Friday, August 27, 2010

Conversations with Addy...

Addy:  Mommy!  I watch Dinosaurs??  Pweeeeze?  ::insert sweet Addy voice here::

Me:  We will- but first we have to brush our teeth and get ready for bed.

Addy:  NOOOOOOOoooos!  Don't wanna brush teef and ready for bed.  Watch DINOSAURS MOMMY!!!

Me:  Addy, I said we WILL but you have to be patient.  Do you know what patient means?

Addy:  Yup!

Me:  Oh really?  What does it mean?

Addy:  Dinosaurs!!!



Fine.  Dinosaurs wins. 

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Low fat chicken salad recipe

Ok my dieting friends, I made up this recipe last night and it's actually pretty tasty so I thought I'd share.

 I've cleaned up my diet a LOT and have omitted processed foods and even *gasp* cheese.  For anyone that knows me, cheese is a staple in my life and always has been.  I thought I would never survive without it, but amazingly...I feel GREAT eating like this.   I hadn't realized that diet had such an effect on mental well being.  I can't even begin to describe how my moods have evened out, I have so much more energy, and I just feel good.  Eating cleaner has really changed how I look at food.  Here's a reference if you are interested:  http://www.eatcleandiet.com/


Anyway- here's the recipe.  Enjoy!

  
2 chicken breasts (about 6 oz a piece) 
1/4 cup celery- diced
1/4 cup pecans- chopped
2 TBS of reduced fat olive oil mayo
2 TBS of non fat plain yogurt
Salt, pepper to taste
Cook your chicken with Pam and coarsely chop or put in the handy chopper
dice your celery and pecans and add to chicken
add rest of ingredients
mix it all up and season to taste!
Makes 4 servings
Nutrition per serving
Calories  217
Fat  7.5g
Sat Fat 1.1g
Cholesterol  43.9mg
Sodium  152.6
Potassium  355.5
Carbs  19.8g
Fiber  1.8g
Sugars  13.7g
Protein  18.7g


No pics because I ated it.  :)
It was good!  I paired it with a low carb pita pocket and spinach and it's very fulfilling!

I really think I'm going to experiment with this next time and sub Greek yogurt and remove the mayo completely.   

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Latest project...

This is my first attempt at making a baby toy.  The little boy who will be here soon has parents who are huge Star Wars fans and have decorated his room in stars, moons, and rockets...so I decided to try my hand at making a plush baby taggy toy in the shape of a rocket! 

I set off to Hobby Lobby land and found some great fabric that matched the colors of his room and then went off to find (or pray to find) and online tutorial of sorts...you know...since I have no blasted idea what I'm doing. 

Wouldn't you know it?  I found a GREAT tutorial!!  The Long Thread is a wonderful site full of cool and interesting projects so I used the easy to follow tute and came out with this:
 I have a super cool neighbor who loves sewing as much as I do and has WAY more experience, so I bribed her with some wine and she helped me construct this thing.  We used minky and fleece as well as felt and cotton and then attached taggie ribbons on the bottom.  I'm so excited about this little toy!  At the last minute I decided it needed more fun so I ripped one of Addy's old jingly toys, stole the jingly, and stuffed it inside.  I then decided to make a moon, sun, and star to match.  I didn't have a pattern for that...as you can see from that wonky star...I'm not sure what happened there.  :)

I was so excited when the mommy-to-be opened it and loved it!  And we had so much fun at my impromptu sewing party, that I'm pretty sure it's going to become a regular event.  The husband will have to get over it.  haha.

For my next trick I'm for real going to try sewing from a pattern.  Addy needs some uniforms for school and finding a uniform for a toddler that is cute as well as cheap isn't the easiest task... so I'm gonna make it myself.  Hmph.  :)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Happy Birthday dear Husband! Happy Birthday to you!

Someone turned the big 4-0 this year.  He's not a fan of surprises so I planned a family BBQ with friends and family. 
He does forty well doesn't he?

We had a great time, and I had a great time preparing TWINKIE and OREO cupcakes!!!  YUM.  Complete with filling!  They went pretty darn fast too. 
I promised no tacky over the hill decor so all I had was this little cake topper.

 The food table!

Frozen tropical lemonade for the adults...
Now it's a real party! 


I think the kids had the most fun.  LOL.