More Pictures!

Last post was all before and after The Gristmill.  A couple more from lunch, then Buc'ee's and the first few from the zoo!

Texas: Day 3

Thanks for your patience with the vacation updates!  We got so busy having fun that I didn't get around to posting at the end of the week.  Day 3 of our trip was Friday.  We had big plans of all the things we wanted to do, but kept running into problems.  First we wanted to go to the Space and Time Park, which was similar to the Dino Park we went to the day before, a museum trail type thing.  However, when we got there, they appeared to be closed.  I called and they said we could take the trail (1.5 miles), but that with all the rain recently, it was very muddy and we would get really dirty.  We weren't really dressed for that, so we moved on.  We went to Buc'ee's, which is apparently a Texas Gas Station the size of a Wal-Mart Super Center.  It was crazy!  There had to be 50-100 gas pumps!  And they were all over the state!  There was food and souvenirs and everything you could need or want there.  Later in our trip we got a souvenir there.  It was already lunch time by the time we finished filling up, so we went to the Gristmill in Gruene, outside New Braunfels.  It was a cool restaurant that had been converted from a Cotton Gin.  It was built into the side of a hill that overlooked a river (where we even saw a few people floating the river in tubes).  The food was great!  Michael and I shared Catfish with Zucchini and Squash!  Yum!  I liked it more than Michael did, to be honest, but it was on the healthier side (we made a couple good choices while we were on vacation) and I didn't feel loaded down when we left.  After lunch we went to a Snake Farm/Zoo.  It was pretty small, especially compared to the Wichita zoo, but it was fun!  It was packed with animals for as small as it was.  There was a petting zoo where we fed the animals, Connor enjoyed it, Avery didn't like them jumping on her.  There were lots of bird roaming like Peacocks, Chickens  and Guineas.  The chickens were so used to people, Aunt Shanna was able to pick up one of the babies and the kids got to pet it.  They enjoyed that.  The wolf exhibit was close enough to the fence to get a great look at him.  In Wichita you look down from a sort of bridge and sometimes can't see the wolves at all.  Inside the building were a slew of snakes, which didn't bother me, but when I saw a large cockroach on the outside of the glass, it was about time for me to call it a day.  Overall, it was a great day (despite lots of driving and not as many attractions as we intended).  On the way back to the house we stopped at a local grocery store called H.E.B.  Apparently it's the initials of the founder who was named Harry E. Butts.  Fortunately, someone convinced him to go with his initials for the store chain.  Good call.  ;)  The store was full of beautiful produce from Mexico and Chile as well as fresh, hot tortilla and a fresh squeezed juice bar.  My healthy little heart was so happy!  Can't wait for Spring and Summer produce here in Kansas!!  It's almost grill time, Folks!!!  We had Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner, which was great because it was in the crockpot and ready when we got home from our day of excitement.  We had such great food on vacation!  I'm not sure if I mentioned it on the Day 2 blog or not, but for dinner Thursday we had grilled loaded Salmon Patties and an Asian coleslaw salad.  They were divine!  The Salmon Patties were loaded with cheese and Jalepenos!  I'm going to try to find some here in Kansas!  The only Salmon I've ever liked!  Boy was it good!  One last thing and then I'll get to pictures (probably a few posts worth of pictures or the blog won't post), the kids did really great throughout the whole trip.  Some days they didn't get naps at all and they just pushed through.  They were well behaved and for the most part left when we said it was time.  I was very proud of them!  :)  OK, picture time!!!

Tilapia and Asparagus with Capers

Michael and I had this delicious meal for dinner last night.  It didn't take too long to put together or cook, but before we got to dinner we went to the gym, Aldi's, and Sprouts.  So by the time we got home and I began cooking dinner we were starving.  It was amazing and REALLY hit the spot once we finally got to eat.  When we have fresh fish from the farm I'll make this recipe with Bass.  In this case I used Tilapia, although the recipe called for Cod.  Basically any white fish will do.  Michael didn't care for the Fish and Chips recipe I made a month or so ago, but he did like this one, so it must have been the way it was prepared and not the Tilapia itself.  Gonna make a fish eater out of him yet.  ;)  The kids would have eaten fish with us as well, but as I mentioned, it was late and they were getting fussy and needed to go to bed, so I whipped them up a couple grilled cheese so they could go ahead and eat and then we could work on getting them to bed and watch the K-State game in peace.  Best laid plans...  They fought bedtime as usual and we were up and down throughout the game.  *sigh*  I'm going to really enjoy waking them up before they're ready when they get to school age.  #Payback  I served the fish and Asparagus with a side of jasmine rice (which has been larva free since I began throwing the rice in the freezer for a week or more once we get it into the house).  The whole meal came out to 400 calories!  Perfect!  If you want to try this recipe as well, here's a link.  I should note, I didn't have lemons, so I used about a teaspoon of lemon juice on each filet.  Don't omit the capers either, they are delicious on this recipe.  And sorry the picture isn't too pretty.  You're lucky I took a picture at all since it was after 8:30 before I got to sit down and eat my dinner.  :P  Enjoy!

Banana Split Overnight Oats

I haven't got a chance to try them yet, but I gotta say, these look soooo tasty!  With all the add-ins the calories get up there fast (over 500).  😨  But I tend to plan meals for my calorie allotments most of the time and then Michael gets way under what he should have, so this is more his speed for breakfast.  Next time I make this for myself I'll cut down to half a banana, use almond more, and reduce my chocolate chips and walnuts.  By doing that I will probably save 120-150 calories and get this meal back in my range.  If you're interested in making it yourself, here's a link!  Enjoy!

More Pictures

I can only post a few pictures in each post, so here are more pictures from yesterday.  :)

Texas: Day 2

Our room we're staying in here at Chuck and Shanna's is really more of a studio apartment.  It's over the garage, fully furnished, with every convenience you can think of at our disposal.  From a TV, couches, and chairs, to a Keurig, fridge, and microwave, to exercise equipment and a dresser for clothes in case we don't want to live out of a suitcase, this room has it all.  It's also removed from the main house, so we stay out of Chuck and Shanna's way pretty well.  And in the morning when the kids wake up and are ready to start the day, but we aren't yet, the kids can go downstairs and into the kitchen of the main house where Chuck and Shanna, early risers, are up and around to get them some fresh fruit, juice, or other breakfast item.  Seriously, this is the life.  :)  Yesterday we ate breakfast at a little hole in the wall that was nothing to look at.  But their breakfast tacos were awesome!  The one Michael and I had featured beans, potatoes, eggs, bacon, cheese, and bbq brisket.  Yum!!  Like I said, not much to look at, but ooooh so tasty!  We also went to a Dinosaur Park yesterday.  It featured a 1/2 mile trail with life sized Dinosaur replicas all over in the trees and brush near the path.  The kids loved it!  We spent about 3 hours there between the path, the playground, eating our sack lunch, and the fossil and bone excavation areas.  We came back to the house and the kids settled down for a nap.  When they woke up, the Farrier was here.  The kids got to see the horses nails trimmed (filed) and a beautiful Texas storm.  Did you know it rains straight down here?!?!  They can leave the windows open and sit on the porch during a storm because the wind doesn't blow the rain into the house!  So cool!  Reminded me of Cameroon!  We're having a great time!  Stay tuned for more stories of our adventures!!

Texas: Day 1

We left for vacation at 3:15am.  The drive was supposed to take 8 hours 30 minutes according to Google Maps.  We made 2 planned stops in Moore, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas.  We also made one emergency bathroom stop for Avery.  Otherwise we drove straight through.  We made it to Chuck and Shanna's at 12:10pm.  Our 8 hour 30 minute took 8 hours 55 minutes!  How amazing is that?!??!  We added less than 30 minutes to the trip!!  The kids did awesome!  We're all having so much fun!  The kids were warned about Fire Ants and where not to step, now they hesitate to go in the grass at all.  :P  Better over cautious than under, I suppose.  They got to ride the horses, Taddy and Mingo.  They even scooped up horse poop.  ;)  The adults went out for the evening to a Speakeasy Bar and to a restaurant for dinner.  It was a wonderful time!  And I got my first picture of a mural!  Looking forward to many more around town!  I'm so glad we got to have so much fun on our first day in town!  More fun to come!  Stay tuned!

The Gym

We got a Y membership.  We've been 4 times in the last 5 days.  Pretty proud of us.  :)  Also tired.  Sorry so short.  ;)  #Swole  (Google, or better yet, Urban Dictionary it)  :P

Weight Watchers Monte Cristo

I've never had a Monte Cristo before.  I had no idea what it was, to be honest.  But my mom said she liked them, so when a skinny version popped up on my Pinterest I thought I'd give it a try.  Turns out, they're pretty good!  Basically like a turkey sandwich speed in egg like French Toast!  Super tasty!  Again, no pictures, we didn't eat dinner that night until after 730 because of our new garage door opener, so we scarfed them down before there was a photo opp.  Maybe next time!  ;)

Weight Watchers Monte Cristo

Asparagus Pancetta Hash

Sorry again, no pictures.  Yesterday was a flurry of activity!  Avery didn't feel well Monday so she didn't go to gymnastics.  So yesterday was her make-up class.  At 4:30.  Michael had to get out of work a little early to get her there.  While they were gone Connor and I stayed home and played some games, then I made dinner.  But halfway through, I realized I forgot to buy asparagus.  So I called Michael and he and Avery brought some home from Andover.  I finished up sober about the time we were supposed to leave for church.  We had to eat in a big hurry.  Then we only ended up being about 5 minutes late for kids connect at church.  After an hour of that we had choir for another 40 minutes.  Thank you, Rosie, for letting us out early!  Then back home to get the kids ready for bed.  Because we were so rushed, I didn't take a picture, but dinner was good!  I used turkey bacon instead of pancetta because I always have it on hand.  And russet potatoes instead of Yukon gold because, again, it's what I have on hand.  Connor ate it pretty well, Avery ate some.  Michael and I really liked it.  It would make a great breakfast or brunch recipe too!  Enjoy!

Pancetta Asparagus Hash

Trending down!

When Michael and I first started losing weight I had all the numbers written down.  I knew exactly how many calories we ingested each day.  But as time went on I got lazy and knew, but didn't have exact numbers.  Then I stopped paying as much attention.  I knew I was eating healthy meals, but I didn't keep track of any numbers.  I just assumed I was within the 1200-1400 calorie range.  I also didn't really count my snacks.  If I took a bite or two of this or that, I just ignored it instead of adding it to my daily calorie count (because I want really counting anyway).  But the last two days I have counted everything!  Including the 1.5 chicken nuggets I finished off the kids' lunch plates and the 8 popcorn chicken that I snacked on while we were shopping last night.  I put everything I ingested into my MyFitnessPal App and diligently counted my calories.  I must say it helped 2 days ago because I knew I spent all my calories already and it kept me from getting a snack late in the evening even though I desperately wanted one.  The last 2 days I have been within 50 calories of my 1200 calorie daily goal.  Yesterday morning I was down 0.6 lbs (after a week of barely moving 0.4 lbs up and down), hitting a month-long low.  Today I was down another 0.8 lbs (140.2), starting my new month on a low!  Yay!  I'm feeling much more positive about reaching my goal by my birthday knowing I have 10.2 lbs to go in 5 weeks than a couple days ago when I had almost 12 lbs.  Like I said, each day trending down is worth celebrating!  Today I'm especially excited!  And you can bet I'll be tracking all my calories very carefully for the next week until we leave on vacation.  I want to give myself plenty of cushion for vacation!

**Note**
Started this entry yesterday, failed to post.  Adding a bit more this morning.

Still headed down!!  I was down to 139.6 this morning!  Down another 0.6 lbs and only 9.6 to go in the next 5 weeks!  I gotta say, tracking the calories really seems to help a lot more.  Big shocker there.  For three days now I have actively tracked my calories.  The first two days I was within 50 calories of my 1200 calorie day.  Yesterday I was within 100 calories of my 1200 calorie day.  The next 3 mornings I was down 0.6, 0.8, and 0.6 lbs.  That's 2 lbs in 3 days!!!  If I can maintain that kind of momentum, even vacation can't stop me from reaching my goal!  My plan is to keep tracking carefully until Wednesday when we leave for vacation.  Hopefully I'll give myself enough of a cushion and we'll be plenty active in Texas, that when we get home and I still have just under a month left to work, that 130 will be attainable.  Just wishing I had been carefully tracking my calories a little earlier...  Oh well!  Shoulda coulda woulda...

Toddler Friendly Baked Oatmeal Cups

My kids love muffins.  We all love oatmeal with various mix-ins as well.  So this recipe was a no-brainer.  I doubled the recipe so I ended up having 6 muffins of each flavor.  So far I've tried two of the four flavors.  Both were delicious!  The PB&J tasted better, but the Blueberry Almond had fewer calories with a very satisfying crunch and texture.  This recipe is incredibly customizable!  I look forward to making these again with our own flavor combinations!  I also look forward to trying the Strawberry Chocolate Chip and the Carrot Cake flavors in the fridge!  Enjoy!

Toddler Friendly Baked Oatmeal Four Ways

Italian Style Crockpot Roast

No pictures for this recipe, but I highly recommend you try it!  The egg noodles make it a little bigger calorie meal, but it felt so deliciously hearty I didn't even care!  (And my weight went down this morning, so I kept my daily caloric numbers in check.)  ;)  As is another crockpot recipe, it's super easy!  Slicing carrots was the most time consuming part.  I omitted the pepperoncini the recipe called for, but did use the roasted red peppers.  I didn't buy the special seasoning the author suggested, but used generous amounts of Italian Seasoning and Garlic Powder instead.  Smelled wonderful!  Avery liked this recipe.  Michael loved this recipe (as did I) and Connor wasn't a fan.  Can't win em all.  Oh well, Michael and I liked it enough we will definitely have this again!  Plus, my roast was too big, so I have enough leftover meat in the freezer to make another half recipe sometime soon!  Yum!  Check it out!

Italian Style Crockpot Roast

A month of weight loss

Welp, February is at an end.  You'll remember I set myself a lofty weight loss goal at the beginning of the year.  130 by 30.  Sends easy enough until you remember I weighed 151.6 at the beginning of the year.  The weight has been coming off, but not as fast as I've wanted in order to hit my goal by my birthday.  However, every step forward and tenth of a pound lost is a step in the right direction worth celebrating.  :)  Today I did something I haven't ever done in the last 14 months that I've been weighing myself daily.  You see, at the end of each month I keep 4 post-it's of my weight to summarize my month.  I keep my starting and ending weights and my high and low for each month.  Some months I only keep 3 post- it's if my starting or ending weight is my high or low for the month.  This month I only saved 2 post- it's!!  My high was the first day of the month, my low was today, the last day of the month!  A lot of times I go up sometime during the month and am working my way back down at the end of the month.  But this month, despite a couple small ups and downs over the month, I ended at a month-long low!  First time ever to start and end on a month-long low.  :)  I'm at 141.0 this morning.  I have 5 weeks and 11 lbs to go.  It looks pretty daunting as far as reaching my goal, especially considering we have vacation in a week.  But I'm going to keep trying!  A little over 10 lbs in 2 months is still huge success in my book considering it took me a year to lose 40 lbs last year.  One day at a time.  :)  Celebrating each successful step along the way!  :)

Star Wars Family Night

Before I get to our new tradition, a little back story...

Michael's birthday is January 5th, 11 days after Christmas.  So when Michael's birthday comes we are already broke from Christmas and burnt out from months of holiday celebrations.  I tend to not do real well celebrating him (which is why I planned his half birthday surprise last year).  This year for his birthday I got him gift cards, sounds lame again, but let me explain...  I got him gift cards to Best Buy and Barnes and Noble because they tend to be expensive places and they only sell fun stuff, not stuff we actually need.  I wanted him to be able to go and get whatever frivolous stuff he wanted (within reason).  From Best Buy he purchased the complete (ish) 6 movie set of Star Wars,  episodes 1-6.  (I say complete ish because the last 2 years two new Star Wars movies have come out, episode 3.5 - Rogue One, and episode 7 - The Force Awakens)

Fast forward a little, the kids are getting interested in Star Wars, so on Friday nights Michael makes popcorn (Connor helped this time) and we all snuggle up in our big King-sized bed and watch a movie together.  It's been so much fun!  The kids have a great time and ask a lot of questions.  Most of them Michael has to answer as I am not the big Star Wars buff that he is.  ;)  Love these memory making moments.  :)

*Note*

I write this a week ago but apparently I never posted it!  Whoops!

Pizza Pasta

We've had this recipe before and I might have even blogged about it before, but I can't remember.  Either way, we had it again and our was delicious!  This is another one of our favorite healthy meals!  No pictures, sorry.  :\  Make sure to chop your veggies super fine if you've got a picky eater.  ;)

Pizza Pasta Casserole

Michael's New Clothes

I mentioned this yesterday, but Michael, the kids and I went shopping this weekend (and again last night) for some new clothes for Michael.  It's been ages since we bought him new clothes other than work clothes.  His Spring and summer wardrobe needed freshened up, so that's what we did!  New shorts, pants, t-shirts, casual button downs, polos, a blazer, shoes, and a belt!  Lots of neutral and earth colors so everything can go together, mix and match, like his own capsule wardrobe!  I love his new look!  He's a little hesitant, but he's always that way with change.  ;)  I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty of pictures of him in these new clothes soon, especially from vacation!  :)  I think he looks awesome!

Packing for TEXAS!!!

I'm not sure I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but Michael, the kids, and I are going to Texas two weeks from tomorrow for our family vacation!  Michael's Aunt Shanna lives outside of Austin and is willing to host us, so we're headed to Texas!  It's been over 10 years since I've been to Texas (outside of the airport), so I'm looking forward to getting back down there.   For a bit, when I was a kid, I was going down there every summer.  Looking forward to sharing Texas with the kids.  Vacation is still a couple weeks away, but I'm already getting excited and packing.  Yesterday I packed Avery's clothes.  I bagged them in gallon zip lock baggies with socks, underwear, accessories (if necessary), and clothes for each day (and then some).  I tend to overpack on long trips because I like for everyone to have options for different activities, weather,  and moods.  :)  Same goes for Michael and I, not just the kids.  ;)  So Avery is almost completely packed except for shoes and jammies.  I'm working on laundry today, Maybe I'll get Connor all packed up today!  :D  I'm so excited for our trip!  More on that later!  Lots more blogging to do!  ;)

Korean Beef in the Crockpot

No picture for this one either, but it was tasty, easy, Chinese esque and Michael liked it!  ;)  This was the first time a crockpot recipe ever had me put raw ground beef into the crockpot.  I've done it with almost every other meat, but not ground beef.  I made a side of rice and a steamer bag of veggies and dinner was done!  Easy peasy!  You probably have all the ingredients on hand if you're looking for a recipe tonight!  Give it a try!

Korean Slow Cooker Beef

**Note: The link has 6 recipes, the Korean Beef is #2.

Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches

I didn't take any pictures of last night's dinner because pulled Chicken looks just like pulled pork or bbq beef.  But since I mentioned it in my last post I thought I'd write a blog about it.  ;)  There's not much to the recipe.  If you've made Crockpot bbq beef or pulled pork, the chicken is basically exactly the same.  They had actual measurements for the spices, but I just sprinkled to my hearts content (ended up using more spices, but that's just more flavor).  I used a bottle of BBQ sauce from Aldi's that cost $1.19.  I used 2 lbs chicken breasts from Walmart for $1.99/lb (Dillons has the same deal in their fresh meat counter).  And instead of buns I used my Multigrain bread from Aldi's which is $1.89.  So to feed my entire family 2 meals (it made 8 servings) it cost me $7.  $0.88/serving!  Score!  Now if that doesn't illustrate why we're not eating out in the month of February, I don't know what will!!  Speaking of February's health and financial goal, for the most part it's been pretty easy, but Sunday when we were at the mall shopping with the kids it was hard telling them no to mall food and pretzels.  Fortunately we were there at lunch time, so we loaded them up on samples to tide them over.  ;)  And didn't spend a dime (on food).  Ok, back to the point of this blog...  Food was delicious!  Here's the recipe:

Crockpot Pulled BBQ Chicken