Chapter 35

That's what we are gonna call it.  I turn 35 this year and it's time to write a new chapter in my life.  After an amazing weekend with the BEGANY family, I've decided life needs to become about FAMILY!  When I say family I mean about me and my family!  Here's a few pics from the weekend where we celebrated the start of another branch on the family tree.

The beautiful bride.  I hadn't seen her in quite a few years and now she's all grown up and married.

Great grandparents with their VA great grand babies!!!!

It's all about Family!!!

No long blog!

Today is going to be short and simple.  

My thoughts are with the families affected by the happening at the Naval Yard in Washington.  I hope we can find a way to help those struggling with PTSD, including those military and non-military!  It breaks my heart to see innocent people become victims of something so tragic.  I hope and pray Gracie never has to deal with this.  Although every bit of me knows she will one day experience this, I hope it's less often than I have in my 33 years of life!

Leftover Sunday

With it being only Gracie and I home for dinner I thought we could finish the leftovers.  BBQ chicken and rice with carrots, peas and corn!  

The rice was already mixed like that.  So on to the chicken.  Here he is before:

I pulled the meat off and put it in a bowl so I could shred it.

Then I used a technique I learned on Pinterest.  I got the mixer out and shredded my chicken.  It takes like 2 minutes and there were pieces perfect for the little persons hands.

Then I added the BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Rays) to my liking. And heated it up!

Now the ultimate test is if the kiddo likes it!  If not I saved some without BBQ!

Produce

We have been visiting the Farmers Market in Chesapeake, Va for quite a few weeks.  We got some amazing bargains while there and made some great meals with them as well.  I thought I would do the same here.  We find some good stuff

Apple, peaches, peppers, squash, raspberry jam and fresh honey!  A little more expensive than I am used to but we will keep searching for the deals and best market!

In our garden I was able to pick 2 peppers for the men.  They will either use them for salsa or for eggs in the morning.

There is a tomato that is close to being ready and then we will see what else comes up.  I will move the plants to the basement as the weather gets cooler so they will be ready for next season.  

Next post should contain fall decor!  Other than Christmas, fall is an amazing time of the year.  If only I can convince Papa into buying some mums for the steps outside!

Mason Jar Salads

It's all the craze on Pinterest and my sister and I took the challenge this week.  We created our first round of mason jar salads.  It is so much easier than you would ever believe.  First we cut up the veggies we wanted in our salads:

We placed the dressing in the jars first.  Two tablespoons for 2 WW Point Plus.  Then we stacked the veggies in, putting the lettuce in last.  On top of the lettuce I placed cheese (2 WWP+) and crispy onions (1WWP+).  This is what they looked like after I got them finished.

I had one jar left over and had some left over peppers and onions so the next night I sautéed them up to place in the jar.  This jar wasn't as full as the other but I will heat up some rice and add some salsa to make some a little southwestern for my meal on Saturday.

Now when it comes time to eat these suckers my best advice is to shake them and get the dressing flowing throughout.  But them you should put them on a plate to serve and eat.  I tried to eat it out of the jar yesterday and it wasn't so great.  

Here's to a week of success in the kitchen and on the scale!

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers!

We tried something new...

CROCKPOT STUFFED PEPPERS!

You can't say they don't look amazing!  They tasted even better!

We stuffed them with:

1 pound ground turkey

4 ounces of fresh squash

1 can of drained corn

1 bag of whole grain rice

tomato sauce

We did put a little chicken broth around them but I don't think we will do that next time.  We pre-cooked the ground turkey before stuffing the peppers.  Crockpot set on low while at work!

They fell apart on the plate:

 

Goal update

The first goal was to resume counting and using weight watchers. Well I have really tallied points or tracked points so I can't say I've achieved that. I can say that my weight has stayed constant. We went on a walk one evening and on my days off I like to keep moving. We are dancing as a form of exercise and I'm constantly playing with the little bug. I need to do something a little more formal but by the time I can its already past 9 and there is an audience in the house. I know excuses, excuse! I need to do a better job!

Goal 2-doing for myself and my little bug. Well I feel as if I'm doing a better job of caring less of what others think and more of what makes me happy. Nothing specific to share here!

Goal 3-blog more! Yeah about that! I need to make myself a schedule or join one of the challenges on another blog. I think if I had more followers I would be encouraged to blog more. Here's to seeing what I can do in February.

Goal 4-Rookie GM! I feel like I'm off to a better start this year. I'm learning new things and trudging along. My goals are posted at work and I know what I need to do to earn this nomination!

Goal 5-cleaning schedule! Yeah that worked for all of a day! I can say that I'm doing a better job of pitching in. I'm learning to balance baby and house. As she gets bigger she plays a lot more and is easier to entertain. We started to make progress in the office and I will post some pictures. We also sorted through clothes and quite a bit will be donated or hitting the trash.

Stay tuned for February!


Loving every minute of every day with my bundle of joy! Stay tuned and learn with me or relive raising your child with me!