull our whole body up with. Here is where I get confirmation that my upper body is way weaker then my lower body. But I'm gonna fix that.

 

 

Then onto the really fun stuff!!!!

 

Yes as you prolly imagined we pushed and pulled this. Then a did squats with a kettlebell and more pushups :0/  And then squats with hand weights. Just when I thought we were done the mats come out. Ahhhh no workout is complete without a few planks. And anybody that knows me knows I love to plank!!!! On each side and front. Leg lifts, scissors, situps, crunches. Ouchhhhh!!

 

But guess what guys? I made it through. I really enjoyed it, although a few times I thought I would barf. This morning I'm a little sore. Nothing like I expected. I'm really proud of myself for reaching this goal. I plan to rest today and hit it again Sat. Have a great weekend

 

 

Fit or Faint......

                                                                    

Well folks I've been arguing with myself all week and I've finally won! I'm hitting the gym today :0/ I've been walking/jogging for about 3 weeks and I'm extremely bored with that. And thanks to the pre-menopausal state I find myself in, clearly its going to take more then walking to get this body back to pre baby body......what? My baby is 22!!!! Ok anyway I'm going to Exerfit this afternoon with my daughter Danica and our buddy Bryan. I know I can't outdo Danica because she has been at this for awhile now. Maybe I can outdo Bryan....lol. She has warned me that its hard and bring a towel, bring water, its hot. Um oh geeze.....shall we pray that I don't die? I'll be sure to update you on how it goes, if I'm able to move a finger..........

I'm Gonna Tell You.....Flatout!!!!

It's been a crazy couple days. I'm a planner by nature so I always plan to be organized. Sometimes despite my best efforts I fall short. So when I'm super short on time I love Flatout wraps and pizza
crust.

There are many different varieties and few calories/points then regular bread. I find mine at Winn Dixie. Check out the different flavors here.

On Monday I wasn't feeling well and spent  stocked my fridge and pantry well for 2 weeks. By the time I was done shopping, home, groceries unloaded and put away it was 5:30 uggggg. It was just me and Kandy so I made pizza. I crisp up the flatout in the oven for about 10 mins on each side. Spread about 1/4 c of marinara sauce on each flatout......

 

I sauté some mushrooms and red onions in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Once they are tender I place them on top marinara.

 

There is nothing better then a rotisserie.....nothing!!! I love them. So many different things you can stir up really quick after a long day at work

 

I chop about 1/4 and sprinkle over onions and mushrooms. I top with 1/4 c of LF mozzarella and a few crumbles of feta (I mean't to add spinach and forgot)

 

I baked till the cheese was just starting to melt. These things were AMAZING!!! I'm trying to find a new word to replace AWESOME. My husband claims I overuse it. If I calculated correctly, these were 10 points per a whole flatout. I know that seems high but considering I had 16 pts left for the day it was perfect for me. ENJOY!

Monday's Recipe~Crock Pot Creamy Tomato Soup

I've never been a fan of tomato soup, tomato basil soup etc. I don't even really like pasta dishes with a red sauce, except I love homemade spaghetti....weird I know. But a few weeks back my daughter sent me this recipe and said how awesome it was. Since I am trying to loose a few pounds, and I'm always watching my diet and it was so points friendly I decided to try it. Boy am I glad I did. It is amazing!!!

 

The recipe comes from a blog that I follow, skinnytaste.com and it is my all time favorite. She includes the yummy pictures, very accurate directions, nutrition information, old and new WW points. You can find the recipe here. Enjoy and healthy eating!!