Thought Full Thursday

When I was a young girl in young womens I had a leader who gave me a binder and challenged me to begin a journal. Beginning that day I wrote in that binder every single day even if it was just to say “Today was totally boring.” Soon that binder was full and I began another and then another. For at least 6 years solid I wrote in my journal every day. When I began college I tried to continue with that tradition but with my busy schedule I often fell behind. Finally when I got married and began a family my journal writing had become nonexistent. With my search to find greater spirituality I have began writing again. It is amazing to me what a release it is. Unidentified emotions get bottled up inside and pressure builds and somehow just writing it all down seems to clear my mind and heart even if the problem isn’t resolved. I don’t know if I would say that writing brings you closer to God but clearing your soul from all that stress certainly allows the spirit to enter in and hopefully that will bring me closer to HIM.

Weigh in Wednesday

Well I made it through Halloween even with the candy and the 6 pans of cinnamon rolls I made, and happily I can report that I am down to 190lbs. Yay! Hopefully I can make it to at least 189lbs for next week, I always find that getting to next group of 10-or going from 0to9 is always a hurtle for me. Keep your fingers crossed.

T.V. Dinner Tuesday

This last week I wasn’t able to make all 4 recipes from Sandra’s Money Saving Meals Episode:
Grilling On A Stick           which aired October 18th


http://www.foodnetwork.com/sandras-money-saving-meals/grilling-on-a-stick/index.html


We were just too busy and had dinner plans other places but I was able to make


Sausage and Pepper Skewers with Grilled Polenta

Round 2 Recipe - Sausage and Pepper Baked Ziti

(Sorry I Forgot To Take Pictures While Preparing)

The Sausage and Pepper Skewers with Grilled Polenta meal was easy to make the only problem was that I couldn’t find Polenta at the grocery store. I don’t even know what it is but the T.V. show made it look like cornbread so I didn’t make the Polenta. I saved 2 skewers for the round two recipe which was amazing! I chopped up the sausage and vegetables from the skewers and put it in some crushed tomatoes and poured it over the already cooked pasta and baked it for 30 minutes. Jeremy just couldn’t stop raving. He said that it was restaurant quality. Then I had to break it to him that if I keep following the show we would never have this recipe again. He was heart broken.

Make It Monday

 Yay! For Halloween! I have never been much the type to dress up for Halloween but I finally have a kid I can dress so maybe I’ll get back into it. This year Garrett was a Robot. I had to figure out something that didn’t involve a hat or a mask, there was no way he was going to have anything on his head. So I bought some gray pants and a gray shirt and sewed some felt gears and designs on. I was really happy with how it turned out because it wasn’t cumbersome and it kept him really warm. We had a lot of fun at our ward Halloween party with our friend Jaida the lady bug.

Fix it Friday

Well here is our home! Luckily it is super cute on the outside so we can fool everyone as to what it looks like on the inside.

The house was built in the 70’s and many of its features are original to the home including the kitchen and the bathrooms. The bathrooms are the first thing we started on when we moved in. When you walked in the front door the first thing you saw was a straight shot into the super yellow guest bathroom.

Our old luxurious master bath had a grand entry of closet bi-fold doors. Once you were in you discovered a beautiful 3x3 foot hot pink bathroom with a shower that couldn’t fit a smurf. Needless to say it was a joke. Over the next couple weeks I will show you the transformation.

 

Thought Full Thursday

Last night I hosted the young women from my ward in my home to carve pumpkins. I was sitting on the floor with one of the girls while she was working with something intricate on the ground. I was talking to her just asking casual questions and she was working on what she was doing and answering me. I didn’t think twice about the situation. Then she stopped looked up and said “I am sorry, I am not looking at you while I am talking to you.” She said it very politely as if she really wanted my pardon. It really took me by surprise. I have always been to multi-tasking type. I talk while I am doing something and rarely look people in the eye while I am talking to them. I thought it was so amazing that this girl half my age had been raised in a way that shows respect to all she interacts with. I hope I can be better in that regard and for that matter I hope I can be a parent like hers.

Weigh in Wednesday

Surprisingly I am down two pounds this week to 191, YAY! We will see how that goes after all of the Halloween candy I have this weekend. It is so hard to lose weight during the holidays. One benefit of Jeremy’s schedule here in Burley is that he doesn’t go in to work until 9am. Garrett usually gets up about 6:30am and I feed him and change him and put him right back down and he will sleep while Jeremy sleeps and I go off to the gym. We have a really nice gym in Burley and no one ever seems to be there so it isn’t over crowded. I get there at 7am and am very content to watch Family Feud for an hour while I run on the treadmill. I am so grateful that we can afford a gym membership because I know I would have zero motivation in this freezing temperature. Here’s to next week!