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1.25.2010

Friend Makin' Monday

For today's FMMs, Amber asked us to fill out this writing prompt from The Simple Woman's Daybook

I've seen this meme on other people's blogs before, but have never done one myself. I always enjoy reading them though. So, here goes...

Outside my window...the sun is shining and the sky is blue. You would think that it's a breezy summer day from inside, but the tree outside my window proves different with it's bare limbs.



It's very deceiving.

I am thinking...about my week and all I have to accomplish. Making my lists.

I am thankful...for everything. Just waking up this morning was a huge blessing.

I am praying...for Haiti, a friend of a friend who is battling cancer, finances to do some things I want to do this year with our house, a good productive week.

I am reading...Twilight (again), Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado

I am creating...a big mess of papers on my desk. Need to get organized.

From the kitchen...I put on a new (slightly altered) WW recipe in the crock pot this morning - Slow Cook Chicken Burritos. I'll let you guys know how they taste.

Around the house...I'm PURGING! Getting rid of things. Giving things away. Organizing.

One of my favorite things...getting a mani and a pedi...which I got last night.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Finish some projects in the evenings. Girls Night on Saturday.

Go over to Amber's blog to join in FMMs! (Click HERE)

1.23.2010

Fav Weight Watcher Recipes

Here's a few of my fav WW recipes!

Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta - 8 points for 1 serving - makes 4 servings

3 medium scallion(s), chopped
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, or 2 tsp dried
1 tsp lemon zest
3 oz feta cheese
1 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt
14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, drained (I use Rotel for a little kick)
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
8 oz uncooked angel hair pasta
8 oz shrimp, medium-size, cleaned, peeled and deveined
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

In a food processor, process scallions, oregano and lemon zest until scallions are finely minced (or just chop them up, if you're short on time). Add half the feta cheese, crumbling and reserving remaining feta in a small bowl. Add yogurt and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in diced tomatoes and reserved feta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add shrimp to boiling water and cook until done, about 2 minutes (less if you are using small shrimp). Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and add to sauce. Do not drain water. When water returns to boil, add pasta and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes. Combine with sauce and serve.

You can substitute chicken for the shrimp. You can also add Kalmata olives for a greek flair! It's Yummy!

Cheesy Chili-Mac - 5 points per serving - makes 8 servings

1 spray(s) cooking spray
2/3 pound(s) raw extra lean ground beef
2 medium onion(s), chopped
29 oz canned crushed tomatoes, Mexican-style (undrained)
2 1/2 cup(s) canned tomato juice
4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced, drained
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 cup(s) uncooked macaroni, elbow-size
31 oz canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
(sometimes I use 2 cans of Rotel in place of the 29 oz can crushed tomatoes and the 4 oz can green chilis)

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat. Cook beef and onion until meat is browned, stirring and breaking up meat with a spoon as it cooks, about 10 minutes; drain off fat.
Stir in undrained tomatoes and their juice, tomato juice, chili peppers and chili powder; bring mixture to a boil.
Stir in macaroni and beans; return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until macaroni is tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon chili into bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Yields about 1 cup chili and 1 tablespoon cheese per serving.


Taco Soup - 2 points per cup

•1 lb. ground turkey or lean beef
•1 large onion, chopped
•1 (1 oz.) package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
•1 (1 oz) package Taco Seasoning Mix
•1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans
•1 (16 oz) can chili beans (either hot or regular)
•1 (16 oz) can whole kernel corn
•1 (8 oz) can Mexican-style tomatoes
•1 (8 oz) can diced tomatoes (any flavor)

Directions
1.Brown meat & onions and drain.
2.Mix Ranch & Taco seasonings into meat.
3.Add rest of ingredients, undrained to mixture.
4.Simmer 1 hour.

This is delish served w/ baked tortilla chips and low fat shredded cheese.

Chocolate Cake - 2 points for 1/12 of the cake

1 devils food cake mix
1 - 15 oz can of pumpkin

Mix together. Bake according to directions on cake mix. It's sooooooo moist and yummy!

Chocolate Pie w/ Peanut Butter Crust - 3 points for 1/6 of the pie

1 box sugar free chocolate pudding
2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cups rice crispies
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp peanut butter

Make pudding according to the pie recipe on the box. Set aside in refrigerator to set up. Mix together honey, peanut butter, and rice crispies. Press mixture into a pie pan. Spoon pudding into crust. Allow to set up in refrigerator for about an hour (or until the pie is set). Top w/ sugar free whipped topping! Soooooooo good!

Oatmeal Pecan Lace Cookies - 2 points per cookie - recipe should yield 18 cookies

1 1/4 cup(s) rolled oats
1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup(s) chopped pecans, finely chopped
1/8 tsp table salt
1/3 cup(s) butter, melted
1 large egg(s), beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF and cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Mix oats, sugar, baking powder, pecans and salt together in a large bowl until well incorporated.
Add butter, egg and vanilla to oat mixture; mix well.
Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto prepared cookie sheets and flatten each out, leaving at least 2-inches between each cookie.
Bake cookies until edges turn golden, about 8 to 12 minutes. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Yields 2 cookies per serving.
(my friend made these at Christmas and they are SO SO yum! totally worth 2 pts!)

Do you have a fav low-cal/WW recipe? Do share!

1.22.2010

RPattz, Haiti, and Shredding Update



AAAAaaaaaaCHOOOOOooo! I'm glad I can't pass germs through the computer. I have been not feeling too good the last few days. It has really put a kink in my exercising/shredding. I did shred on Monday and Wednesday, but on Wednesday I felt like I was going to pass out...it was difficult getting enough oxygen with my nose all stuffed up. I did lose 1 pound at Weight Watchers on Wednesday. Not what I was hoping for (after 9 days of shredding), but it was better than the alternative. I'm hoping some rest this weekend will get rid of this junk so I can resume my regularly scheduled programming. I HATE being sick. How is everyone else feeling?


Well, this made me feel a little better this morning...I found this new pic of Rob that was taken today. What is it with these celeb guys and their beards? I must admit that he still looks WAY HOTT!



RPattz will be hosting the London leg of the Haiti Telethon tonight (on most channels, go to mtv.com for complete list of channels...click HERE to donate online). Every little bit helps.

Praying for Haiti

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

1.19.2010

Shredding Update and Twilight junk...because I can't help myself

I finished Day 9 of The Shred this morning...not because I wanted to. It has been quite the effort to JUST DO IT the last couple of days. Although, my endurance and stamina are up. I am able to do the entire workout without stopping. I'm SCARED to go to Level 2 on Thursday. I played around with it over the weekend and those plank exercises are freakin' ridiculous! I don't know what will happen. I may just stick to level 1 for another week. I did move up to 5 pounds hand weights. I can definitely feel the burn. It feels good. Even though it has been a struggle to get myself motivated to do the workout, by the time I am in the second circuit of strength training, the endorphins kick in and I'm good to go. I can finish strong. So, that is a plus. I'm hoping for some good results when I weigh in at WW tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

Here is something that I found online this morning and it makes me laugh...

OH and I am LOVING Anna Kendrick. She seriously has some of the funniest lines from New Moon and I love her more and more with each interview. I'm definitely going to see her other movies. Anybody watched Up In The Air yet?


Guilliana is hilarious with her Clooney obsession.

I was just reading some not-so-breaking news about Breaking Dawn. It was just more of the same questions...will BD be one or two movies?...when will filming start?...who will play Renesmee?...will she be real or CGI? No one seems to have answers to any of these questions just yet and Summitt has not released anything official about BD...so, we're left hanging and wondering...and hoping. One good thing, is that there will be a Breaking Dawn movie and there is a possibility for that movie to be in 2 parts...WOOHOO! I would be completely happy with either one really long...Lord Of The Rings LONG...movie...or two normal length films. You know me and my party planning, so of course I would love the chance to have ONE more movie...because that just means ONE more party! Either way, I can't wait!

Another thing that I CAN'T WAIT for is the trailer for Eclipse...WHAT is taking those people so long?!! It's driving me crazy! We got to see the NM trailer almost 6 months before the movie premiered. We're already down to 161 days until Eclipse, that is just a little over 5 months. So, what are they waiting for? Geez! Help a girl (and her obsession) out a little. Release the trailer already!

Some of you have asked me exactly what IS a TwiCon. So, I'll tell you in my next blog post. I'll link it up to the main site and give you a list of cities where they are hosted. Plus, I'll show you some of the fun stuff that I've found on line from other people's experiences at TwiCon...which makes me so stinkin' excited!!!

I saw New Moon for the fifth time over the weekend. I'm patiently waiting on it to come out at the dollar theater. I'm planning on having a New Moon marathon.

How many times have you seen New Moon? Also, have you ever been to a fan-based convention? Have I officially reached nerd status?

1.18.2010

Do You Shred?

I've been shredding for exactly 1 week! I actually just finished my 8th day of shredding! I know that doesn't sound like that big of an accomplishment, but for me it is HUGE!

I'm the world's worst at sticking to exercise plans.

If you don't know what shredding is, it is a workout DVD hosted by none other than Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels...and IT.IS.HARD! It is the hardest workout I've ever done.
The keys to my success this last week are ACCOUNTABILITY (there are lots of bloggers who shred), Jillian's militant attitude that forces you to finish, my goals that I've set and want so badly to reach, and the progress...the progress comes relatively quickly! In the first 3 days, I could tell a difference in stamina and endurance.

On day 4, I could feel a difference in my abs while I was doing the crunches...it's like I could actually feel ab muscles down under all the fat screaming to get out...and I liked it! Days 5, 6, and 7 are when you can start to really tell a difference in your capability to do each little step and not miss a beat...and finish with style. I could feel myself jumping higher, squatting lower, and pushing harder than I had before. Believe or not, but after only 7 days of working out, I can already tell a difference in my pants! I took a before picture, but I don't want to show it to you guys until the end of the 30 days. I want to really be able to tell a difference. One of my major goals right now is to be 2 sizes smaller by the time I go to TwiCon in March...and right now I'm feeling like it is possible!

Here is a list of fellow bloggers who also shred and have blogged about it:
Kenz
Amber
Rhonda

Go visit them and see their progress! Accountability has helped me so much in this last week! Let's do this together! Do you shred?

1.15.2010

New Moon Spoofs/Parodies

I've always said that the highest form of flatery is imitation.

Here's a few of my favs I've seen on the web.


I ♥ Kristen Chenoweth

VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

The Hillywood sisters do the BEST spoofs/parodies...love them...can't wait to meet them at TwiCon!

What is your favorite spoof or parody?

1.14.2010

Twenty-Ten Top Ten

OK, so I've held off as long as I can. I've been trying to keep the Twilight posts to a minimum because I know I was driving some of you non-twilight-lovers cRAzy with all of the omg-i-can't-wait-until-new-moon posts.
I glanced back through the last month worth of posts and they are pretty much twi-free except for a couple Pocket Edward posts, but those don't count.
Don't ask me why.
They just don't.
Because this is my blog and I make the rules here...and because I said so.
Don't you just love pulling the because I said so card? I love it.
I waited my whole life to be enough of an adult to get by with saying, "because I said SO!"
Ok, that there was a small tangent.
Where was I?
Oh yes. I've held off the Twilight postings long enough. I have some uber exciting (if you're a twi-hard such as myself) events coming up and I have to share them.
First of all, I'm going to an official Twilight Convention in Atlanta!!! I.AM.SO.EXCITED. My cousin, Lindsay, lives there and I have been wanting to go visit her for a while. She is another twi-hard and when we found out about the Twilight Convention in ATL, we knew it was meant to be. A month or so ago we purchased our Gold Package tickets and in 50 days I'll be flying there for a weekend of Twilight fun.
THEN, in July, I'm going to Comic Con in San Diego! I.AM.SO.EXCITED. Seriously. It's almost more than I can handle. PLUS, I'm meeting fellow blogger turned friend, Lemon Annie. We're meeting up there in San Diego and we're going to camp out in hopes of seeing our beloved Edward...achem...I mean, RPattz. We have tickets for Thursday which is typically Twilight Day at Comic Con and we're *crossing our fingers* that this year follows suit.

Twenty-Ten is shaping up to be a super fun year.

Here is a list of my top ten things I'm looking forward to in twenty-ten:
  1. TwiCon in ATL in March
  2. Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD release in March/April
  3. Eclipse Premier Party (and the party planning that will lead up to that with my girl, Allison)
  4. Eclipse on June 30th (in a VIP viewing room!)
  5. Family Reunion over July 4th
  6. San Diego, Comic Con, and meeting Trisha on July 20th!!
  7. The 3rd book in the Hunger Games Trilogy, the sequel to The Maze Runner, and hoping for the release of another Stephenie Meyer book...a sequel to The Host would be AWESOME!
  8. Blogging all of my fun adventures
  9. Taking lots of pictures with my new camera and learning new techniques along the way
  10. Meeting weight-loss goals - continuing to exercise and eat healthy (and Shred)

What's going on in your world? What are the top things you're looking forward to in twenty-ten? Anybody live in Atlanta or San Diego?

1.05.2010

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Six years ago today, Isaiah was born. He is one of the funniest, wittiest, most imaginative kids I know. He can also be bossy, stubborn, and ornery. He has more energy than he knows what to do with sometimes. He loves with his whole heart. He says the sweetest things, like the other day he asked me "Mom, do you know where my love lands?" I said, "no, where?" He said, "right here"...and pointed to my heart. Where does he get this stuff? We can go on for hours saying "I love you from here to..._____...and back." He's also ALL BOY. He loves to wrestle. One of his favorite toys from Christmas is the Nerf double-barrel shot gun he got from his Uncle Josh. He said that it is his favorite thing EVER and he's going to keep it forever...and never going to lose it! Did I mention that it has a scope with a laser? Him and his daddy sit on our stairs and use our back door for target practice. Boys! I can't believe it's been 6 years since I held that little 8 pound 5 ounce bundle of joy for the first time. Back then, it seemed like it would be forever until he was old enough to walk or talk or ride a bike. Now, I realize that he'll be driving a car and dating girls much sooner than I would like. I wish I had a pause button for life. I don't want him to grow another inch, but I know it's inevitable. He's growing everyday. He's learning new things everyday. He changes right before my eyes. I can't stop time and I can't keep him from growing up. My job is just to help shape him into the person he's meant to be.

Happy Birthday, Buddy! I love you from here to Pluto (even though it's not technically a planet anymore) and back.