Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Thanksgiving Turkey Countdown

The other day KBeaner and I were talking about how long until Thanksgiving. I thought of making a chain, but then an idea popped in my head, why not make a Turkey countdown, where each day you take away a feather! I found out later that day, we used to do this when I was a little kid, for whatever reason I don't  remember doing that at all!

What you'll need:
brown construction paper (for head and body)
2 pieces of white paper (you could use construction if you want)
Markers/crayons
glue stick
scissors

First draw a large circle and a smaller circle on your brown construction paper.
While KBeaner was cutting those out I started drawing the feathers and labeling them with numbers. (when I made this we had 13 days until thanksgiving.) I also drew the face of the turkey.


 
Next I had KBeaner color them to her hearts desire!

 
After you're done coloring, cut out the feathers and the face and start gluing together your bird together.
 
 
And that's it! Now you have a Thanksgiving Turkey Countdown!!! Leave pictures of your Turkey's in the comments below!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Big news!!

Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for so long, this summer has gotten busy and hectic and for most of the beginning of the summer I was not feeling my best.

Because...

I'm pregnant!! 14 weeks!!

Here is an announcement KBeaner wrote to let everyone know she is going to be a big sister! She is so happy and is hoping it will be a little sister.
Now that I am feeling better and vegetables actually sound good again, I am trying very hard to eat mostly healthy. It is HARD! I thought it was hard before, yeah right! haha.

I'll try to update more often and get back to my schedule! Hope you've all had amazing summer so far! 

Monday, June 23, 2014

Manic Monday

Hey sorry I've been MIA lately, just haven't felt like writing that much.

I maintained this week again. I'm happy with it, I didn't always make the best choices, but I did start working out again. I decided I'd start up with what I did when I first started my weight loss journey. I've been doing the Pop Pilates Challenges from Blogilates. They are only a few minutes long so I can do them through out the day. 

I have decided I'm not going to stress about the scale anymore. I feel like I just keep maintaining which is awesome but I still get stressed out about it. From now on each week I am going to work on a different healthy behavior, instead of concentrating on the number on the scale. 

This week I am working on two. Drinking 64 oz of water, and cutting back on coffee. I realized that I am drinking way too many unneeded calories between the milk and sugar I put in my coffee. 

This is what I have for meals this week...

  • Cilantro Lime Bean Salad with healthy Tuna Melts
  • Healthy Pizza
  • Leftover Salsa Chicken (crockpot) with rice and veggies
  • Homemade skinny big mac and fries
  • Chicken Tacos
  • Leftovers
What's on your meal plan this week?

Monday, June 2, 2014

Manic Monday

 Hey! It's Manic Monday where I team up with 3 of my blogger friends, keep ourselves accountable and share our meal plans.  BTW can you believe I'm actually posting on a Monday!?! 
Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!

I maintained this week, I think because I went to a local theme park twice this weekend, so I did a lot of walking, and had a ton of fun! 

KBeaner had so much fun!! We bought the season pass so we can go as much as we'd like all summer long. I'm happy we did that since one we'll save money but also I don't feel guilty if we only go for a few hours. I noticed that my 4 year old does not do well with so much excitement after a couple hours. 
 KBeaner just *HAD* to wear all black, the night before she told me she was going to where all black the next day, I figured she'd forget about it, nope! She was obsessed with being in all black, and even argued with me about wearing sneakers with her outfit since they were not all black! I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like when she is a teenager.. what a little fashionista!
After the second trip, she was exhausted from all the fun!


This week I recieved a TLC Vox Box from Influenster.com (for free woop woop). It came with Ivory Soap, Neo to Go, a coupon for free Breyers Gelato Indulgences, a Shell Rewards Card, Puffs tissues and Avon Anew Reversalist. Check back soon for reviews!

For meals this week I am going to try and make them all "clean". 

  • Clean Tuna Salad with a side of Cilantro Bean Salad
  • Cilantro Bean Salad with rice
  • Chicken Pesto "Pasta" (zucchini pasta)
  • Healthy Pizza
  • Leftovers

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Manic Monday


Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!


It's Monday Tuesday again which means it's time for me to keep myself accountable and to share with you my meal plans for the week. 

I maintained my weight.

I feel like I am a broken record lately, I'm pretty sure me saying I'm a broken record is me being a broken record even more since I've said it a few times. 

I've hit some sort of wall, I know what I have to do, I know I can do it, I have all the tools but for whatever reason I don't do it. I keep nagging myself about it, which I think is making it even worse. I don't do well with pressure. 

UGH.

Moving on...

For our meals this week...

  • BBQ at a friend's house.
  • Skinnier Crab Dip with a bunch of veggies and some crackers
  • Healthy Pizza
  • Taco Night
  • Breakfast for dinner
  • Leftovers
Hope you're all having a great week!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Manic Monday...I mean Tuesday..



Hey all, sorry I missed Monday again! At least I'm still posting though right?? :)

I maintained  this week. I'm trying to track my points better this week, and drink more water.

Little Miss KBeaner is still loving her kitten Gus Gus! He sleeps with her most of the night, it is so sweet! 

This weekend a new Price Chopper opened in our town, now most people probably don't get the excitement of this, I am SO EXCITED! In our town we used to only have one grocery store that was overly priced and not open late. This new one is open 24 hours! We can save money, time and gas since we no longer will have to go 20 or so minutes to go grocery shopping. We went yesterday and by shopping sales and using coupons I saved $65!!! 

In other news I keep forgetting to tell you all that I have an Instagram account. If you want to follow me click here

I've also been really into SwagBucks. Do you use them?  I started about a month ago, its a site where you can watch videos, search the web and play games and you can earn points or "swagbucks". You can also buy things or sign up for different survey sites. Then when you have enough swagbucks you can redeem them for gift cards. So far I have earned $10 to Amazon! I haven't earned swagbucks by buying things or joining different survey sites, I've just been watching videos, playing games and searching the web. I'm sure if I did more of the offers I could have a ton of gift cards by now but I hate junk mail! 

These are my meals...
  • Sausage on the grill with bean salad and watermelon for dessert
  • Bean salad rice bowl
  • Healthy Pizza
  • Zucchini "pasta" with meat sauce
  • Leftovers

Monday, May 12, 2014

Manic Monday

Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!




OK I flaked last week and never wrote my Manic Monday Post. Sorry.

I'm not really sure why I never did, I guess I just got distracted. I actually lost a pound last week so I was 173 lbs. Woo hoo!!

This week I maintained, I'm pretty happy about that! I didn't do my best at eating healthy, I made some not good choices...like the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Square I had for dessert last night.

This past week we got a KITTEN!!! He is adorable and so much fun, KBeaner named him, Gus Gus. As in the mouse in Cinderella.

KBeaner was playing with makeup the other day...I got distracted and came back to her covered in glittery makeup. She was clapping her hands yelling "I am the makeup queen" haha. I love this picture!



Us by the lake on Mother's Day! Hope you all had a great mother's day.



Meals for this Week:
  • Healthy Pizza
  • Cilantro Lime Bean Salad 
  • Burgers with veggies mixed and a big salad
  • Zucchini Pasta with meat sauce
  • One of the nights we're dining out 
  • Leftovers
Hope you have an amazing week!



Monday, April 28, 2014

Manic Monday

Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!

Sorry I've been MIA recently. I just haven't been in the mood to write, I always feel like I'm saying the same thing over and over again.

Although after 2 weeks of not really trying I'm not saying "I maintained" ugh I'm saying I gained 4lbs! I'm at 175. I CANNOT do this again, I am not going to gain all my weight back. Last year on Easter I was 151. 
The first is me on Easter last year and the second is this year.

I am angry and disappointed in myself. 

Instead of letting those feelings get me down, I am going to have them motivate me! 

To quote the song KBeaner has been OBSESSED with .... LET IT GO!!!!!!!! I think every time I'm getting obsessive about my mistakes I'll have to sing Let it Go. Thankfully we're singing or listening to that most of the day haha. We've been on a Frozen kick recently.

For dinners this week....

Shrimp tacos with lettuce wraps instead of tortillas
Lean burgers with bean salad as a side and grilled zucchini and summer squash (I probably won't have a bun)
Healthy pizza
Burrito bowl 
Leftovers

For Breakfast I will try to have a variation of oatmeal and fruit each day. Hopefully that'll keep me full. At lunch I'm not sure what I'll have but I will try to make myself eat a salad with each lunch.

I'm also going to guzzle water!! 

I hope next week I'll be able to say I've lost weight. 



Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Manic Mon..er..Tuesday


Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!



It is FINALLY warm here!!! We had beautiful weather this weekend, its just what I needed to help boost my mood. Yesterday we were outside most of the day! (Hence no blog post) Today it's super rainy and gloomy. 

I maintained my weight this week, I feel like I am at a stand still. I bought new vitamins today though GNC Women's Ultra Mega Energy and Metabolism. Hope that helps me out a bit.

KBeaner has been practicing on her bike that Santa gave her, and we had a play date at a new park.
 We also got a "new" Dora Kitchen and a play house. A family that lives near us were getting rid of them so we got them for FREE!!


Dinners for the Week
Tuscan Style Shrimp
Burgers
Asian Pork Salad (was supposed to do it last week, made it last night so good)
Pork Posole (also supposed to make it last week)
Healthy Pizza
Leftovers



Thursday, April 10, 2014

Easy Shabby Chic Sign

A couple weeks ago I went to that Crafts and Carafes night, I made this jewelry hanger...

We also painted an extra board to bring home to paint lettering on.

My friend had me make one for her kitchen that says "eat".

Here's how I did it...

Before painting sand the edges of the board to make it even more distressed looking. Next paint your board with your base color, for this we used black.

Once that is dry you can add Vaseline to different spots of the wood, where ever you put the Vaseline the next coat of paint will not adhere. 

Paint a light top coat, we used white but you could use whatever color you'd like.  Once your top coat is dried start sanding, or use steel wool, anything to rough it up! 

When you've achieved the look you'd like, you can either paint the lettering free hand or do this easy technique. 

For this sign my friend wanted it to say "eat", I didn't want to free hand the letters so I used Word. Select whatever font you'd like and make sure that your letters are the correct size for your sign, then print it out.
Lay out the letters where you would like them on your sign.

Next on the back of the paper, shade in the area of the letter with pencil (make sure its a led pencil). Once you've done that, lay the paper with the pencil shaded side down on your wood. Trace your letters! The led from the pencil will transfer onto the wood.

Once you've outlined your letters paint them. 

Here is my finished project!

If you make your own shabby chic sign feel free to post a picture of it in the comments below! 



Monday, April 7, 2014

Manic Monday



Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!

This week has been busy, but a lot of fun. Some of my family came  and  visited me so KBeaner and I got to play tourist with them. We did a bunch of swimming at the hotel and a lot of walking and shopping! 

KBeaner took this picture of me.

I am surprised to let you all know I maintained this week! I was feeling like I was going to have a gain, since we did  eat out a lot, but I guess I made good choices (for the most part). I haven't been working out as much as I'd like to but I am really trying to remember it is all about progress not perfection!! 


 I feel like I need to greet everyone with this warning.... 


I didn't eat all of the Pork meals last week, I realized eating that much pork is not appealing and we went out to dinner a few times while family was visiting. So this week I am having three of the meals from last week too. 

  • Asian Pork Salad
  • Pork Posole
  • Pork Ravioli
  • Cilantro Lime Bean Salad with homemade bread
  • Rice bowls (rice with Cilantro Lime Bean Salad)
  • Grilled cheese with veggies
  • Leftovers








Monday, March 31, 2014

Manic Monday week 13

Make sure to check out my friends AngelaLaura and Hollie's blogs too!

I maintained this week!!!

I did alright this past week. I don't feel like I worked out enough, and I know I didn't eat as well as I wanted to. I did try to eat clean, I don't think I tried enough though..we did eat delivery pizza, but man it was so good!! 


We had another bake sale this weekend, thankfully I did not pig out on all those goodies, so I feel like that was a big win for me.

I went to a Crafts and Carafes night, it was so much fun, I had a girls night out, was able to hang out with some friends, make new friends, drink some wine and do a fun craft! 

Here is what I made! I think I am going to hang it in my bathroom for necklaces. The craft was so much fun and not too hard!


KBeaner has been really into her letter puzzle, she has been requesting a ton of alphabet houses and tunnels. It's been fun to build with her, and work more on letters. It's been helping out cabin fever.



This week for my dinner meal plan I am using some recipes I saw on the Today Show. I have a serious addiction to the Today Show! Especially Kathy Lee and Hoda... oh man I want Hoda to be my best friend haha. Anyways they had a segment where they showed how to make a week of meals out of one cut of meat. Here are the recipes .

  • Braised pork shoulder
  • Asian pork salad
  • Pork posole
  • Pork ravioli with marinara sauce
  • Shredded pork and tahini pita pizza
  • The other nights will be Leftovers
I also downloaded this new app Food on the Table it seems pretty cool, you can upload or find recipes and make your weekly meal plan and your grocery list on there. The app even shows you what items on your list are on sale at nearby stores. I'm hoping this will help me stay organized and help me save money!



Hope you have an amazing week!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Just Another Manic Monday er Tuesday!

Make sure to check out my friends Angela, Laura and Hollie's blogs too!

Sorry I'm a day late, I wasn't feeling that great yesterday.

I surprisingly maintained this week! woot woot!!

I helped at a bake sale for KBeaner and her dance friends, so much fun but so many yummy treats! And there were girl scout  cookies...ugh. 

I did horribly at limiting sugar, I could have just had one, which wouldn't have been my best choice but I feel like all I did all weekend was snack on sweet treats. 

I know I can't dwell on it though, I need to accept I did not eat well and that I need to move on. My plan is to try and eat clean this week, well clean-er.  Making more and more clean food choices. In the past I have tried to jump into eating perfectly clean, it doesn't work for me and I end up wasting food and money. So I have decided to ease my way into it. I am going to try my hardest, but if I do not do it perfectly I will not give up like I have in the past.

The meal plan for this week isn't too exciting, trying to save some grocery money so I am trying to use what we have at home.

Dinners:
Healthy Pizza
Salad with Tuna
Stir Fry Veggies with Quinoa
Tacos (with lentils instead of meat)
Leftover Taco Soup
Leftovers

Tonight I'm going to a fun Craft night that two of my friends have started hosting. We are making necklace holders similar to this one.
I'll post pics of mine  later this week!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Updates and random photos

It's SPRING!!!!!! 

It does not look or feel like Spring outside...

Eventually it will feel like Spring right? I hope so, I know it is going to take awhile though! *sigh*  

I have this whole plan of wanting to start Couch 2 5K, but  the weather is not working with me (or maybe it is? remember my whole lazy post?). I don't have a treadmill and hate the cold weather so I really do not want to be running outside, in the snow, on the ice...blah no thank you! 

I hope that when it is nice out, I will still have all this motivation to start. I have started Couch 2 5K before, but have never finished it. This time I will forget all my excuses and just do it!

I've lost some of my excuses, even though I have been tired I have kept up with Brazil Butt Lift workouts. I'm sore and tired, but honestly it feels so good. Sometimes the soreness in my legs reminds me of how far I've come, and it makes me grateful that I am still pushing myself. 

As weird as it sounds... I guess I really do enjoy being sore. Is that weird? I feel like I should send a tweet to Girl Code for their #IsThatWeird (Love that show!! If you haven't watched it, you probably should, most of the time I feel like they are inside my head lol).

mmmmm pizza!!
This past Monday we went to the indoor water park that's a couple of towns over from ours. Oh man it was so much fun!! It was the first time we had ever been, it was an incredibly fun day and wonderful to pretend we were somewhere hot!

Here are some of the crafts we've done this month so far. I listed 8 that I wanted to do this month in this post.


Bubble Wrap Stomp Painting was AWESOME!

Magic  Snow...not that exciting, but KBeaner did enjoy spraying the snow purple.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! 

Monday, March 17, 2014

Manic Monday week 11

Hey all! Welcome to Just Another Manic Monday! 


Hope you had a great week! I did, for the most part I stayed on track eating wise and I finished my last week of Brazil Butt Lift DVD. I plan on doing another 4 weeks of it, this time the combination series. 

I lost a pound this week so I'm 172. I know its just a pound, and I'm still in the 170s but I am so happy to finally have lost something! 
We got a CRAP ton of snow this week. Blahhhh. 


This past weekend was a lot of fun! The town next to us did this Shamrock The Block event, which was awesome! KBeaner and I went down just the two of us on Saturday. Then on Sunday we went again with some friends for the parade. We also had dance class both days this weekend, so it was a super fun and busy weekend. 



Of course KBeaner needed her face painted. She wanted the "Butterfly Princess" I think it's very fitting! 

Today we are going to an indoor water park!!! I am so excited!! I can't wait to pretend that it is warm out! Not really looking forward to be in my swim suit, but it is what it is! 

For meals this week I have...
Cilantro Lime Bean Salad
Burrito Bowl- Brown  rice with Cilantro Lime Bean Salad
Healthy Pizza
Tuscan Style Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash
Leftovers

This week I am going to continue to try very hard, not let myself get lazy and drink lots of water!