I'm a nerd!

Last week was spring break for me! I had no tropical destination or sunny beach - I guess that's a disadvantage to being an adult student - LOL! I was able to get caught up on some things at home. Tonight was my first long night back. On Tuesdays, I have class until 6:45p, but on Thursday, I have classes back-to-back, so I don't finish until 9:45p. As luck would have it, the professor went over tonight - so I didn't leave campus until 10:05p!

On a good note, I made a "B+" on my second social statistics exam; an "A" on my history mid-term learning portfolio; and an "A" on my Signature mid-term paper! Over spring break, I met with Prof. H one of the advisors in the Learning Center. I wanted to make sure I knew what classes I had left to take. Good news: I was right! He talked me into doing something I said I would NEVER do again -- summer school! My plan had graduation in December 2012. I was really hoping for Spring 2012 and summer school this year will help make that a reality! OH YEAH!!!! I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Changes... the good, the bad.. well ya know?

Change... I'm not talking about the nickels, dimes, and quarters found in the crevices of your sofa! I'm talking change -- moving away from the path you are on and setting out in a different direction. The change that makes us uncomfortable because we are shifting out of our comfort zone. I think the sign below is how many of us envision change....

BUT, we should embrace change! I've made some big changes in my life over the past 3 years - food and fitness are the biggies! I'll be talk more about them soon. For now, let's quit our "stinkin' thinkin'" that change is too hard and not good for us. The reality is CHANGE IS GOOD and our BODIES DESERVE THE BEST!

Unexpected Rain & Deer

My normal routine on Monday, Wednesday, Friday is wake up at 5:15am and meet a dear friend for 3 miles. We started the routine in mid October. Intially, we did 2 miles on Wednesday & Friday. Around the holidays, we added the extra day and mileage. We are kinda like the post office - rain, sleet, hail, snow, and freezing temps have not stopped us until TODAY! We started out this AM and about 3 houses down from mine we heard some rumblings in the woods -- next thing we know 5 deer dart across the road in front of us! Needless to say, we were now AWAKE! About a block or so later, it's starts drizzling and then raining - BUMMER! Neither of us were prepared with an umbrella or head cover, so we decided to turn around. I'm guessing we got about a mile in which is better than nothing. I need to try really hard to make it to Zumba tonight!

Weight Watcher Recipe - Pimento Cheese

I jotted down this recipe from our Weight Watcher meeting last Saturday. I think pimento cheese is a southern thing, but it certainly is delicious. I made this last Sunday and it was yummy. It's creamy and has a slight sweetness to it. Pimento Cheese

1. 2 lb. Light Velveeta


2. 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar


3. 1/2 c. Splenda


4. 8 oz diced pimentos


5. 1 c. Kraft mayo (I used Duke's light mayo)

First of all, I decided to half the recipe since the Light Velveeta comes in a 1lb. box. I recommend placing the cheese in the freezer for about 30 minutes prior to shredding (trust me!). Now for the easy part - SHRED Velveeta and mix with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate. 1 TBS = 1 WW Points+

Weekly Menu

As a society, we seem to always fall short on time. I can certainly attest - there don't seem to be enough hours in the day. As a full-time mom, wife, employee and student - I'm always looking for ways to streamline our life and make it more organized as well as efficient. Recently I came across the blog, 5 Meals in One Hour. I requested her free trial. This afternoon, I spent an hour assembling meals for the week. Instructions and assembly were EASY! I'll update this post as we try the recipes this week.

• Saturday: Steak & Blue Cheese Salad with Hash Brown Casserole *I used steak leftover from a meal earlier in the week. After dinner, my fellas were requesting brownies. I didn't have a box mix on-hand, so we made these delicious brownies from scratch. YUMM! AND, we had the leftover Hashbrown Casserole with brunch on Sunday.



• Sunday: Sour Cream Noodle Bake with salad & French Bread



• Monday: Mini Honey Mustard Meat Loaves with Mashed Potatoes & Steamed Corn(5Dinners) *Review - I would rate 4.5 out of 5 stars. I think the meat mixture could use some of the honey mustard/ketchup topping. I LOVE that it is a Weight Watcher friendly recipe. :)



• Tuesday: Crispy Pork Chops with vegetables & applesauce (5Dinners) *Review - Let me first say - I am not repeat NOT a big fan of pork chops. I know they are the "other white meat" - but they're not my fav. However, I would totally give these Crispy Pork Chops 5 out of 5 stars. I think the Panko crumbs helped give them a "crunch" that refreshed my palate! And another plus - it's Weight Watcher friendly too. :)



• Wednesday: Chicken & Broccoli Bake with Brown Rice (5Dinners) *Review - Another winner! It would be very tempting to use 2 cans of soup (instead of 1) in this recipe, but one was just enough. I had one serving of the bake over brown rice. 4.5 out of 5 stars! And, if you're wondering -- yes, it is Weight Watcher friendly too. :)



• Thursday: Chicken Caesar Salad Pitas (5Dinners) *Review - Superhusband enjoyed this - he actually had the salad (no pita) and added a little parm cheese. We used the "lite" version of caesar salad too! I have class late on Thursday, so I packed some of the chicken-broccoli bake leftovers. Of course, all my classmates wanted to know when I had time to cook. Hehe!



• Friday: Shredded Beef Tacos (5Dinners) *Review - Normally, I use lean ground beef when we have tacos, so this was a change for us. I modified just a bit for sodium content and used Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime instead of a taco season packet. Next time, I'll add a bit more. Other than that, I rate this recipe 4 out of 5 stars!

Update!

Since my last post was January 2010, I'm fairly confident I don't have any "regular" blog followers. I didn't realize it had been "that" long! Anyway, we are still around and I'm hoping to take a fresh start with the blog. I've been contemplating deactivating my Facebook account for sometime. I really do enjoy surfing FB, but it is a time suck and distraction for me. I don't really have a lot of time to waste as a full-time mom, wife, student, and employee. :) So, this morning I took the plunge and deactivated it. I'm hoping to use the blog as my daily outlet for ramblings on life. I enjoy reading other's blogs and their journeys with home organization, cleaning, healthy eating and exercise - so you can bet those will be some familiar topics here as well!

Speaking of cleaning, I've discovered Shaklee products. I kept reading about them and didn't know if they were all they were cracked up to be. I decided to spend a little extra money (that over time would save us money on cleaning products) and see if they really worked. I can honestly say thus far I'm quite pleased. If you would like to read more, click over to Bowl Full of Lemons.

This week, I'm trying a new timesaver - 5 Dinners in 1 Hour. She offers a free trial menu, so I figured why not! I'll be assembling our meals tomorrow afternoon. Michelle offers the recipe; assembly & cooking instructions; as well as your shopping list. Sounds easy right?! The challenge for me will be modifying the recipes here and there to stay within Super-Husband's daily sodium range and Weight Watcher range, but I think we can do this!

If you have a Lowes Foods in your area, I highly recommend their shopping service, LowesFoodsToGo . You place your order online, select your pick-up time, and viola! Your order is ready. And if you're a couponer, no worries -- they will take your coupons at pick-up and apply the credit to your next order. I don't do this every week, but some weeks I'm pushed for time or life happens and it is a huge stress relief. I can place the order before I leave for work and Super-Husband or myself with pick it up on the way home.

Speaking of Super-Husband, health-wise he is doing quite well. 2009 & 2010 were challenging in so many ways - but God was with us every single step of the way. I won't go into all the details but God is good! Super-husband's is able to compensate very well considering the weakness of his heart and he doesn't let it slow him down. He is "living life". God used a particular situation this past summer to show me He was and has been in control. :) Funny, how I've known for years but often try to control a situation. Anyway, once God got my attention and I let go and let God do His thing -- my stress has been quite diminished and I'm living my faith in Him instead of being His bratty child tring to control a situation. :)

Wow! I'm rambling here -- I better save some for next time or I won't have anything to talk about. :)