A bunch of randomness

oh, where has the week gone already?  A whole lot going on so I will just make a big list of random for you! Here we go!

1) Yesterday was Matt's birthday....the big 35!  I was going to make a nice post about the 35 things I love about him...but I will leave you with just a couple instead.  I love that he is my best friend.  I love how he encourages me.  I love how he plays with the boys and can get some of the biggest laughs out of them ever!  And I love that he has a heart for the Lord and a great love for me and our family.  We are so truly blessed.  Happy Birthday, honey!  Here's to hoping 35 is the best year yet!!

2) Monday was Esther day!  E-day, as we call it, is the day we adopted Esther and we became her forever home.  7 years ago!  She is truly the best dog evah!

3) Did you know it was fall already?  One would not know it by the weather here in Texas...but I am a fall/winter kinda gal and really ready to start wearing sweaters and scarves and corduroy and boots!!

4)  I have another blog.  It's a recipe blog.  It is nothing fancy.  I don't know how to take good pictures of food.  BUT, I have eaten every recipe on it and  if it is on there, then we liked it.  I started it as a place to be able to go find my recipes in one simple place.  If you are in a cooking rut, go check it out.  And leave a comment if you liked what you made!

5)  Speaking of cooking.  I HATE dealing with raw chicken, beef, pork, etc.  It totally grosses me out.  But, as the chef in the house, I must do it.  I have no issues once the stuff is cooked...but touching it raw...EEEEEWWWW!!

6) And speaking of eating...I have hit the dreaded P word.  PLATEAU.  Ever since vacation back in August, the scale has been moving ever so slightly back and forth.  I don't know if it because I have become more lax?  Indulged in more celebrations?  Had time off of exercising with being sick, other commitments, etc?  I do not know.  But i AM FRUSTRATED.  But I am also committed and determined to lose this last 12lbs to get to my goal.  Any suggestions out there for  what to do when you have hit the virtual weight loss wall?

7) And Saturday...I run my first official 5k with Race for the Cure.  I ran tonight, 3.5 miles in 39 minutes.  Not the fastest (being sick last week and not running for nearly a week was NOT good for my stats)  I am 100% sure I can complete it, but wishing I was a little faster.  And if you want to donate for this great cause....go to my race page!  Every dollar counts!

I think that is about it for now.  Tomorrow is Thursday, almost through with the week.  Hang in there, friends! :)

So Pinteresting!

Ahhh, pinterest...I think you quite possibly have replaced facebook on levels of time lost on....  LOL.  A couple of the girls were at the house over the weekend and I gave them a quick tutorial on "pinning".  It is so fun and just  full of great ideas and inspiration!

Over the weekend, I made this (pics coming, turned out ADORABLE!) and cooked this tonight (which was delish!)  And tomorrow...will be cooking this for hubby's birthday dinner.

One of the best things for sure is that I no longer have to send links back to myself for things that I want to make or try or just like...you can just pin it in one place and go back to it when you are ready.  Genius, I tell you!

Are you on Pinterest yet?  If not, sign up or I will send you an invite.  Especially great at this time of year.  You WILL BE INSPIRED for Halloween/Fall/Thanksgiving/Christmas decor, gifts, crafts, etc!

Halloween Luminaries

If you are on Pinterest at all...I am sure you have seen these cute halloween luminaries!  They are very cute and cheap to make.  My book club made them last week but I didn't attend...so Z and I set off to make them yesterday.  I have been saving jars for who knows what so I didn't have to buy any.  If you don't have any laying around, you can buy a 12 pack at Wal-Mart I hear!

First off, clean out your jars and remove labels.

Second, paint the jars with regular old craft paint.  I actually painted the inside of mine.  Then you don't have to worry about scratching or glazing at the end!  It just gives it a little smoother look.  One note, when painting glass, just try to do one line at a time.  If you try to paint over while it is still wet, it kinda wipes off what you already painted.

The faces I painted on the outside.  Another good thing about that is that you don't have to wait for the jars to dry to paint the faces!  If you don't like the face you made....just wipe it off and start over.  And it won't mess up your base paint!  For the pumpkin, I had some foam pumpkin stickers left over from last year...Z used those to decorate the outside by himself.  It was easier then painting for a preschooler!

That's it!  We painted the lid too.  Drop a little battery operated tea light, and you are set!  Enjoy!

the tush....

IT HURTS!!

Umm, yeah, I think that was me today.  I have never taken a spin class before...and after my fitness assessment with one of the trainers today, she suggested I stay for her class.  I couldn't really say no...right?

Wow, it was definitely a new kind of workout for me.  I think I actually did pretty good, but holy heck, that bike seat HURTS!  A little cushion on there wouldn't hurt??

It was a good workout though, and something new.  I definitely be back again....even if I am not walking normally for the next couple days! ;-)

When life gives you mushy bananas....

Make banana bread, of course!


Somehow at least ONE of the bananas always goes bad before it gets eaten....right??  Cause, ya know, you don't ALWAYS reach for the banana first when you need a snack!  Well this time I had 4 bananas go bad.  So banana bread just seemed like the right thing to do!

I did a little searching and came up with this recipe. I did not have 1 1/4c sugar so I made mine with 3/4c sugar and 1/2 c brown sugar.  I also did not have any buttermilk on hand.  But apparently, you can make your own!  Just put 1 TBSP white vinegar or 1 TBSP lemon juice in a measuring cup and add milk to just about the 1 cup mark.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Wala!!  Then measure out and use desired amount.  Excellent!  Very cool when you only need a small amount (1/2c in this recipe)...saves a trip to the store and a few $$!


Anyway, I made my bread in a large meatloaf sized loaf pan and am counting it as 12 slices=6pts per slice.  Not super low, but for a treat or breakfast, I can swing it.  


Verdict from the family= delish!  

Next time don't throw out those mushy bananas...go make some bread! :)

My Favorite Homemade Play dough

What to do when you have a day with nothing to do...make play dough! :)  Ours was getting a little old and hard so we decided to make a fresh homemade batch!

Enter the ingredients:

The recipe actually calls for cream of tartar (which I didn't have this time) so I did a quick google search and came up with baking powder as a substitute.

Have your helper mix together all the dry ingredients. Then add water, oil, and food coloring and stir over medium heat...

And keep stirring....it looks goopy but it will turn into something, I promise! :)  When it stops seeming sticky, it is probably done.  You can always add a little more flour to if it still feels sticky after cooking.

 Then roll it into a nice big ball and pass along to your VERY happy 3 year old!

This stuff lasts for a long time and is so soft.  Over the holidays, I like to add some scents to it (pumpkin=halloween, peppermint=christmas) for some fun holiday treats!  Just store it in a tupperware container and enjoy!

My favorite Homemade Play Dough Recipe
1 cup flour 
1/4 cup of salt 
2 tablespoons cream of tartar 
1 cup water 
1 smidge of gel food coloring (or 2 teaspoons normal food coloring) 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

Exercise TV

My friend Kathy who is doing the 30 day challenge with told me about exercise tv.  Apparently there is a whole slew of videos you can do for free on demand!  I have the day off today so after Mark went down for his nap...I decided to check it out.  Holy moly, there are a lot of choices!  From dancing, kick boxing, abs, barre work, belly dancing, total body, walking...you name it!  I ended up doing a 30 minute shred with Jillian and a 10 min total body workout with weights.  Who needs to buy exercise videos when you can do them for free!

I did actually sweat...and my arms are feeling a little jell-o like....but I don't have that satisfied feeling like after a run.   I guess with a run...I KNOW exactly what I did and calories burned.  But as the gym guy told me, building muscle is better for you then all cardio, so I guess I did good today ;-)

Anyway, just thought I would share.  For those of you that don't like the gym, don't want to run or walk outside....here is something you can do at your own convenience in your own home! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

1.4

ARGH.

Somehow after upping my exercise up this past week, I managed to gain 1.4lbs....I guess I indulged a little more than I thought over the holiday weekend?  To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement.  I feel like this last bit of weight is going very slowly.  The month of August was a definite slump....I have only lost 3.4lbs in the last 4 weeks and only tracked 14 of those days (vacation...oops!).  I really felt like I was back on track this past week and when reviewing my journals, I only had 1 day that I even went over my points.  It is the first gain I have had in 6 weeks but still very frustrating....

So, this week I will vow to continue my 30 day challenge and I will track everything I eat!   I am moving forward and not letting this get me down.  I WILL REACH MY GOAL!  I WILL NOT GET DISCOURAGED!  Ya hear me, self?? ;-)  I went back to my old ww meetings today.  I missed my leader and all the encouragement she gave me.  She is big on setting mini goals...and our next one is Oct 31st.  My goal, is to be at or below my goal by then.  That gives me 7 weeks to lose 14lbs.  That is going to be tough...but I am going to push forward and give it my all!

I do want to give a shout out to all my friends and family who are following me on this journey....the encouragement, positive feedback, and stories that I am encouraging you...is what is keeping me going.  I am sticking to that this is a lifestyle change for Lisa...not just a diet.  I didn't gain the weight overnight, and it won't come off overnight either!  And I am going to be one good looking momma by Christmas time...right?? :)

Hope you all are having a good week, half way there.  Make the rest of it a good one too!

picture post!

Happy Labor Day, everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend with friends and family.  We did a LOT of cleaning out around the house...mixed in with an Astros game Friday night and watching the Aggies BTHO of SMU on Sunday!  :)  Here are a couple of pics from the last few days...

 Enjoying some cotton candy!

 Mark thought Z was hilarious!

 with Mickey!

 and just being silly...they had come inside from running through the sprinklers!

Hope I can snag some pics of the boys from Sunday from someone, they looked so cute in the Aggie gear!  We made a trip after church to Academy and got the whole family decked out!

I was good for my activity except for Sunday.  We were busy before and after church and then headed to the Aday's.  I guess my activity for that day will have to be the hour Zach and I grocery shopped!

And for a final funny shot...today I cleaned out my closet.  Got rid of a ton of clothes that were either a) old or b) too big.  Also found some clothes that I can now wear again which is fun!  But I had Matt take my pic in a pair of jeans I was wearing at the beginning of this year....pardon the no make up and hair!

Now if that's not motivation for me, I don't know what is!  :)  I don't think the picture even really does it justice. I can pull them on and off without even unbuttoning.  And even better, I found a pair of jeans I had saved from when I lived overseas after college just for posterity....they now fit again!  I think I will wear them to work on Friday and take a pic!

Hope everyone has a great week!  Stay active! :)

DAY 2-CHECK!

Well I really did not want to go....tried to find someone to have lunch with, thinking about other things I could....but finally just said, "quit the excuses and just GO!"  So I did!  Gym was fairly empty too which was nice.  I am a creature of habit so I went back to the exact same treadmill...and 40 minutes later, all done. 

The Food Network was on again today which I find to be a completely ironic channel to be watching in the gym...picture Paula Dean slathering butter ALL over delicious things and baking delicious sweets.  All the while the sweat is dripping off your brow and I am thinking how all that butter and sugar got me to this point in the FIRST PLACE!  #must learn other things to do in the gym besides the treadmill....

On a more interesting note, the fam is going to an Astros game tonight!  Matt got tickets from a vendor awhile back so we decided to take the boys.  They are great seats (front row on 1st baseline) so hopefully keeps the boys interested.  We figured if they are bad and we need to go....at least we didn't pay for the tickets!  This will be Mark's first game!  On a related note....I have had this Astros shirt in my closet for about a year and a half....tags still on.  I grabbed it one day at Target assuming it would fit.  Got home and it looked HORRIBLE so there it sat in my closet...never worn.  Tried it on last night, and what do you know, it is almost BIG now! Whoopideedoo to that! :)

Have a great weekend everyone and stay active!  We can do this!

observations from the gym

I started my challenge off right by heading to the gym for lunch, a first on many levels.  I managed to get in 3.5 miles in 40 minutes.  day 1-complete!

I totally need a lesson on machines...I am clueless.  I could barely figure out how to work the treadmill so just did the "quick start" to go!  And I realized I definitely like running outside better!  Am going to need to figure out different things to do so I don't burn out on the treadmill!

I am not the biggest person in the gym.  Big change from probably 4 months ago!  And helped with the whole "gym intimidation" factor...

I made it back to ww today after skipping 2 weeks due to vacation....and had lost 4.8lbs!  I now have about 12lbs to go before the first big goal.  I can do this!!

I need to bring make-up remover with me.  Raccoon eyes is not a good look for going back to work.

I wish the towels were softer.  And bigger.

Some people have no modesty!  Even in small spaces...grab a towel, people! ;-)

Apparently my hair looked good with the very rough dry I did after work out.  A co-worker complimented my new hair-do, ha ha!

But all and all, it wasn't too bad.  I wasn't totally scared being there...and it felt good to get the exercise DONE for the day.

How did you do on your first day of the challenge??