Dieting....ugh

It's really hard for me to get started dieting

but...

when I am in the zone 

I do really well...but getting to that starting point is the hard part.

I've actually been enjoying coming up with some recipes this time.

It's so hard to make family friendly recipes and figure out all of the ingredients and calories and then divide it all into portions.

I'm really trying to get food made up ahead of time though

so I don't have to figure out all the details and I can grab and go.

I originally made these Jalapeno Poppers in a Cup for me

but Earl loves them.

I've made 2 batches for him already.

They have 234 calories so, 

although they are quite tasty,

I still can't eat them very often.

So far my favorite Muffin Tin Food

are these Mexican Taco Cups

These are full of flavor and filling at 355 calories they make a nice lunch or dinner.

Add a salad and I have a nice and filling meal.

So my tip to myself is to make ahead food

and make food that is tasty and filling without a lot of calories.

Breakfast Muffin Tin Foods

So I'm actually enjoying making these 

Muffin Tin foods.

I'm terrible at making breakfast 

but these eggs are so easy and really good too.

I also froze some and then heated them in the microwave

for a couple minutes and they still tasted so good!

Muffin Tin Ham and Eggs

So for the Muffin Tin Ham and Eggs I lined my muffin tin with paper and then used

2 Slices of Deli sliced Black Forest Ham

1 large egg 

salt and pepper

I baked these at 350 until done.

100 Calories each!!

Spinach and Mushroom Egg Cup

The Spinach Mushroom Egg Cups I made by

cooking a bag of spinach,

a small container of sliced fresh mushrooms,

garlic, in a skillet with a little bit of oil.

  

I let these cool and then chopped them up.

I mixed in 8 eggs and scrambled along with 

 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Then I lined the muffin tin with paper

 Black Forest Ham or not

and added some of the mixture

baked at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

These can be frozen also and have 100 calories each.

Yummy!!

My "Muffin Tin Diet"

I lost 10 lbs last September/October

BUT

then we had a 3 house guests for 2 months,

a new baby in the house

and the holidays were here.  

So now I'm going to look at the positive side of all of this.

I am very happy to announce that I have kept off the 10 lbs off

and am finally ready to restart my new lifestyle.

Our house guests are gone

and we have a beautiful new granddaughter, Amira

I have several issues with my eating.

1.  I don't usually eat until I'm starving and then I just grab whatever is convenient.

2.  I don't drink nearly enough water during the day.

3.  I like to eat at bedtime.

4.  I'm used to cooking with white rice, pasta and white potatoes. 

5.  I hate writing down and figuring out what I'm eating.  It takes a lot of time and prep to get recipes and figure out how much I can eat.

6.  Once I eat a sweet I can't get enough.

7.  I tend to save the fresh and healthy food for the kids.

8.

9.

This is where the "Muffin Tin Diet" started for me.

Not everything will be in a muffin tin but the serving size and convenience of the tins 

make cooking and measuring easier for me.

It also makes for nice individual servings that I can easily freeze and heat up later.

So far I've got a few breakfast, dinner and dessert items in the freezer.

It feels nice to have foods ready to heat and eat that are healthy.

So my first recipe is simple and the kids like these too.

These are my Strawberry/Lemonade Frozen Yogurt Cups. 

I dumped

1 container of Greek Low Fat Yogurt into my blender 

6 cups of frozen strawberries

1 packet of instant lemonade mix

blended it up,

poured the mixture into paper lined muffin tins,

froze the yogurt

and then put the frozen yogurt cupcakes in a bowl with a sealed lid into the freezer. 

I let them thaw a little and then I have a

nice, creamy, delicious snack

that are only 43 calories per cupcake.

I used the paper liners for easier cleanup and the yogurt comes right out of them as they start to thaw.

I'll be back tomorrow with another quick and easy recipe in a muffin tin.

P.S.......

Earl just called me and said he's having Chinese delivered to the house

for a surprise for me and the kids. 

Thanks Babe for thinking about me and sabotaging my plans for the day.

Well let's look up calories for Chinese food ❤❤

 

Today is Jace's 12th birthday! 

I can't believe he's so grownup now.

I got up early this morning to make Brownies for his treats for school.

No problem right?  Quick and easy treat.....except for a little misreading on my part.

So here is my Brownie disaster for Jace's Birthday.

I started off with 3 boxes of Brownie mix, the oil, eggs, and water.

I got a little creative and added some vanilla and chocolate syrup.

So far so good....

EXCEPT

I added 1 1/4 cups of water per box of Brownie mix instead of 1/4 cup.

So I added 3 cups to much water. LOL! What's a girl to do?!?!

I went to the pantry and got 2 boxes of chocolate cake mix and another box of Brownie mix.

I added those and the eggs and a can of applesauce instead of the extra oil. 

My mix was still runny so I had the brilliant idea of adding some hot cocoa packets for extra dry mix.

I open up 3 envelopes at a time,

pour the MARSHMALLOWS in. 

No cocoa...the packets were just marshmallows.

Okay so I found 2 packets of hot cocoa added them and went on and threw in 3 more packets of marshmallows. 

What the heck right?!?!

  I even threw inn a chocolate donut to try to absorb some of the liquid.

Okay....I have them in the oven, baking...anxiously waiting.

They actually taste pretty good!

I think I will have enough brownie cupcakes for the whole school though!!!

My Recipe
4 boxes of Brownie mix
2 boxes of chocolate cake mix
15 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
3/4 cup milk
3 cups of water
some chocolate syrup
1 can applesauce
2 packages of hot cocoa mix
6 packages of hot cocoa marshmallows
a little vanilla
and a chocolate donut for good measure

Happy Birthday Jace!

I hope your friends like the Brownie Cupcakes!

Recycled Wall Hanging and Dream Catcher

 

I've made this wall hanging and a couple of dream catchers

lately out of the rims of the cardboard coffee cans that we use.

I love the mixture of roughness of the rust and the femininity of the crochet.

Earl thinks I'm a nut and surely I'm the only one that will like these little pieces of art.

Maybe so, but I still like them....

a lot!

I actually did sell one too....Ha! Ha! Earl.

 

 

What do you think?



Playing Catch Up On My Blog

I used to love blogging and since Facebook became so popular I pretty much quit blogging and became addicted to Facebook.  I do enjoy Facebook, but I really miss blogging.

Lexie and Jake were blessed with another healthy baby boy, Wesley, a month ago.

Mallory is 5 months pregnant and doing wonderful.

 

Ezie and Jace are doing well.
 The boys have been spending some time with a family friend and learning to ride ATV's.
Jace played baseball again this year.  It was his first year in the Major's division so he didn't get to play as much as last year but he did really well playing with the older boys.
Jace had a music recital so I bought him a new suit at the thrift store for a couple of dollars and he was pretty impressed with himself.
He has as you can tell opted from getting a haircut for the last year.
He has to get his swag on you know.

 

I haven't lost any weight yet.  My knee's hurt so bad from the arthritis and I'm looking forward to a knee replacement soon.  I'm trying to exercise some but it's really hard to even walk.  I'm determined to loose some weight though and build up some my muscles in my legs before surgery.

 

I'll do more catch up over the next few days.

Seriously.....

I will be a better blogger.

 

 

Anthony, Owen, Lexie and Jake in their pregnancy announcement photo.

 

 Lexie at around 8 1/2 months pregnant with Wesley.

She's so beautiful and glowing. 

 

 Jake, Lexie. the 2 Big Brothers and Wesley

 

 

Such a handsome grandson I have!

I love you Wesley!

 

 

Mallory and Anthony's pregnancy announcement.

 

 Jace in his suit going to his 4th grade music concert.

 

 Jace getting ready to steal a base.

 

Ezie and Jace on our friends ATV's

 

 



Planning my Menu's, Wedding Shopping and Whatever Else the Kids Have Planned For Me

I'm trying to plan a few things to make so I'll have healthy foods

 ready to eat when I'm busy this week

 or just to lazy to chop, dice and cook.

 

I'm thinking about making

 Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

from Pip & Ebby's blog tonight for dinner.

  I think everyone will like that.

 

Pip & Ebby's photo

 

I'm also thinking about making

Grilled Chicken with Crunchy Asian Slaw

from Clinton Kelly's recipes on The Chew.

I'm pretty sure at least Earl and I will like it.

 

I'm also thinking about

The Garden Grazers

Spinach + Tomato Quesadilla with Pesto.

These look so yummy and

I can substitute ingredients to make my own little yummy creations!

 

The Garden Grazers Phot

 

I've also got to go shopping and get me a few things

to help me look decent for my son Jesse's wedding tomorrow.

Ezie needs some pants and shoes also so thrifting we will go and then

 to Wal-mart for what I can't find at the thrift stores.

 

High School Football tonight?? 

Maybe....we have to see what kind of a mood Mal is in.

 

 



Day 1 and Day 2 of Eating Right

I did really well if I may say so myself!

Day 1 I stayed under 1500 calories

and even had a beer.

Day 2 I was under 1200 calories.

 

I ate lots of veggies, some fruits, lean meat and good grains.

I wrote everything down and added up the Carbs, Proteins, Fats and Calories that I ate to keep a good proportion of everything.

 

Actually I feel like I'm eating more than I usually do.

The only thing I hate about doing this is all the planning and journaling everything,

but,

I know it will be worth it in the end.

 

Tonight I'm making Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups for dinner.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and the actual recipe is from

Gal on a Mission....to make the BEST recipes loved by all

(I borrowed her photo also)

 

 

http://www.galonamission.com/spinach-lasagna-roll-ups/

 

I doubled the recipe and made 35 out of the lasagna noodles for the family

and then I had 2 portabella mushrooms.

 that I put a serving of the cheese mixture in for me.

I added some garlic powder, pepper and oregano to the cheese mixture too

 because we like things spiced up around here.

 

They were so yummy easy to make!

 

Okay, Here We Go! The Beginning of Losing the Other Half of Me!

Today is my 54th Birthday!

 

I would never have imagined that at 54 or any other age

I would be fat...and definitely not 100lbs overweight.

 

I can remember at 95lbs. feeling so fat. 

 I'm only 4'9" so that was really my target weight.

Even at my due dates with my pregnancies I was only 119lbs.

After I had my 4th son I did get up to 110lbs

 and then when I was 29 I blew up and weighed 136lbs.

 

For my 30th Birthday I worked hard and lost 40lbs in 6 months.

Yay for me!

I felt so good and was really fit.

A few years and pregnancies later up when the weight again.

As time went on more weight came and I became double my size.

A couple of months ago I was at 210lbs. and now I am at 205lbs.

so my goal is to loose 100lbs by my 55th birthday.

 

I am so embarrassed and humiliated by my weight gain and try not to leave the apartment. 

My son is getting married on Saturday and I am going to look like a hippo.

I don't even want to go to the wedding and for people to see me,

but it is an important day for my son and honestly the day isn't about me.

I wish I had gotten motivated sooner,

but better late than never I guess.

 

So I decided that I will blog about my weight loss journey

and completely put myself out in the world for everyone to see....

mainly so I can't back out and secondly because if I don't have someone to answer to I won't follow through.

 

Me at 30 at 95lbs.

 

Me at 40 around 120lbs

I remember feeling so fat this day and so embarrassed to go to church for Lexie's First Communion.

 

 Me right before I turned 50.

 

 

 



Me at 51 at Lexie's wedding.

I was right around 200lbs.

 

 

NOW SOME OF THESE PICTURES MIGHT BE DISTURBING!!

They are very disturbing to me

but I said I was going to be completely forthcoming.

 

So here are my before shots taken this morning and my measurements.

 

 

 

Bust:  49"

Waist:  45"

Hips:  50"

Thighs:  27"

Calves:  17"

 

I can't believe I am posting these photos.

I hope and pray that next year at this time

I can take a photo's of half of me!

 

A Super Easy, Super $$ Saver Idea

If any of you are like me

I LOVE Pinterest!

 

I find so many useful ideas and wonderful patterns on Pinterest

 and so I wanted to share on of my favorites

for any of you who sew.

 

 

I go through a ton of thread.

 I usually use white thread on everything and it can get expensive.

I buy my thread at Wal-mart and it's around $2.87 a spool.

 

Well thank you to Angie Padilla I am saving a ton of money by

buying the cones of thread for a price even cheaper than one spool of thread.

The cones are equivalent to about 6 or more spools of regular thread.

 

I fixed mine a little different than Angie did,

 but using the same basic ideas.

 

 

 

Thank you Angie for the wonderful,

economical, easy idea that makes sewing so much more enjoyable!

Why is Communicating With Your Family So Hard?

 

 

I always thought growing up that my family was really close.

I loved that feeling.

After I got married and started growing up

 I realized how much my family was only close on the surface.

I don't think that we ever really learned to communicate how we honestly felt about personal matters or anything controversial.

I always did and still do feel very intimidated by my mom and most of my siblings.

I feel like my opinion doesn't matter and that I am less than,

BUT

I have never told any of them how I feel,

I am 53 years old and have been letting this anger build up in me for years.

I have so much anger and I hate it.

So Why is it so hard to talk to them?

I was the same way with my ex-husband until I finally just blew up and had such a hatred for him that I couldn't stand the sight of him. 

 (We're better now since we've been divorced and are just friends)

That's not what my intention is with my family.

 

 

Now the lack of communication and the build of anger has been passed down to another generation.

Myself,  Earl, my kids and their spouses,

in my opinion have a problem communicating.

In my opinion we get irritated with someone and we gossip about it and keep building up the anger until one of us explodes.

I hate this so much!!

 

I want to learn how to start fixing my communication problem

with my immediate and extended family. 

 

I admit I am scared to death to do this and don't know how to even go about it.

 

I found the following insert today from the book

Live Inspired Now-A Field Guide to Happiness by Heather Paris

and I am going to follow up on reading the book so I can try to communicate my feelings better with my family so I can not be so angry and stressed out.

 

Wish me luck! 

 

"Have you ever felt really angry, frustrated, or irritated and then you ended up lashing out at people because of it? There is a way to have those feelings without causing so much damage and it is really simple. Learn to explain your non-positive feelings instead of expressing them!

Explaining how you feel (in a calm tone) rather than expressing yourself (using elevated tones and body language) makes it more likely that other people will listen and actually hear what you say. How many times have you said something in anger and the other person heard it in a way that was much worse than you intended? Your voice tone and body language are far more influential than the actual words you are saying.

You might yell "I am so irritated by you, why don't you ever put the lid back on the toothpaste when you're done?" But what the other person hears is "I hate you, you never do anything right!" It sounds crazy now as you read it, but this is so common! I hear from couples all the time about this. They hear the intention in the voice tone rather than the actual words and it causes bigger problems.

If you choose to explain your non-positive feelings, in a more calm manner, you can get your point across with a better chance of avoiding miscommunications. Try talking about your feelings instead of yelling, screaming, or judging and see how your communication changes! Feel free to express joy, elation, curiosity, and other happy emotions but explain the rest!"

Jesse's 6th Birthday Party!

My grandson Jesse turned 6 on Friday

and so we went to Chuckie Cheese yesterday to celebrate.

 

Here's the birthday boy!

 

and here's some of the guests

 

 Ezie (he used to LOVE Barney) and my grandsons Mason and Trenton

 

 My grandsons Jesse and Jordan and my Jace

 

 Jace

 

and Jesse with his Rainbow fish pillow that I crocheted for him.

 

and another photo of the fish.

 

Happy Birthday Jesse!!!



My First Attempt at a "Snippet" Sampler

I'm trying to think of something to make for my

granddaughter Vivianna for her upcoming 17th birthday.

 

I can't think of anything and then I thought of a sampler.

I call this a "Snippet" Sampler.

It's little snips of lace, ribbon, papers, felt and fabric.

I added some buttons, a washer and some charms.

 

 

I put all my "snippets" on 1 1/2 inch muslin squares with felt on the inside.

I still need to sew it onto something.

I think it's nice.....

but I'm not sure if my granddaughter will like it????

Here's hoping!



My Balcony Garden

Living on the third floor of an apartment building

 is nice for the view....

and that's about it!

 

We love fresh veggies, flowers and gardening

so living on the third floor isn't going to stop us.

 

Here's my garden after transplanting my sprouts.

 

 On this privacy lattice I have Morning Glories

that are beginning to go crazy

looping and spreading. 

I also have some spearmint and rosemary on the door.

 

 On this side of the balcony I have 3 different kinds of tomato plants, marigolds,  

sweet peppers, basil and rose moss.

 

 Over here we have Jace's cabbage plant that the school gave him, chives, snow peas

and more of everything else.

 

Finally I have more tomato plants, sweet and hot peppers.

 

The tomato plants smell so good. 

 Just those little plants leaves have the most wonderful scent of summer and fresh tomatoes.

 

Pure Joy and Happiness! 



Viv's Jr. Prom

My second oldest granddaughter went to her Jr. Prom on Saturday.

I can't believe that she's that old already.

I remember when her mom and dad went to their Sr. Prom.

 

Anyway,

here are some pictures of my beautiful granddaughter.

 

 

and here's a picture of her with her sister and brother, Liv and Jesse.

 

 

and then Fatima, Vivianna, Jesse and little Jesse

 

 

I think Jesse and Fatima have 3 great kids!!