Brittney and her owl. DiyDIsh.com

This was an episode back in September from www.thediydish.com I am addicted to the fun and creative ideas that Kim and Kris offer. I made one of the owls up and my niece Brittney had to have one. So this is the one she chose. They are both so adorable. Off to church and then back home for more cute owls. I will have to make some for my classroom.

Day two eating right

Ok, yesterday was a very long day. I didn't stop until about 1:00am this morning. I am posting day two. I found it hard to consume so much food but pushed my way through it. Today I will be at school so I will take my food with me. I found a great bag to carry my food with me. It looks like a purse and it is very well insulated. Worked out for 30 minutes this morning. Off to school. Good Luck with your day.

Day Two – drink 8 ounces of water between each snack and meal.

Wake up at 6:15 am.

6:45 to 7:15 workout – Did you know that even 15 minutes of strength training will help to break down the fat in your cells that buildup into cellulitis

7:45 Breakfast – 1 slice French bread French toast. I make my own syrup with 2 tablespoons whole fruit jam with no sugar added, 3 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Bring to a simmer for about 1 minute. If you need butter use 1 teaspoon of smart balance spread.

10:30 Snack –1 cup sugar free Jello with 1 tablespoon of Whole Cream Whipped.

12:30 Lunch – ½ cup sloppy joe turkey meat between 1 whole grain thin bread and as much green salad as you can eat. If you must have dressing use one serving of low-fat and low carb dressing.

3:30 Snack – 3 cups air popped popcorn with 1 tbsp melted smart balance spread

5:00 Snack - 1 cup dry cereal

7:30 Dinner – 2 ounces cooked thin spaghetti noodles, ½ cup tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 4 turkey meatballs and as much steamed fresh broccoli as you want.

10:00 Bedtime – Good night!

Tomorrow will be better. See you didn’t have to starve yourself, again.. Make sure that you eat everything tomorrow. You should drink 8 ounces of water with each meal and snack tomorrow. This will help you feel full and help with the weight loss.

Tuesday- It's a new beginning!

This is the day everything has to change. This is what I have planned for the day. Follow along, post your views, thoughts, experiences. I want to tweet my progress. Follow along on twitter. Their app makes it so easy.

Day One
Wake up at 6:15 am.

6:45 to 7:15 workout - Did you know that a walking boot makes a great leg weight? Low aerobic doesn’t mean you can’t do strength training and stretching.

7:45 Breakfast – 1 graham cracker with 1 tablespoon low fat all natural peanut butter and 1 serving chocolate protein smoothie. I use about 6 ice cubes to 8 ounces nonfat milk and amount of protein powder that is required to make one serving.

10:30 Snack – 1 small apple with one serving of pepper jack cheese (about 100 calories)

12:30 Lunch – 1 spicy chicken taco in 2 corn tortillas with lettuce, red onion, tomato, 1 ounce grated low fat cheese. Mash together 1 cup canned black beans, 1/8 tsp ground chili powder, 1/8 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro. Top with 1 tablespoon Fage total 0% plain yogurt.

3:30 Snack – ½ cup cottage cheese with 1 cup fresh fruit

5:00 Snack - 1 grapefruit with Truvia, optional

7:30 Dinner – 5 ounces flank steak, stir fried peppers onions and broccoli, 1 small baked potato with 1 teaspoon smart balance spread and 1 tablespoon Fage total 0% plain yogurt and salt and pepper.

10:00 Bedtime – Good night!

Tomorrow will be better. See you didn’t have to starve yourself. Make sure that you eat everything tomorrow. You should drink 8 ounces of water with each meal and snack tomorrow. This will help you feel full and help with the weight loss.

Until Tomorrow! Monica

Beginning to eat more healthy...

I have been gaining weight lately. Partially because my right leg is in a walking boot. So getting on or off a bike is a potentially hazardous feat. I was able to walk about 2 miles on Saturday and the weather was amazing. I love the fall and it is a time that I am more easily motivated. So I am going to lose the weight I have gained. I learned about 10 years ago how to eat everything you want and still lose weight. The whole answer to this is eat every two hours. Learn to read a label,choose whole foods and cut out the processed convenience foods. Enough is enough... If you would like to follow along or join in; you can post your comments each day of the next month as I begin to lose all this weight.

Breakfast is the most important meal! See you in the morning.

more reception food pictures

the last of the food buffet pictures. We also used it for a linger longer at church for Father's Day! Bonus...

Wedding Reception

I had the pleasure of providing the food for a wedding reception at church this past weekend. Chie, Of course I couldn't do it without a little help with my friends. Thanks gals for all you do to support the sisters and members in our ward. You are the sisters that are blessed in the Lord's work. Billie Robinson and Grant Adams were married. I gave them a simple but really great buffet of fresh foods. They are really great and I love and respect them so much. Best of luck and we love you guys.

Why it is?

Why is it that I am finally in a size 5 Juniors pants and I still feel like I am a whale. Maybe it was all that birthday food I just had to eat...

Krystan's 14th Birthday

Whew! Time sure does travel fast when you are having fun! I love you Krystan. It was worth everthing to have such a wonderful and fun loving daughter. I hope you enjoyed your Minute to Win it Birthday Party. Next year something really simple would be nice...I haven't worked that hard in a while... LOVE YA!

Memorial Day Weekend at the Beach with Family

This past weekend my family and my sisters family went to the beach. I love being 7 miles from Okaloosa Island. It is such a nice relaxing day when I can sit on the beach and read a book under my Sunbrella.

Amazing Coconut Macaroons

I found this recipe on Kay Whitt's blog when I was searching for inspiration for my next sewing project. They are still the best I have ever eaten. Try not to over indulge. It is hard to only eat one...

Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons
Recipe yields 24 large
Ingredients:
4 14-ounce bags sweetened coconut flakes
2 14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 to 2 packages high quality dark chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mix half of the recipe together at a time by placing a bag and a half of coconut in a mixer bowl, along with one half of the remaining ingredients. Mix slowly with a paddle attachment. Once all of the ingredients are well blended, add the remaining half bag of coconut. Mix in and empty the bowl into a very large bowl. Mix the other half of the ingredients in the same way. Add it to the already mixed portion. Use the ice cream scoop and lightly pack the ingredients together so that the macaroon holds together nicely during baking. Place onto the cookie sheets and bake. I was able to place two sheets into my oven on different shelves, so I changed their position halfway through baking to keep the browning even. The original recipe says to bake for a total of 10-12 minutes, but I found I needed longer. I baked for 10 minutes, then moved my pans, and set the timer again for 10 more minutes. You will know when they are done when the bottoms are nicely browned and the tops are lightly toasted. Remove them from the pans to cool on a rack. Once they are completely cooled, they can be dipped in chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl in the microwave, stirring after each minute until just melted. Dip the cooled macaroons halfway into the chocolate, then place back onto baking sheets covered with parchment and set in the refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate is set.

Fluffy Pancakes

I love pancakes. I like to roll them around sausage and eat with my hands. I love pancakes! This is a recipe that a friend gave me. They are some of the best I have ever eaten.

3 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
2 1/4 cups milk, divided
Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk. Set aside. Stir together the eggs, syrup, oil and 1 cup milk. Add the dry ingredients. Stir together. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups of milk. Pour the batter by 1/2 cup measurements on a hot griddle. Turn pancakes when golden brown. Serve wrapped around a sausage link or with butter and syrup. Enjoy!

Sariah Bishop Baby Shower

District Art Show 2010

These are photos of some of the artwork we taught this year. This is at the fairgrounds, where the school district holds their yearly display.

Lastly more photos of purses

More photos for Purses with a Purpose...

Purses with a Purpose May 2010

I like to volunteer in the community and this is one that is near and dear to my heart. This is such a worthwile event and who doesn't love a new or genly used purses. I wanted to post some photos of the event. We had so much fun. Can't wait until the fall for the next one at Silver Sands.

Sewing a new skirt for MEEEE!!

I have so wanted to sew a couple of new patterns that I received a while back from Serendipity Studio. Thanks Kay! I finally decided on Green and Black and White. I wanted a spring green with a pop of black. I needed 21 stips of each printed material @ 2 1/2-inches wide. So it took me about 1 1/2 hours to finish the skirt. I will now have to sew one for each of my two daughters, I am sure! Two more patterns to accomplish for new Sunday skirts for me. I will post photos by the end of the day. Hope this is inspiring enough that you will want to sew one also. Til Later!

Worst Blogger Ever

I always have good intentions but never seem to have the time to blog. I am setting a new goal to blog once a week. I love to cook and sew and volunteer but the volunteer part has taken a large part of each day. I am vowing to take care of me and I will make time for my hobbies that I enjoy.

A Few of My Favorite Outdoor Things...

This past week of spring has made bme really appreciate the nice warm weather and the blooming of the flowers and trees. Here at home the outside of our house really hasn't been touched since we have lived here. So we have begun our ambitous family spring project. FRONT YARD CLEAN UP!!!
We have dug up the grass from the yard near the carport all the way to the street. Oh my! We have planted 8 yellow knockout roses and about 20 pots of lariope in hopes of not cutting two swipes of grass with the lawnmower. The grass didn't really grow under the tree anyway. In the front of the house on the right side, we cut down and I dug out the 4 bushes that were way overgrown an hadn't done anything for the front of the home. We have planted 3 red knock-out roses and 4 african daisy bushes. OK! My arms are sore, my wrist is in a splint, my hips feel like they are on fire. If I drop something, it will just have to stay there.
Why is it that landscaping hurts a lot more than gardening.

My garden is growing so fast. I have harvested about 10 gallons of lettuce. Remind me next year that 36 various lettuce plants feed armies. We love it though. Salads are so flavorful and the different textures of the greens are wonderful. The lettuce varieties are: iceburg (not at all like the nasty stuff from the grocery store), mustard, Romaine, and Buttercrunch. Most of the leaves are the size of both of my hands side-by-side. The iceberg is the size of a dinner plate. There are sugar peas and zucchini and yellow squash and cucumbers and pumpkins and corn and Pineapple Sage and Cilantro and Rosemary, Flat Leaf Parsley, Chives, Bee Balm, Common Sage, Stevia, Oregano, Basil, and Egyptian Basil.

Until later...

One of my favorite sites

I love the website: www.youcanmakethis.com. There are so many talented creative designers of projects that totally inspire me. They are currently starting "The DIY Dish". I just signed up on their new website.
www.thediydish.com