Thursday, December 29, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Relaxing, Day Two

This morning we hiked one of the nature trails here on the way to breakfast. Beautiful!!


Breakfast was awesome as well. I ordered the Tuscan frittata - egg whites topped with artichoke hearts, baby bella mushrooms, wilted spinach and cheese. I had the option for fresh fruit on the side, but I had to try the potatoes. They were delicious.


Soon it will be time for my massage. I like Carefree.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Hello From Carefree, AZ!

We are on vacation in Carefree...I'm already starting to feel carefree.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Dinner Date

Last night I had a dinner date with Rebecca.  Liz was also supposed to join us, but she wasn't feeling well.  We missed her.  Rebecca and I decided that we would cook for our dinner date instead of going out.  I am glad we did!  If you have not met the wonder that is cauliflower with laughing cow cheese, let me introduce you!

Cheesy Cauliflower

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 6 wedges of light laughing cow Swiss cheese
  • garlic powder, to taste
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Core your cauliflower and steam until tender.


Rebecca has this cool steamer that allows you to put herbs in the steamer to add flavor.  We added fresh rosemary and it added an awesome taste to the cauliflower.  Yum!  Don't worry, this recipe is also delicious without the bonus rosemary.  :)

Add the hot cauliflower to a large bowl and combine with cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  The cauliflower will fall apart and you almost end up with a mashed potato type consistency.  The recipe made 6 servings which tallied to one weight watchers point + per serving.  It seemed a too good to be just one point, so I logged it as two.

Dinner on a Christmas plate :)

Yum!  We baked chicken drumsticks that Rebecca had seasoned in Allegro (you can read about Allegro in this post) and steamed green beans that we tossed with seasoned salt and a little olive oil cooking spray.  Delicious.

And of course there was a little wine.


I got to drink out of Rebecca's cute new wine glass.  She and some friends did a Christmas exchange of glasses, everyone brought a glass and they did a white elephant exchange.  What a great idea!  Do you have any cool Christmas traditions with your friends?

Monday, December 19, 2011

Weekend Recap and Weigh In

I had a fabulous weekend.  I will go ahead and tell you now that I didn't get on the scale this morning.  I worked out all week last week, but this weekend was full of higher calorie meals, snacks and drinks.  I know it is a gain and I know it would push me toward throwing up my hands and not caring until the new year, so I skipped it.  I packed my healthy lunch and my gym bag and I am moving forward.

Now the weekend...we went to Hattiesburg, MS to celebrate Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law and nieces.  The husband, my mom, Sammy and I hit the road Thursday afternoon.  We were discussing all the truck drivers and since they pretty much live in their cabs, do they decorate for the holidays.  We had all decided that if we drove trucks we would have at least a Christmas tree in the cab with us.  This trucker had the exact right idea.


I bet he had a Christmas tree in his cab.  There were much more lights on the truck than just the little bit on the front, but I missed that while getting my phone out to get the picture.  Love it.  Merry Christmas from I-12.

This was our first trip to Hattiesburg since my sister moved into her new house.  It is gorgeous and I loved cooking on her new stove.

Mashed potatoes and green beans...Mmmm.
Hello pretty gas stove with spider burners.  I want one.  This was the makings of Christmas dinner...we had beef tender, mashed potatoes, green beans and crusty bread.  Yum.

One of my fave KB shirts

We had a few cocktails at the Keg and Barrel on Friday night and listened to an awesome Irish band.

My niece Courtney saved up her allowance and did extra chores to earn money so she could buy everyone in the family a Christmas present.  Sweetest thing ever.


Love my new necklace.  It is very special to me!  Courtney gave the husband a Beatles t-shirt.  She is so thoughtful.  When she started getting into music, Daniel gave her a Beatles album that was the first one he bought for himself when he was a kid.


And this picture of my sister and Sugar doesn't really have a long story...I just thought it was super cute.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Birthdays are Special

Birthdays are great...a whole day to celebrate yourself and be thankful for all the days in your life and the things that make you you.  What could be better?

That being said, December 15th marks a birthday that is very special to me...it's the husband's birthday.  He's a pretty awesome husband, I must admit.

Happy Birthday Daniel!
And to add to the excitement, it is also my cousin Meghan's birthday.  Here she is with her gorgeous sisters.  She's on the right.  :)

Ashley, Kristen, Rebekah and Meghan
Happy Birthday, Meghan!!

If December 15th marks your birthday too, I hope it is spectacular!  Let the celebrations begin!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

So Much Glitter!

Okay, who remembers this cute back to school commercial by Target with the elementary school teacher?



I think of her every time I do anything that involves glitter...so much glitter!  And when I decorated my office...I thought of her...a lot.

I bought some new ribbon for the wreath on my office door.  I got two rolls of the ribbon since I wanted to make a big bow.  The ribbon has dots that are made of glitter on it.

Awe, cute
Well when I was halfway through wrapping my wreath I realized I had a lot more ribbon than I thought I did.  So I went ahead and went around the wreath twice.  Well, once I finished the wreath I still had a whole roll of ribbon left.  So the bow tying began.

Yes, those are old dart trophies
Anything that was standing still in my office got a bow.




I put all the ribbon to good use...and when I was done my office was covered in glitter!  So much glitter!  LOL


Monday, December 12, 2011

Weekend Recap and Weigh In

Friday night the husband and I had a date night to have dinner and go see White Christmas at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.  We had dinner and drinks at Artista which is located in the Hobby Center.  The pan seared scallops were amazing.

Yum.

Excited for the start!
The musical was nothing short of awesome.  The cast had amazing voices, especially the lady who played Betty...I wish I could sing like that...actually I wish I could just carry a tune...I would settle for that at this point.  At the end of the show it snowed in the Hobby Center.  Seriously, how awesome is that?!

Pretty decorations
I love being out at Christmas time.  The Hobby Center was decorated so beautifully.


And their gift shop apparently has a direct line to Santa.


I didn't touch, I swear.
Saturday night we went to a wedding down near Seabrook, Texas.  Natalie and David got married and they looked so happy!  We were very happy for them.


 
All the best to Mr. and Mrs. Weekley.

And now for the weigh in...

Previously:  -3.9
This Week:  -1.1
Total:           -5.0

Slow and steady is the way to be.  YAY!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Lost Dog, Christmas Cards and New Recipe

The husband and I were laughing yesterday because we couldn't find Sammy.  We knew she was in the house with us, but I didn't see her and neither did he.  We finally tracked her down.

Where's Sammy?
There she is.
It must be tough to be that spoiled.

So, I mentioned in Monday's post that on Sunday while we were decorating our tree I made Creamy Mushroom Chicken over egg noodles for dinner, and I teased I would post the recipe.  Well here we go..the star of that meal...

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

  • 1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup white wine (I used pinto grigio)
  • 3/4 cup light sour cream (or fat free Greek yogurt)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 Tbsp flour + 3 Tbsp hot water for thickening
  • Olive Oil sprayed from your Misto or EVOO cooking spray
  • Garlic salt, to taste
  • Cracked black pepper, to taste
These were called brown button mushrooms, but tasted very similar to baby bellas.
Spray a non-stick skillet (preferably one with a lid) with olive oil or olive oil cooking spray and add sliced mushrooms and garlic.  Cover and saute until mushrooms are tender.  Add chicken broth and bring to low simmer, add white wine and allow to simmer for a few minutes while wine reduces.  Add flour wash for thickening, (in a glass add 1 tbsp of flour and then mix using a fork with about 3 tbsp hot water from the tap), be sure sauce is simmering while you add the wash and be sure to stir while you are adding. 

Always have Christmas spatula on hand during the holidays.

Allow to simmer one minute and then add sour cream.  Let your sauce simmer until you have reached desired thickness.  Give it a taste and add garlic salt and cracked pepper to taste.


This recipe makes 4 servings and it comes out to 4 weight watchers points + per serving...and it is delicious.  It is great over chicken and beef.  On Sunday I served it over chicken tenders that I seasoned with garlic salt and lemon pepper and cooked in my grill pan.  Yesterday a did a little beef tender steaks that I seasoned with garlic salt and pepper (also cooked in the grill pan).  I have had the sauce over rice and it's great but last night we had it over egg noodles.  Delicious, especially on a cold evening!


In other exciting news from yesterday evening, I put our first Christmas card up on my new Christmas card holder.  My niece and nephew are so cute.


Have holiday cards started rolling in at your house?  I mailed mine on Monday.  :)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Few of My Favorite Things...Err Ornaments

I absolutely love having the Christmas decorations out.  Last night the husband and I lit the candles and relaxed to Christmas music while taking in all of the decorations in the house.

So much glitter.
These were ornaments that my parents made from plastic fruit and glitter for their first Christmas tree as a married couple.  I love them and they get a special place together in this bowl.  I also have some they made with nontraditional Christmas colors that I use at Easter time.  I just love that my parents made these together and I think it is awesome that they still look so fantastic!


I like to put Christmas ornaments in lots of different things around the house.  They are an inexpensive way to spread the cheer.


You might say I am a sucker for Christmas ornaments. I always seem to get a few each year.  Our Christmas tree has an array of different ornaments.

I try to get one with the year every Christmas.
There are all kinds of Santas.
EmaDW must have a W
Who doesn't have a purse ornament?
There is more to Christmas decorating than ornaments. :)
I won't brag and tell you that not only am I pretty much done shopping, but I also have everything wrapped.

Nope, no bragging.
How is your Christmas shopping going?  Do you love ornaments as much as I do?

Monday, December 5, 2011

Weekend Recap and Weigh In

We had a super weekend!  Our Friday Funday involved a trip to the Saint Arnold's Brewery.  Let's start there, shall we?  Beer is always a good place to start.

Loved the front doors to the brewery.
Every week day afternoon Saint Arnold's opens to the public at 3:00 for happy hour.  It costs seven bucks a person, but that includes a tasting glass, 4 tokens for beers and an optional tour of the brewery.

Where they make the good stuff.
Mmmm...beer.
We took the tour, which was cool, but I wish they took you in to where the bottling happened as well.  The tour included the making of the beers only.

Brock Wagner one of the founders of the brewery giving the tour.
Saint Arnold's is Texas' oldest craft beer. They told us that on the very first tour of the brewery they had two people who wanted to attend.  There were a few more of us on Friday.

Kevin adding hops.
Yum.
I like it.
I am sorry to tell all of you who do not live in Texas that this beer is only distributed in Texas.  I guess that gives you an additional reason to visit.


My favorite beer of the day is a new one that I had not tried before called Santo.  I not only liked the beer, but the art on the label is awesome too.  I had to purchase this pint glass because I liked it so much.

On Saturday we went and picked out our Christmas tree!

So many choices!
Home.
Beautiful.
Yes our star is crooked.  We will fix is eventually (maybe).  My mom came over to decorate the tree with us and we had a lovely dinner of creamy mushroom chicken over egg noodles and green beans (recipe to come).  It was a wonderful Saturday night!

Sunday I got all of the Christmas presents wrapped.  I just have one more present to buy and that is for my mom...she is so hard to shop for.  I am waiting for an awesome idea to come to mind...or even just a good one.

And now the weigh in...

Previously: -2.6
This week: -1.3
Total:          -3.9

I will take it.  I have been stressing about losing weight during the holidays.  As you might remember, I skipped the weigh in last week so this is actually a two week loss.  I realized that my stressing about whether or not I would be able to lose over the holidays was fueling some extra snacking.  I have made the decision to keep moving and keep tracking...even if I have an off day here or there that is much better than an off month!  So here I go!

What are your biggest challenges with staying on track over the holiday?  And who is the most difficult person to shop for on your gift list?